DAIRY ST R World Dairy Expo Special Edition
Second Section September 9, 2023
Morris named Industry Person of the Year
gavel at over 1,000 sales in nearly Wisconsin native the 40 states across the U.S., Canada and They have also been managreects on career Europe. ing World Classic at WDE for over By Tiffany Klaphake tiffany.k@dairystar.com
AMERY, Wis. — Tom Morris has been involved in all facets of the dairy industry throughout his career. “When I look back at those decades, it is all kind of a blur,” Morris said. “It helps to have a partner that has the same dreams and aspirations.” This year, Morris has been named World Dairy Expo’s Industry Person of the Year; an honor which will be recognized during the Recognition Awards Banquet Oct. 4 at WDE in Madison. From dairy farming to teaching to owning and publishing a dairy publication as well as owning and operating a dairy sale management business where he served as auctioneer, Morris has entrenched his life’s work in the dairy industry and the people who revolve around it. “We loved what we did every day,” Morris said. “The sales, the farming, the Cattle Connection and even my days in education — some days were better than others, but we never worried about recognition. It’s been a really great run for us through life.” Morris and his wife, Sandy, own and operate Tom Morris Ltd., a sales management business that has managed over 500 Holstein sales across the country, and Morris has wielded
30 years, where Morris serves as auctioneer. “It’s a full-time job putting on the sale at WDE,” Morris said. “It is a year-round thing that myself and several other people work together on. It’s a pretty well-recognized sale. It sets the pace for dairy sales worldwide.” The couple also owns and operates Deronda Farm near Amery. Their three herd dispersals in the 1980s were each the highest averaging herd sale for the year, Morris said. Today, they maintain interest in select registered Holsteins, many with partners across the U.S. Prior to selling their cows, the Morrises hosted trainees and herdsmen from Europe. The couple remains in close contact with several of them to this day and have gone to visit them in their home countries. Morris and his wife both grew up on dairy farms in Wisconsin and started showing animals at a young age. “It’s a lot of good times,” Morris said. “Through the thrills of winning and the agony of defeat, I’ve been there. But you know what? Great cows come and go, but it’s the friendships and the bonds with other people that I enjoy.” The husband-wife duo also worked side by side to launch and publish each issue of Cattle Connection. Morris was sparked with the idea
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This year’s World Dairy Expo ExecuƟve CommiƩee members include Laura Herschleb, WDE general manager (front, from leŌ); Bill Hageman, president; Tom Morris, vice president; and Bob Hagenow, treasurer; (back, from leŌ) Kevin Jorgensen, Doug Williams, Bryan Voegeli, Dave Bollig and Josh Hushon. In addiƟon to his involvement on the execuƟve commiƩee and WDE’s Dairy CaƩle Exhibitor CommiƩee chair, Morris has managed over 500 Holstein sales across the country.
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Tom Morris, of Amery, Wisconsin, is the World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the Year. Morris will be recognized during the RecogniƟon Awards Banquet Oct. 4 at WDE in Madison, Wisconsin.
to start Cattle Connection while driving home from a cattle sale late at night in the spring of 1990. “I pulled into this service station to get a cup of coffee to help me stay awake,” Morris said. “I picked up a shopper with snowmobiles on the front. On the way home, I started asking myself, ‘Why can’t there be something like this that can connect buyers and sellers from coast to coast?’” The next morning, Morris got to work. Six months later, Cattle Connection was launched at World Dairy Expo. Morris wanted something that buyers and sellers could look over and read quickly. It soon became the largest publication for all breeds of dairy cattle across North America. “It was a little innovative, and some people thought it was nuts,” Morris said. “We hired a lot of people right out of college, and we even have one of them still with us.” In 2021, Cattle Connection was purchased by Holstein International and is published under the same name. Another innovation Morris
helped launch was the nine-month Dairy Herd Management Program with Wisconsin Technical College System. Morris served as instructor for 10 years. “That was a wonderful experience,” Morris said. “The rst year, we had 10 or 12 students, and the next year, we had 25 or 28. It just took off, and it was great. I enjoyed that as much as anything I have ever done.” The goal was to build a program for local dairy farmers, but the program regularly received students from across the country and Canada. Those students would live with and work for local farmers while going to school. Even though Morris no longer teaches agriculture professionally, he continues to mentor young people in the industry. “I’ve had a lot of mentors over the years who I have listened to,” Morris said. “Now it is my turn to give back.” Turn to MORRIS | Page 2