Young Breeder Award 2023
Dayne Voelker, Perryville, MO
Congratulations to Dayne, Chad and Nancy Voelker for receiving the 2023 Brown Swiss Young Breeder Award.
The following is taken from the letter of support submitted by Jason Albert:
“I am writing this letter as a letter of support and to nominate Dayne Voelker for the 2023 Young Breeder award. It is my honor to nominate Dayne for this prestigious award. I have known Dayne for many years as we stall together and exhibit at shows on the state and national level.
“As many of you know Dayne's father, Charles passed away in 2018. In his dad's absence, Dayne has continued to carry the legacy of Voelker Swiss Farm in partnership with his brother, Chad, and their mother, Nancy. Voelker Swiss Farm continues to produce high-milking Brown Swiss cows that compete at the national show level. Since 2018, Voelker Swiss Farm has continued to earn All-American Nominations on an annual basis and compete very well at the state and national level. Not only is Dayne active on the Tanbark, he also is very active in the operations of Voelker Swiss Farm. He manages the breeding program including mating decisions, show program, and sale program. He is able to manage being a full-time doctor while also being active in the hands-on operation of the farm. He often returns home to help milk, operate equipment, and feed the baby calves. When he is not on the farm, he is in constant communication with his brother, Chad, about the daily operations of the farm. He and his fiancé, Kayla, recently purchased additional acreage next to the original farmstead and continue to buy registered Brown Swiss cows. Dayne is also active as a National Brown Swiss Association member. He currently represents District VI as a board director and chairs both the Youth and Cow Recognition committees for the Brown Swiss Association”.
Voelker Swiss Farm LLC is a third-generation dairy farm, started in 1946 by Dayne’s grandfather, Chalmer Voelker. Farming has been in the Voelker family for centuries, but Chalmer started the dairy in 1946 after returning from World War 2. Initially he milked a mixture of Holstein, Guernsey, and Brown Swiss. This quickly changed and Voelker Swiss Farm has been an entire milking herd of Brown Swiss since the early 1950s. They have been on official milk test and classification since 1976.
Voelker Swiss Farm’s current Rolling Herd Average on 152 cows is: 22,592m 4.3%f 972f 3.4%p 768p. The current philosophy of breeding at Voelker Swiss Farm includes utilizing a mixture of production, type, udder composite, and positive health traits and continues to utilize an extensive young sire breeding program. While high type and udder composite are valued, each cow should have high production and health traits. While genomic evaluations on bulls are important, most important consideration is given to the maternal pedigree when choosing bulls for the breeding program.
The two cows listed below are having a very positive impact on the Brown Swiss breed across all continents.
Voelkers Migel Candid 4E94 All-American 5-year-old 2009. Lifetime 222, 610m, 9947f, and 7389p. 
Prominent offspring of Candid include Voelkers Wonderment Carabella E90 with records over 30,000 lbs. of milk. Voelkers Brook Cara E92 is a Brookings daughter out of Carabella. Cara is the highest PPR heifer to ever sell at public auction. She had a genomic PPR of +230 with +1.2 type and +1114 pounds of milk and was number one heifer on the PPR list when she sold at the “Swissconsin” National Sale in 2013. Cara would go on to reproduce many impactful offspring including, Kulp-Gen Ddvl Cliff, Cartel, Can-Due, Congo, Car-P, and many more. Voelkers TD Carter is a household name and is a TD son out of Carabella. Carter is one of the few high type bulls that is over 1,000 pounds in milk. Carter held the title as number-one proven type bull for 3 consecutive years and is the reigning back-to-back Premier Sire of World Dairy Expo in 2021 and 2022, as well as 3-time Premier Sire of the Heifer Show at World Dairy Expo. He has sired over 60 All-American nominations with 9 in 2022. Other offspring of Candid include Voelkers Wndt Chillipepper. Chillipepper was a high production and type bull at Select Sires and sired many All-Americans and All-American nominations. Voelkers Cadence Cameron was 2E92 and was the winning Jr 2-Year-Old at Southeastern National Show 2016.
Voelkers Durango Sasha 2E94 is a Durango out of SCF Victor Sarine. Sasha was purchased privately by Elite Dairy as a Sr 2-year-old in 2015 for $60,000. In 2016, she was winner of the last Futurity at World Dairy Expo, second place Sr 3-Year-Old to Delilah at World Dairy Expo and HM Intermediate Champion. She ended up being Reserve All-American Sr 3-Year-Old in 2016. Sasha was Nominated All-American 4-Year-Old in 2017 and a member of Nominated All American Sr Best 3 Females in 2017. Lifetime production records include 3 lactations with over 30,000 pounds of milk with a lifetime production of 168,740 pounds of milk, 8272f, and 6156p. Sasha currently has two sons in stud at ST genetics, Secret Weapon and Stretch.