Featured Breeder
SMALL HERD,
GREAT THINGS
Meyers work to build family passion, legacy
By Danielle Nauman
CHILTON, Wis. – The Brown Swiss cows at Jenlar Holsteins and Brown Swiss have been checking all the boxes for the Meyer family, making them a family favorite on the Chilton, Wis., farm.
Jenlar Holsteins and Brown Swiss is home to Larry and Jennifer Meyer and their three children: Brianna, 16; Austin, 14 and Abby 11. The farm consists of a 140-cow herd which is comprised of 80% Holsteins and 20% Brown Swiss. The cows are milked with two Lely robotic milkers that were installed in March 2017.
“We had been experiencing labor issues, so we began touring robotic dairies,” Larry said. “We like that the cows are able to do things individually. They can eat, milk or rest on their own routine, instead of as a group.”
Besides helping alleviate labor issues, the Meyers appreciate the added management information provided by the robots, which they say help detect heats or provide information to help them take action more quickly when a health issue might arise.
“We are now able to breed nearly 80% of the herd on natural heats and our pregnancy rate for the herd has increased to 33%,” Larry said.
Larry grew up on the farm with his family raising Holsteins, while Jennifer grew up in a mixed herd of Holsteins and Brown Swiss, and the first six Brown Swiss came to the farm from her family’s farm in 2003.
“We like that the Brown Swiss can be competitive with the Holsteins and are comparable on energy corrected milk (ECM). We like their longevity, and our milk processor likes the higher components,” Jennifer said. “The kids really enjoy showing their Brown Swiss and we enjoy interacting with fellow breeders.”
In 2018, Larry and Jennifer purchased the farm from Larry’s parents, Andy and Joan, who remain actively involved in the dairy operation. The farm consists of about 450 acres on which the Meyers grow silage corn, dry corn, alfalfa, soybeans, and winter wheat to provide for their herd.
The Brown Swiss herd maintains a rolling herd average of 26,043 pounds of milk, 4.4% butterfat test, with 1,150 pound of fat and a 3.4% protein test and 876 pounds of protein on 28 cows. That high level of production has garnered recognition from the Wisconsin Brown Swiss Association for being the highest producing herd for its size for the past six years. They have also been awarded the Ira Inman PTPR Award from the National Brown Swiss Association the past two years.
The Meyer’s Brown Swiss not only work hard, but they look good doing it, with an average classification score of 88points. The Jenlar prefix is well-known in the show rings in Wisconsin, and at national-level shows, having exhibited 10 WDE class winners in open and junior show competition in the past five years. They take great pride in what they have accomplished with their Brown Swiss herd, highlighted by the fact that their current herd is entirely homebred, with the exception of one cow, Top Acres Garbro S Wish ET, who was purchased as an embryo in 2010.
“We breed for animals that are productive, profitable, and able to compete in the show ring,” said Larry of the breeding philosophy that has allowed them to achieve their results. “Having an active dairy, we need to breed for animals that will make good milk cows, not just good show heifers. High type without sacrificing production is what we strive for.”
Health traits such as DPR, PL and SCR are beginning to play an increasingly important role in the Meyer’s sire selection process. Sires that have positively impacted their herd include Carter with five daughters in the herd; they have a few Bivers; and their best young cows are sired by Daredevil, including two with firstscores of 88 and 86 points.
The Daredevils are standouts in the Jenlar heifer pens as well, along with daughters of Doboy and Silver. Current service sires in use include bulls like Phantom, Rasta, Salsa and Glenwood; and they have recently started using Famous again after seeing daughters on the tanbark this year.
The bottom side of the pedigree is just as important to the Meyers, and they have several cow families that have helped them build the foundation of their herd.
One of the original six Brown Swiss that came from Jennifer’s family’s farm was Alpine-Valley Jetway Summer ET VG88, who has 10 descendants currently on the farm.
“Summer traces back to a calf that my dad, Fred Hasler, was given by his grandpa, Alfred ‘Shorty’ Meier,” Jennifer said. “Summer has had multiple daughters place in the top ten at WDE.”
Another influential brood cow also came to the herd in 2003, when the Meyers purchased Sun-Made Premium Torte ET VG86 as a calf in the Sunshine Sale. Torte, a granddaughter of Mort Matt Tammy ET 3E90, has 21 descendants on the farm, with a huge impact.
One of her daughters, Jenlar Dynasty Treat 5E91 just turned 15 years old last month and is the breed’s second highest living lifetime Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) cow in the U.S., having made 380,000 pounds ECM and 300,000 pounds actual. Her daughter, Jenlar Agenda Trillium 4E94, ranks fifth on that list with 325,000 pounds ECM and 282,000 actual.
Trillium has impacted the herd as a brood cow herself, having seven natural heifer calves, including the 2016 All-American Spring Yearling Jenlar Carter Trix Twin EX92-93MS. Trix’s daughter, Jenlar Daredevil Trickster was the 2017 All-Wisconsin Spring Calf and is due in March with a Rasta heifer calf, which would make five generations of the family living on the farm.
Another influential Torte daughter is Jenlar Legacy Taffy 3E-93, who has made over 215,000 pounds of milk lifetime. Her daughter, Jenlar Seaman Tinsel EX91-MAX, was the Reserve Intermediate and Reserve Grand Champion at the Midwest Regional Wisconsin State Show earlier this year.
Another key cow family came to the farm in the form of an embryo purchased at the 2010 National Convention Sale. From the renowned Whizzbang family, Top Acres Garbro S Wish ET EX93-MAX has earned the Meyers a number of accolades on the colored shavings at World Dairy Expo, while being named All-American in 2015 and 2017 and received honorable mention honors in 2016.
One of the ten descendants of Wish in the herd, her daughter Jenlar Carter Waltz ETV EX91-MAX, has carried on the family tradition, being selected as the Intermediate Champion and eventual junior show Grand Champion at the 2019 World Dairy Expo. Along with being the 2019 All-American junior three old, Waltz has two other nominations under her belt.
A third family includes offspring from Jenlar Wonderment Wink EX90, who traces back to a 1996 World Premier Sale purchase, Kruses Jetway Wendy. Wink is the dam of Jenlar Jongleur Winnie VG88 who was the 2015 Reserve All-American Fall Calf and was the WDE junior show Junior Champion that same year.
Based on their showring successes, having 18 All-American nominations over the past five years, the Meyers are actively merchandising genetics from their herd.
“The successes have been great, but most importantly we want to continue sharing our passion for the industry and the breed with our three children,” Jennifer said. “We love watching them develop a passion for the industry, show cattle, and carry on the family tradition.”