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2 DAIRY ST 5R C E L E B R A T I N G
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Y E A R S
April 22, 2023
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 5
A passion for the golden breed From barn to show ring, Dorns’ hearts rest in Guernseys By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
NEW GLARUS, Wis. – Kami and Jesse Dorn are Guernsey lovers through and through. Born and raised around the fawn and white bovines, the Dorns have eyes only for Guernseys. Their favorite of the dairy breeds, Kami and Jesse are in tune with the qualities that make the Guernsey desirable in every category from type to production to longevity. “Guernseys have evolved over the years, and they are a lot stronger and more resilient than people give them credit for,” Kami said. “We focus on dairy strength and better legs while keeping the Guernsey’s trademark golden milk.” The Dorns farm with Jesse’s parents, Mary Kay and Dennis, at Kadence Farm near New Glarus. The family milks 65 cows and farms 700 acres. Kami and Jesse have built a herd separate from his parents using the prex, Gold Rush, and now
the younger Dorns own more than half of the 100% registered Guernsey herd. Their work has not gone unnoticed. In 2020, Kami and Jesse received the Outstanding Young Farmer Award through the American Guernsey Association. “We have three generations of Gold Rush animals, and they’re pretty much all homebred,” Jesse said. Guernseys are a long-lived tradition in the Dorn family with Jesse being the fourth generation to carry on the breed. Guernsey roots run deep in Kami’s family as well. She grew up on a Guernsey farm near Platteville, and her grandparents also had a Guernsey herd. It was the Guernsey breed that brought Kami and Jesse together, as the two met while showing cattle. When her parents retired in 2017, Kami brought some of her Guernseys with her to Kadence Farm. Her dad, Duane Schuler, is housing cattle on the farm as well under the prex, Donnybrook.
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Dorn family – Jesse holding Braxton and Kami holding McCoy – milks 65 registered Guernseys and farms 700 acres near New Glarus, Wisconsin. The Dorns farm with Jesse’s parents, Mary Kay and Dennis Dorn. “I like that I can continue Kami’s family’s herd with her being gone from the farm,” Jesse said. “That’s important to me. We have a winter calf we’re super excited about because she
is the rst animal to represent all three of our herds.” Owned by Jesse and Kami, Gold Rush Lincoln Rock n’ Roll is sired by Jesse’s parents’ bull, and her great-granddam traces
back to Kami’s dad’s animal. The barn at Kadence Farm is lled with notable cattle like Kadence Sherlock Spiced Latte
Turn to DORNS | Page 7
Three Ɵmes the luck on two Wisconsin farms
Triplet heifer calves arrive within 24 hours By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Triplets are not typically an everyday occurrence on a dairy farm. To have heifer calves, all born healthy and thriving, is an even more rare occurrence. That is exactly what happened on two Wisconsin dairy farms in a 24-hour time period. Triplet Brown Swiss heifers were born April 4 at the farm owned by Morgan and Sandy Long, where Nathan Campshure works as the herd manager, near Brillion, Wisconsin. Campshure milks 105 cows in a tiestall barn with the
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Skyler, a Brown Swiss cow, rests with her newborn triplet heifer calves on Morgan and Sandy Long’s farm near Brillion, Wisconsin. The calves were born April 4. Longs. Most of the herd consists of Holsteins. Campshure and the Longs are in the planning stages of a farm transition. They purchased two Brown Swiss cows – including a cow named Skyler – from Campshure’s broth-
er-in-law, Mitch Kappelman, who operates Meadow Brook Dairy in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with his family. “Skyler was my pick of Mitch’s 2-year-old group of Brown Swiss,” Campshure said. “He had her on shots to
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Red and White triplet heifer calves rest together April 5 on Chris and Rikki Van Dyk’s dairy farm near New Richmond, Wisconsin. The Van Dyks milk 70 cows in a Ɵestall barn. breed, so he bred her to Cozy Nook Doboy Tank before she came over to our place.” That service led to the triplets that were born earlier this
month at the Longs’ farm. Campshure said he had no idea Skyler was carrying triplets. “A time or two, I wondered if she could be carrying twins, but triplets never crossed my mind,” Campshure said. “As she got closer, I started to doubt that, because she was actually three days overdue when she calved.” Campshure said that as Skyler began the early stages of labor, he left to go feed steers at a second farm. When he came back, rear feet of the rst calf had presented. “I pulled that calf and checked to see if there was another,” Campshure said. “Sure enough, there was another set of rear feet coming, so I pulled that calf. I checked once more and found front feet of the third calf.” Turn to TRIPLETS | Page 6