2025 Master Breeder Awards

2025 Historical Master Breeder

White Cloud Farm (1957-1970)

(Mr. Henry C. Woods & Mrs. Jane C. Woods)

Princeton, New Jersey

Is there anyone that has not heard of Ivetta or Larry Doris? How about the bulls Elegant and Delegate? Well, you are about to if you haven’t. This year’s Historical Master Breeder is from Princeton, New Jersey. That is White Cloud Farm, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Woods. Here Secretary Fred Idtse presents the Woods with the H.R. Searles award.

Fred Idtse, Henry & Jane Woods

White Cloud Farm made a huge impact on the Brown Swiss breed in a relatively short period of time, from the late 1950s to their dispersal in 1970. But their influence carried on for several years through the offspring of their breeding.

Back in 1979, who were the bulls everyone was talking about? That would be White Cloud Doreen’s Delegate and White Cloud Jason’s Elegant. In the Centennial Edition of the Brown Swiss Bulletin in 1980, there were two herds which had 5 All-Time Superior Sires listed. They were White Cloud Farm and Norvic Farm, the second Historical Master Breeder winner in 2011. That 1980 Centennial Edition published by Connie Gritton and Barb Lee is the most significant and complete book of Brown Swiss History ever published.

Letha Irene Pride

The White Cloud prefix was registered in 1957. And it didn’t take them long to begin making their mark, first with purchased animals and then with their own breeding. Quoting from their sale catalog in 1970, Henry Woods writes, “From the beginning, our aim at White Cloud has been first to buy and then to breed the very best dairy cattle we could.” So, their first Breed Champion for Fat was in 1959 when Letha Irene Pride produced in 365 days on 3x milking, a total of 1733 pounds of fat.

This started a string of awards for White Cloud now on 2x milking. In 1963, Gearing’s Verna’s Karen became Breed Champion for Fat in 365 days, 2x, with 1416 pounds fat. This record was broken by Larry Doris in 1964 with 1502 pounds fat and in 1966 Larry Doris broke her own record with 1637 pounds fat.

Larry Doris

Moving on to the yearly production awards, the ROP Trophy established in 1947 and through 1966, was awarded to the owner of the cow with the highest 365 day, 2x or 3x M.E. Fat record. White Cloud won this award in 1959 with Letha Irene Pride, in 1960 with P. V. Dodger’s Judy, in 1964 with Ivetta, and in 1965 and 1966 with Larry Doris. That was 5 trophies over an 8-year period. Larry Doris completed 3 consecutive records over 1400 pounds of fat in 365 days, 2x milking - the only cow of any breed to do so.

In 1967, the H.R. Searles Fat and J.P. Eves Milk trophies replaced the ROP trophy. In 1967, White Cloud won the Searles award with Ivetta and the Eves award with Royal Acres Laura. In 1968, White Cloud again won the Searles award with Larry Doris.

From the 1980 Centennial Edition, the leader for Lifetime Production for Milk, was Ivetta with 308,569 pounds of milk. In 5^th place was Royal Acres Laura with 254,751 pounds of milk. And the leader for Lifetime Fat was Ivetta with 13,607 pounds of fat which at 17 years of age in 1971, was the World All-Breed Lifetime Butterfat producer. Royal Acres Laura was 7^th with 10,597 pounds.

Ivetta

For the 10 highest yearly records in 1980, White Cloud cows were 5^th and 6^th for Milk and first, third, fifth, ninth, and tenth for Fat with Letha Irene Pride leading the way with her 1733 pounds fat record.

White Cloud Jason's Elegant

As mentioned earlier, White Cloud’s significant breeding influence came after their dispersal in 1970. The bulls siring the largest number of offspring in the 70’s was dominated by Delegate and Elegant. Delegate had more females registered than any bull from 1974 through 1979 with a high of 1058 in 1976. Elegant had more sons registered than any bull from 1977 through 1979-I with a high of 158 in 1978.

By 1980, White Cloud had the third highest All-time selling bull with White Cloud Ivetta’s Doric at the 1967 Springtime Show Window Sale selling for $41,000. In 1970 at their dispersal sale, they had the high selling male and female for the year with Larry Doris at $5,000 and White Cloud Maximillian at $7,700

The first Manager at White Cloud was Al Bainbridge. For the last 9 years prior to their dispersal on September 5, 1970, Bill Moss was the herd manager.

Again, quoting from Henry Woods from their dispersal catalog, “It seems to us that the future of the Brown Swiss Breed will be a sunny one. Fine cattle and fine breeders are an unbeatable combination.”

Henry C. Woods passed away in 2005 at 84 years of age. Wood’s father was the founder of the Illinois-based Sahara Coal Company and Henry was an English teacher at the Lawrenceville, New Jersey School from 1952 to 1986. His wife, Jane C. Woods passed away in 2007.

Congratulations to White Cloud Farm as the 2025 Historical Master Breeder Award winner.

2025 Active Master Breeder

Double W Farm Dairy

(Marc, Janel, & Gregg Wailes and Glenn Huwa)

Holyoke, Colorado

Marc, Janel & Gregg Wailes Glenn Huwa

This year’s Active Master Breeder has been in business for at least 68 years. At least it was 1967 when their prefix was registered. That is Double W Farm Dairy of Holyoke, Colorado. Double W is now owned and operated by Marc & Janel Wailes, Greg Wailes, and brother-in-law, Glenn Huwa (recently deceased) along with family members. They were one of the largest Brown Swiss herds in the country. They have milked over 1400 cows and farmed 1200 tillable acres. Approximately half of the herd was Brown Swiss and half Holstein and crossbreds. They have marketed approximately 25 animals to breeders across the country each year.

In the early 1960’s Double W was owned by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Wailes, then of Johnstown, Colorado. Now we know where the Double W prefix came from, William Wailes. William was Vice-President of the Colorado State Association. They began advertising in the Bulletin in March 1967.

Marc was studying Dairy Science at Colorado State University when his father became ill, and he returned home and took over the family farm with his younger brother Gregg. They, along with their father and Marc’s brother-in-law Glenn Huwa, then purchased a farm near Holyoke and the rest is history. Marc and Janel were married in 1986.

In 2023, they decided it was time to start reducing the herd size and scale back the farm. In June 2023, they hosted a sale of half their Brown Swiss and Holstein herd. Then, unexpectedly, in the fall of 2023, a Colorado dairy farm made an offer on the remaining cows that was just too good to refuse. Currently, Marc, Gregg, and Janel are finishing raising the remaining young heifers and selling them as springers. After the sale of the cows in 2023, Glenn Huwa was unexpectedly killed in an auto accident.

Marc Wailes

Marc has served as National Director of District 8 since 2017. And Janel makes the best English toffee, which is a good reason to stop at the office at board meeting time. The Rocky Mountain Association was formed in 1970 and William served as President for a period of time. Marc and Janel have served in various offices in the Rocky Mountain Brown Swiss Association over the years. They also co-chaired the 2022 National Convention in Loveland, Colorado. They always support the Fun Sale, purchasing the infamous cow fly swatter in 2021.

They have exhibited at several national shows and have helped with the Southwest National Brown Swiss Show and Sale. They have been Premier Breeder at the Southwest National in 2017-2019, 2022, and 2023. They were also Premier Exhibitor along with Udder Confusion in 2019 at the Southwest show. The herd has won the Progressive Genetic Protein Award for group 4 in 2018 and 2019.