Spotlight on Milking Shorthorns

BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — Hundreds of thousands of people walk through the cattle barn at the Minnesota State Fair each year. This year, visitors could see, pet and learn about Milking Shorthorns as the herd managed by Jerry and Shirley Wagner was this year’s showcase.

“They are a beautiful breed, and I’m so glad we got to show them off this year,” Shirley said.

The Wagners milk 97 registered Milking Shorthorns at their farm near Black River Falls. Their cows and land have been certified organic since 1992. The herd is also primarily grass-fed and the Wagners focus on A2A2 and polled genetics. The Wagners brought three heifers and 14 cows to spend all 12 days at the Minnesota State Fair.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time the state fair used an organic herd for the showcase herd,” Shirley said. “It was crazy busy, but what I enjoyed was the interest in organic; that sparked a lot of conversations.”

A dozen days at the Minnesota State Fair provided plenty of opportunity for the Wagners to interact with the public.

“The biggest question was ‘What is organic?’ and also ‘Why do the cows’ bones show?’” Shirley said. “I was asked that one probably 10 times a day. We have been certified organic for a lot of years, so we were used to answering the organic versus conventional questions.”

The Wagners said most people were amazed to learn that cows are milked twice a day and loved learning what that process looks like.

“They would have 40 people sitting on those bleachers every time we milked a cow,” Jerry said. “They were just fascinated with it.”

Another popular part of their showcase exhibit was the two March calves that they brought.

“Every time we would bring out a calf for people to pet, the line would be out the door within minutes,” Shirley said.

Besides milking demonstrations, the Wagners’ cows made appearances at the Minnesota Twins booth and were featured in broadcasts from multiple news stations. In the cattle barn, the cows had an event every 1.5-2 hours, including milking demonstrations, hand milking opportunities and educational talks.

“Our cows got all messed up with the weird milking schedule, but they switched back pretty quickly once we got home,” Jerry said.

Jerry and Shirley brought a crew of 10 family members to the fair with them to help care for the animals and take them to all their appearances. Their grandson, Tyler Wagner, took the night shift most nights. Their daughter, Holly, and her children were on hand as well to wash the animals every day and give them fresh bedding, which had to be done by 7 a.m. when the fair opened.

The Wagners brought their camper so they could be close and take breaks during the day without leaving the fairgrounds. The state fair provided sawdust and straw as bedding, and they offered feed as well, but since the Wagners are organic, they brought in all their own feed.

“It’s a lot of work, but it was fun to see people excited to touch a calf or see a cow,” Jerry said. “We hauled 14 wheelbarrows of manure out each day.”

Jerry is originally from Minnesota and dairy farmed there for many years before moving his herd to Wisconsin several years ago.

“I was born and raised with Holsteins, but they are bigger and more hyper,” Jerry said. “Shorthorns are more docile and give a little higher components. Many years ago, I bought a few from a sale and put them in our Holstein herd. I liked the Shorthorns so much that when I heard a Shorthorn farmer was selling his herd, I bought it from him.”

The Wagners exhibit their animals in the open class show at the Minnesota State Fair on a regular basis. This spring, the Minnesota State Fair committee reached out to see if they would be willing to be the showcase herd as it was the year to feature Milking Shorthorn. The committee had reached out to multiple Shorthorn farms, but none of them had enough animals required for the showcase, the Wagners said.

“We thought about it for a little bit, then said we would be able to do it,” Shirley said. “We are about two and a half hours from the Minnesota State Fair, so we are actually closer than a lot of Minnesota producers.”

As soon as the Wagners agreed to bring animals, they immediately got to work on selecting which animals would go and getting them to lead with a halter.  Holly and her daughter, Hope, were the main ones in charge of the task. They also called fellow dairy farmer Linda Klug, whose farm has also hosted the showcase herd at the Minnesota State Fair, for tips.

“It was enjoyable to talk to people about dairy farming,” Jerry said. “Some people we knew came there just to see us, but it was special to reach that many people.”

Shirley agreed.

“It was a good feeling to see the interest and that people were willing to stop to ask questions and take pictures,” Shirley said. “You can’t blame other people for not having a clue what dairy farming entails; they are so far removed from the farm, how are they supposed to know?”