Today I encountered something that was very foreign yet very familiar at the same time. That something was Show Guernseys. A Guernsey is a type of milking cow that originated on the British Channel Island of Guernsey. The cows are red and white in color, and they produce milk that contains a high butter fat content. I encountered these animals at Knapps Dairy Farm in Epworth, Iowa. When Dr. HN told us we were visiting a Dairy, I just excepted to see a bunch of dairy cows, learn how the operation worked, and get to see the milking barn in action. Not only did we get to see all of that, but we also got to hear all about the Knapps’ winning ways in the show arena and their extensive breeding program. That stuff really hit home for me, since I have grown up around showing and breeding quarter horses.
The Knapp family consisted of Randy and Wanda and their two sons Austin and Landen. Austin and Landen show the Guernseys all over the country. Some of the biggest dairy shows are close by in Wisconsin. Austin informed us that sometimes they will take 30 head to the bigger shows. When we walked into the milking barn there was a sign above each cow that listed the cow’s name and all of the awards that they had won. Some of the cows contained lists that filled up the entire board.
Due to all of their success in the show arena, they had developed an extensive breeding program. They would flush embryos out of their best cows and send them all the world. Transferring embryos is when they extract an egg out of winning cow and place them in another cow, know as the receipent cow, with the intent of establishing a pregnancy. They have a wide demand for embryos out of some of their top cows and have sent them to places such as Japan, Germany, and Switzerland. One cow had over 200 calves on the ground because her babies were in such high demand. She had only had 4 naturally.
Personally, I really enjoyed hearing about their showing and breeding. I could tell as soon as we started hearing about how important the genetics were and how interested the boys were in showing that they were very serious about showing. Their breeding habits and show schedule made me realized they were big time showers on a national levels before I even saw any of the cows’ wins. It was really cool for me to see someone who was serious about showing as I was but with a completely different animal.