2024 Master Breeder Awards

2024 Historical Master Breeder

 Sunshine Genetics, Inc.

(Chris Keim & Dan Hornickel, Whitewater, WI)

This year’s Historical Master Breeder is known worldwide. If you think about Embryo Technology and a source of elite bovine genetics, you think of Sunshine Genetics of Whitewater, Wisconsin, and the owners, Chris Keim and Dan Hornickel.

Chris and Dan met at the University of Illinois in the early 70’s in the college of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, they went to separate practices in Wisconsin and Illinois.  They later formed a partnership with Chris’s father, Lowell, who helped them produce their first ET calves from outstanding Brown Swiss females.

In 1983, they left their individual practices to locate their ET business on a farm near Whitewater, Wisconsin, starting Sunshine Genetics. There they created an international company that provided IVF and ET services to both small farms and large businesses. They also established the Sun-Made Brown Swiss herd.

The pair regularly invested in donor cows from “high profile” cow families. Many of the resulting embryos and ET offspring were marketed as foundation animals for other herds. Through the years, they provided the “home away from home” for their client’s best donor cows. Their focus was using their expertise with technology to develop ET offspring for other breeders. Being a Certified American Embryo Transfer Association Company, embryos have been exported to 25 different countries. Two of the early families developed in their herd include the Mort Matt Tammy family and the Top Acres Present family.

Sunshine was the caretakers for two World Dairy Expo Supreme Champions. The first was Lyndale Convincer Elaine in 1988 and 1989, and then Hoosier Knoll Jade Monay became Supreme in 1994.

Sunshine Genetics’ own herd with the Sun-Made prefix has earned numerous All American and production honors over the years. The herd has won the Group 1 PTPR award 12 times with a run of 7 consecutive years from 1991 to 1997. Animals with the Sun-Made prefix making National production records include the following:

Sun-Made Jetway Shatzi ET (M*) owned by Kent Thompson became the Breed Champion for Milk, Fat and Protein with her 8-2 365-day record of 53,460 milk, 2766 fat, and 1903 protein in 2006. She won the J. P. Eves and Protein Production Awards that year and the H. R. Searles Award for Fat in 2004.

In 2009, Sun-Made Garbro EG Patsy ET, owned by the Luttropp family, won the J. P. Eves and Protein Awards with a record at 5-02 in 305 days of 45,080 milk, 2258 fat, and 1511 protein. Both Shatzi and Patsy remain on the All-Time Top 10 Milk records as published in the June 2024 Bulletin.

Not only did Sun-Made cows make news, but one Sun-Made bull took the world by storm. Sun-Made Vigor ET *TM became one of the most influential bulls worldwide and particularly in Switzerland. Again, as published in the June 2024 Bulletin, three of the Top 10 cows for Living Lifetime Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) are sired by Sun-Made Vigor.

Sunshine has been a great supporter of the Youth programs, especially the Fun Auction. They have purchased the famous cow fly swatter five times and have been the top buyer of the Fun Sale four times.

Chris and Dan have served on national committees and the Wisconsin State Brown Swiss board. Sunshine Genetics has contributed greatly to the progress of the breed through the technology of Embryo Transfer. They were honored by receiving the National Distinguished Service Award in 2016.

Congratulations to the 2024 Historical Master Breeders, Sunshine Genetics, Dan Hornickel and Chris Keim. Chris had a previous family commitment this week, but Dan and his wife, Connie, are here to accept the Historical Master Breeder Award for 2024.
 

2024 Active Master Breeder

Shelburne Farms

(Sam Dixon, Manager – Shelburne, Vermont)

This year’s Active Master Breeder has been in business almost forever. This year we congratulate Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vermont, as the 2024 Active Master Breeder, Sam Dixon, manager.

Shelburne Farms was established in 1886, as the private estate of the Webb/Vanderbilt family. Seward Webb was a doctor and his wife, Lila (Vanderbilt) Webb was a railroad magnate’s daughter. It was designed to be an expansive model farm showcasing the way in improving agriculture in Vermont. From those beginnings the vision evolved, and today Shelburne Farms stands as a world-class leader in the movement for sustainability education. It is a nonprofit organization located on the shores of Lake Champlain. The property is a 1400-acre working farm and home to a 200-cow Brown Swiss herd. It is also a National Historic Landmark.

The present Brown Swiss herd was started in 1947 when Derick Webb, owner and manager, bought the bull “Norman B. of Ethan Allen” from Allen Alfred. Derick began converting a mixed herd of grade cattle to the practical herd of working Brown Swiss. In 1953, they purchased the Cooper herd of Brown Swiss from Red Hook, NY, from which the current herd descended.

In 1962 Harold Magnussen, who had been manager of Walhalla Farms for 35 years, was hired as Cattle Consultant following the Walhalla Dispersal sale. Shelburne purchased 23 animals at the Walhalla dispersal and the herd now numbered over 300 head. Herb Stapleton was field production manager. Magnussen was cattle superintendent at Shelburne from 1962 to 1969. Gordon Searles then became manager for many years until Sam Dixon took over in 1996.

Shelburne strives for overall production with a goal of each cow reaching 100,000 pounds milk lifetime. And to verify that, in the early 90’s, the cow Shelburne Del SF 514 was the top lifetime milk production cow of the breed. She produced a total of 313,390 pounds of milk between 1977-1991 surpassing the ever-famous Ivetta cow at 308,569 which she had held since 1969. Shelburne also had several other cows well over the 200,000-pound milk level. The Shelburne herd won the Group 2 PTPR Award in 1990.

Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit educational institution teaching stewardship and conservation principals. The farm has over 100,000 visitors each year. They maintain a children’s farmyard and provide youth education in “learning to milk a cow”. They introduce agriculture and the dairy industry into the lives of urban children, including school tours.

Shelburne has been a strong supporter of Brown Swiss youth. For example, at the 2021 National Convention, they offered Wayne Sliker a choice of their March calves to be sold at the National Sale with the proceeds going to the Youth Fund. They also donated a cheese basket and 20 pounds of cheese to the youth.

Shelburne has also supported the Brown Swiss Historical Society by donating a calf to be sold at the National Sale in 2007 and again in 2012 with the proceeds going to the Historical Society. They have hosted two National Conventions in 2001 and 2012. They have graced the cover of Hoard’s Dairyman at least twice in 1996 and 2009. 

It is my honor to present the Brown Swiss Historical Society Active Master Breeder Award to Shelburne Farms, Sam Dixon, Manager.

Historical Society & Awards