ARIZONA DAIRY COMPANY
From the Big Dairy to the Big Ring! T
he 2021 World Dairy Expo crowd discovered a new sweetheart when Scenic-Edge Jordan-Red, a junior 3-year-old Red & White cow, was crowned Supreme Champion of the WDE Junior Shows. From class winner to Intermediate Champion of the Open Show to Grand Champion of the International Red & White Junior Show to Supreme Champion, Jordan took her owners Jacey & Hadley Ross, along with their whole family and crew from Arizona Dairy, on a memorable ride in Madison!
addition to Jordan’s individual success, Arizona Dairy also captured the Premier Exhibitor banner. “We love the family camaraderie that comes along with going to a show, and we also like the competitive nature of showing – every breeder bringing their best to the ring – that’s really fun!” comments Justin Stewart of Arizona Dairy. “We’re still on cloud nine from Madison! Even with all of the plates spinning here at home, and the crap you have on a daily basis on the farm, I’ll be on cloud nine for a year!”
Jordan has had a notable show career to date including several Junior Champion titles when she was a summer yearling, and she has been a fast track to the top of the show world for this family that operates a large and extensive dairy operation in Mesa, Arizona. In
There are plenty of plates to spin at Arizona Dairy, where they milk 6,000 cows and have 12,000 total animals on site including young stock. The operation started in 1973 when Kenny & Marvin Morrison partnered with Jim Tappan to begin milking 2,500 cows
on land in Mesa. By the early ‘80s, the herd had doubled in size to 5,000 and eventually, the Kenny Morrison family ended up with the entire dairy. The operation is now owned by Justin and Dawnie Stewart (daughter of Kenny). Day-to-day operations are run by Justin with help from Dustin Ross and Denton Ross (Dawnie’s sons). Dustin manages the equipment and Denton oversees the herd genetics and reproduction on the dry lot dairy. The family also farms 2700 acres west of Phoenix, which mainly grows dry alfalfa forage for the herd. A southwest dairy of this size might not be the first place you think of when it comes to banner winners, but the show ring rewards are just a few of the benefits from a decision made several years ago committing to improving the genetics of the entire herd. They built an IVF facility on the dairy and decided to use donors from the top 5-10% of their herd to make embryos to transfer into the rest of their herd. “It was about a two- or three-year long dialogue with our veterinarian and our staff, who were not in favor of it,” recalls Justin. “I really felt we needed to do it. We were and are always trying to get better everywhere on the dairy – better nutrition, equipment, facilities, care. All the cows are in the same environment and receive the same care, why do some cows excel and stand out? What makes those cows come to the top? What’s different about these cows? Well, of course, it’s their genetics. It takes the
Arizona Dairy Company, located in Mesa, is home to 12,000 total animals. 10 « COWSMOPOLITAN Late Fall 2021
