ARIZONA DAIRY COMPANY

ARIZONA DAIRY COMPANY From the Big Dairy to the Big Ring!

The 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!

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 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!” 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

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 same amount of time and money to make a bad cow as it does a good one, so why don’t we make a better cow instead of a lot of just average cows?”

JUSTIN STEWART

same amount of time and money to make a bad cow as it does a good one, so why don’t we make a better cow instead of a lot of just average cows?” He admits that there was a sizeable initial investment, but that it was it was the best way to ‘step on the gas pedal and go’ as far as improving the herd as quickly as possible. “The national Holstein herd is getting better every day. As a large western herd, we had some catching up to do compared to herds in the east and Midwest,” notes Justin. “But we decided to make two or three more calves from cows from the top of our herd instead of settling for just her one calf – that’s how you make a better herd. And it might be the cheapest way when you consider the improvement in reproductive numbers in our hot weather months. We might have single digit conception rates using semen when it’s hot, but we can double that number, if not better, implanting IVF embryos, so we make big gains during that time of year. And, frankly, it’s rewarding to boot if you enjoy cows and genetics. Our oldest ‘IVF babies’ are now in their 3rd lactation, and are noticeably better than their herdmates, both phenotypically and in actual production.” The herd is averaging 84# a day across 6,000 cows with a 3.5% butterfat and 3.4% protein. As members of the United Dairymen of Arizona co-op, their milk is marketed across all four class uses. A new milk beverage (Fairlife) production plant is now online in the Phoenix area producing the whole portfolio of Fairlife products. “We’re always looking to increase our percentage of sales to that Class I (fluid milk), so we breed for a high-protein, moderate fat product. For us, Holsteins crush it for that market – no question, and if you’re looking at energy-corrected milk at all, Holsteins kick the other breeds to the curb,” enthuses Justin. They’ve also started classifying regularly throughout the herd and currently 2,534 scored cows average 81 points, highlighted by 33 Excellent and 571 Very Good cows.

Arb-Flo-Spr Honeybun-Red-ET EX-92, left, and Scenic-Edge Jordan-Red EX-92, right, enjoy the show cow life at Maple-Leigh Holsteins in Delavan, WI. Photo © Cowsmo.

Lorita Honeymoon-ET VG-86 is the dam of the #1 Type sire, Peak Hammer, and plays a prominent role in the Arizona Dairy Company IVF program. Justin and Denton have one major goal and that’s to breed a better cow. They very much see the value of genetics on a large herd basis. I get to the dairy once a month and when we walk through the herd, it’s night and day how much better the 1st and 2nd lactation cows are compared to the older herdmates. We all try to keep costs down on our dairies, but they made the investment in genetics and now they are seeing the better return financially to their bottom line.”

GRAISSON SCHMIDT, GENETIC & MARKETING CONSULTANT

Graisson Schmidt, a genetic and marketing consultant for Arizona Dairy, expects those numbers to keep improving. “Justin and Denton have one major goal and that’s to breed a better cow. They very much see the value of genetics on a large herd basis. I get to the dairy once a month and when we walk through the herd, it’s night and day how much better the 1st and 2nd lactation cows are compared to the older herdmates. We all try to keep costs down on our dairies, but they made the investment in genetics and now they are seeing the better return financially to their bottom line,” Graisson points out. In addition to building the IVF lab, the operation also invested in cattle and embryos from other breeders, including the Rasberry partnership from Washington and from Terra Linda Dairy in California. They purchased Lorita Honeymoon VG-86, dam of the #1 Type sire, Peak Hammer +4.46 PTAT, about a year and a half ago as well as other individuals to boost them into the high genomic market. Graisson notes that they will still purchase some select individuals, but now don’t need to buy to build the foundation anymore. They also have their own genetics to tap – they recently had their first heifer, Arizona Conway 37509-ET, genomic test over +3000 GTPI. She’s a Sandy-Valley Conway daughter whose maternal line runs generations-deep right at Arizona Dairy. “I think they’ll continue to add females that are really intriguing; individuals to actively market from – whether that’s high genomic or show ring type,” continues Graisson. Recent purchases include an Altitude summer junior 2-year-old, Apple-Pts Ainsa-Red-ET VG88 that won her class for them at Expo; Alleyoop and Select daughters from S-S-I Doc Have Not 8784-ET EX-92 that both have strong genomic numbers for both type and production. They’re starting to market more earnestly and have begun consigning to sales in addition to using print ads in industry publications as well as maintaining an active presence on social media. Justin has an extensive Instagram following (almost 16,000 people) where he has used the platform not only to highlight elite cattle, but also to positively depict the day-today life on the dairy in the interest of educating consumers. Their Facebook account has over 2,000 followers and the posts there also consist of a mix of content for both dairy cattle enthusiasts and for the public at large. Graisson maintains that their presence at the shows will continue to be a big part of their outreach for selling cattle and genetics. “Being at the shows keeps your name in front of people. The more people see your name and logo, the more it starts to stick and people think of you as a source for quality genetics,” he explains. The national show caliber cattle are housed at Maple-Leigh Futures in Delavan, WI, where Tanner & Maddie Schmaling and crew can give them the day-to-day care that top show cattle require. In addition to ScenicEdge Jordan-Red and Apple-Pts Ainsa-

Red, whose accomplishments we’ve already highlighted, the Arizona Dairy group had plenty of other notable achievements on their way to winning the Premier Exhibitor banner of the International Red & White Show: - Arb-Flo-Spr Honeybun-Red-ET EX-92, 3rd senior 3-year-old and 1st junior - St Jacob Destry Lava-Red-ET EX-93, 4th 4-year-old - Ms Fannys Flaunt It-Red-ET EX-91, 6th senior 2-year-old - Ms Unstopabull Beauty-In-Red VG-88, 6th junior 2-year-old - Kress-Hill Smoke-Red-ET, 3rd summer yearling and 1st junior - Arizona War Bandanna-Red-ET, 5th winter yearling and 2nd junior Honeybun had been the Grand Champion of the Midwest Spring Red & White Show earlier in the year and Destry Lava was the Reserve Senior Champion of the Wisconsin Championship Red & White Show in August, while Jordan was Reserve Grand Champion of that show. While Red & Whites certainly make up the majority of the Arizona showstring, one special Black & White made her debut on the colored shavings as well. R-John Crushin On Courtney EX-92, placed 4th in the junior 3-year-old class. Earlier in the summer, Courtney was named Junior All-Wisconsin and captured Intermediate and Reserve Grand Champion honors of the Junior Championship Show. Their location geographically means plenty of miles to cover if they want to exhibit at the best shows and they have not shied away from traveling to the California State Show, the Western Spring National Show in Richmond, Utah, and trips to the Midwest to see the Wisconsin-based cattle strut their stuff. They exhibit plenty of black & white Holsteins as well, it just seems to be that the red & whites have excelled so far. “As a family, we like having the red & whites, and here on the dairy, having some red ones makes them easier to spot in the dry lots,” laughs Justin. The time and expense of showing at an elite level can be off putting, but Justin thinks the value is priceless when it comes to building relationship in the business. “I want to meet that friend for life! I’ve met some wonderful people through the show ring – I can now call people from across the country to get their thoughts and insights on things. I want to rely on those relationships.” And he makes the connection of why a large herd dairy producer like himself finds shows intriguing and educational. “When I walk through the barns at a show, I truly love to see a cow maxed out – meaning she is expressing her genetics to her maximum potential. These show cows get the most attention and the best care – better than we can do it day-to-day on a dairy. They have every chance to reach their potential, and I just love that!” he exclaims. “As a large herd producer, we keep striving for efficiency through breeding, IVF and genetics in order to feed more and more people with fewer cows and fewer farms in this country. It’s instructive to go to the shows and see the upper potential of these genetics…plus it’s a heck of a lot of fun!”

All smiles for the Arizona Dairy Company crew after a wildly successful International Red & White Show! LtoR: Justin and Dawnie, Ty, Denton & Tammy, Hadley & Jacey Ross.

By Kathleen O’Keefe

When I walk through the barns at a show, I truly love to see a cow maxed out – meaning she is expressing her genetics to her maximum potential. These show cows get the most attention and the best care – better than we can do it day-to-day on a dairy. They have every chance to reach their potential, and I just love that! As a large herd producer, we keep striving for efficiency through breeding, IVF and genetics in order to feed more and more people with fewer cows and fewer farms in this country. It’s instructive to go to the shows and see the upper potential of these genetics…plus it’s a heck of a lot of fun!”