Passion for bovines

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — Every time Deb Heuer steps foot in her milkhouse, she sees a picture of her late husband, Steve, holding his favorite cow.

The picture is a poignant reminder of her husband’s livelihood and passion before his unexpected death in December 2022.

“The hardest part about Steve being gone is not being able to run ideas past him,” Deb said. “If I make a decision, I am left wondering if it is the best decision.”

Steve was a professional cattle fitter until the couple purchased a dairy farm near Litchfield. He then became a truck driver to financially support their family.

“That was his passion, the fitting and showing,” Deb said. “He worked for 11 years for Richard Green, a Red & White breeder. Steve headed (Green’s) World Dairy Expo show string. He did that for a few other farmers as well. You have to know how to make each cow look their best, and Steve just always knew.”

At Deb’s farm, Desthaven Holsteins, she continues to raise registered Holsteins despite having lost the support of her husband.
She milks 32 cows and purchases all her feed. Cows also have access to 10 acres of pasture.

Deb focuses on genetics and proven cow families. Currently, she has 15 Excellent cows. 

“There is one cow family here that if the cow gets Excellent this time around, there will be 18 consecutive generations of Excellent cows,” Deb said. “There are a few eight or nine generations of Excellent cattle families here. That’s passion; that’s the exciting part.”

Raising high-quality cattle is what keeps Deb motivated.

“In our career of dairy farming, we have bred seven 94-point cows,” Deb said.

Before Steve’s passing, the couple showed at the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota State Holstein Show as well as World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Now, the Heurers only exhibit at the Meeker County Fair.

Deb’s daughter, Danielle, leads cattle in the show ring and helps on the farm as often as she can while maintaining a full-time job off the farm.

“I love showing because it’s like a family reunion,” Danielle said. “I get to see people I only get to see once or twice a year.”

Both Danielle and her brother, Patrick, have held careers in the show cattle industry. Now, they both have careers in Litchfield and help Deb on the farm as needed.

“It’s part of who I am,” Danielle said. “I love hanging out with the cows and getting to know them by their personalities.”

Steve and Deb both grew up on dairy farms in central Minnesota, but the couple met at Indianhead Holsteins in Wisconsin when Deb was working there and Steve was fitting cattle.

Once Steve and Deb married, they traveled across the U.S. fitting cattle for several years. They purchased a farm of their own in central Minnesota in 1993 and started building their herd of registered Holsteins.

“Both of us had a passion for pedigrees and registered cattle,” Deb said.

The Heuers take pride in not only raising their cows but also their children.

“The thing I am most proud of is my kids,” Deb said. “I adore my kids and the people they have become. My kids are my everything.”

Dairy farming has always been the career of choice for Deb.

“When I was 9 or 10 years old, my dad would work in the field and I would milk the cows,” she said. “My mom would have to help me reach the pipeline to plug the hoses in, but then, I would milk the cows. It’s just what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Deb’s passion for registered cattle began during an agricultural education class in high school. Her instructor, Dan Martens, was instrumental in bringing out Deb’s passion.

“I saw my first publication of Minnesota Holstein News, and it was one of the five defining moments of my life,” she said. “On the back cover were five black Holsteins with an apple orchard in the background. The farm was Apple Acres and the person was Harriet Brown and family. That picture with the cows and the apple orchard in the background made me decide that I wanted to be a dairy farmer.”

Heuer said she later learned that the woman in the story lost her husband unexpectedly as well and managed the farm while raising four children.

“Our fate is in God’s hands,” Deb said. “I would like to like to keep farming as long as the good Lord wants me to.”