https://www.thebullvine.com/sire-sp...try-the-pawnee-farm-arlinda-chief-story/

Cool story about the breeding that shaped modern milk production in Holsteins. Lester was my grandpa and had a vision. He got sick with leukemia and had to auction off the cow that was pregnant with the bull that changed everything. Lester died before he got to see the fruit of his regimented breeding program.

I worked summers on the Pawnee farm with my uncle and cousins, still milking cows but all the high dollar cows were already sold to keep the farm going while Lester was sick. His son John, my uncle, ended up taking over. John just died last week.

wow. neat story. thx.

His work made a huge difference for much of the world.

I sent you a PM.

Keith

Amazing info, thanks for posting that......jk

Throw a quarter into a five gallon bucket and milk a Jersey into the bucket and you can still see the quarter, because you don't get enough milk to cover it. Milk a Holstein into the bucket and you get a full bucket of milk and can still see the quarter.

I went to Ag college with a guy whose family had a Jersey dairy. He said they used Holstein milk to clean their lines with.

Notoriously mean bulls

I remember as a kid helping my uncle on the Pawnee Farm. He had a big Holstein bull. He said “He’s a pretty good tempered bull but he has a few bad days a year, it pays to keep an eye on him in case he’s having one of those days”.

My cousin and I would mess with that bull a lot. Poking his nuts with a long stick when he was eating etc. That big boy knocked me down once but luckily didn’t stomp me to death. He let me get up and run to the fence.