BALDWIN, Wis. — Santa Claus is a firm believer that the best Christmas gift he can bring any young dairy enthusiast is their own registered calf.
Dairy Star is holding its annual Great Christmas Giveaway, with the most exciting prize being a registered Holstein calf hailing from Albedarned Dairy LLC in Baldwin. The drawing will be held Dec. 11.
Ms Albedarn Admire Bella, a Mystique Admire daughter born Sept. 12, has a pedigree worthy of ribbons and bows. She is out of a Good Plus 83 two-year-old daughter of Brenland Domino, followed by a Very Good 88 daughter of Dymentholm Mr Apples Avalanche. The third dam is Probert C Bree-Ella-Red EX-94, the 2014 All-American Red & White Junior Three-Year-Old. Bree-Ella also earned honorable mention honors as a 125,000-pound cow in 2017 and was nominated in the same class again in 2018. Bella’s fourth dam, also nominated All-American Red & White Junior Three-Year-Old in 2012, was Probert D Babette-Red EX-91. The calf’s fifth dam, Reedale Devil Bonita-Red VG-86, was nominated Junior All-American Winter Calf in 2007.
Albedarned Dairy is a fourth-generation family dairy farm located in St. Croix County and is home to 550 milking cows. The farm is operated by the third generation, brothers Bruce and Joseph Achterhof, and the fourth generation, Vanessa Gunderson and Paul and Jenna Grulke.
Both Jenna and Vanessa wanted to return home to their family farm following college, and Paul joined the operation as well. Bringing on the next generation required the Achterhof family to prepare to expand their business. The dairy was moved from their original site in Woodville to the current location outside of Baldwin. They continue to raise heifers at their Woodville location.
“We both had the same passion, the same dream, so we decided we might as well try it,” Vanessa said.
The move began to put the wheels in motion for growing the milking herd from 250 cows to its current size.
“It’s been extremely tough — moving to a new facility, starting over, trying to grow your herd,” Vanessa said. “Those challenges are what keep us going, they make us want to continue to strive to reach our dreams.”
They all agree that one of the biggest challenges they have faced was not having the heifer numbers they needed to facilitate their expansion.
“We had to wait for two years for those replacements to start showing up and making an impact,” Vanessa said.
The past five years have included success and achievements though.
“We’ve really brought our genetics a long way,” Vanessa said. “You can see the improvements in our heifers. They are really starting to take off.”
Having grown up with experience in breeding registered dairy cattle, Paul took over decisions about breeding the cows, moving the herd from being bull-bred to using A.I. A venture that started with about 10 registered animals has grown to now having nearly 200 registered animals on the farm.
“We have great heifers calving in now, not the short little heifers we used to have,” Vanessa said.
Providing the grand prize calf for the Great Christmas Giveaway is a full-circle moment for the family, Vanessa said.
“Jenna and I always showed all grade animals,” Vanessa said. “We never got to be a part of the show world. That dream of being able grow your own herd, have your own animals and build your own pedigrees, that’s why we try the best we can to give back.”
Providing opportunities for youth does not stop in the barns at Albedarned Dairy. Paul and Jenna have taken on the task of revitalizing the St. Croix County Junior Holstein Association, opening doors to the youth of their county to compete in a variety of education and social events.
“I grew up in a really good junior program in Dodge County,” Paul said. “I had lots of mentors that took their time to help me out, to teach me. It’s important to give back and help junior members as much as I can.”
Hearing about Paul’s experiences, Jenna was driven to provide those experiences for the youth in her county.
“We didn’t really have a junior program growing up,” Jenna said. “Hearing about the things Paul got to do, I wanted the youth around here to have those opportunities. We started with a great group of kids. They have been awesome since day one. They have a lot of passion, they want to learn and they want to do well.”
Jenna and Paul recruited youth to participate in dairy quiz bowl and jeopardy at the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association convention. This year marks the fourth year they will take youth to the event.
“Putting the time and the effort in, that is how you build the future leaders in our industry,” Paul said. “If we can help light that fire in a kid somewhere by providing this calf, then that is something great we can do for our industry.”
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