LOST ELM JERSEYS

JERSEYS NOW THE STARS AT LOST-ELM!

Astroll down the aisle at Lost Elm Jerseys in Berlin, Wisconsin reveals a beautiful, uniform 50-cow herd with great udders and lots of dairy strength. It’s a herd that displays the breeder’s ‘touch’ - one that you think must have been developed for years and years. And while it’s true that registered cattle with deep pedigrees have stood in these stalls for decades, it’s only been the Jerseys’ turn for the past twelve years! Lost Elm Farm has been the home to four different breeds since Jerry and Phyllis Luttropp took the reins of the property purchased from Jerry’s dad in 1972, when Jerry returned from a second tour of Vietnam. Ayrshires were the first to call this classic, pretty Wisconsin farm home, but were soon ousted by Registered Holsteins. Phyllis grew up with Holsteins in nearby Waupaca with her family’s Budary herd, and six cows with that prefix laid the early foundation for Holsteins at Lost-Elm.

Jerry and Phyllis always had the goal to merchandise cattle and genetics, and with an eye to that, they were early adopters of embryo transfer technology in the 1980s. Embryo transfer allowed them to export embryos, and resulting ET calves helped grow the genetic progress of the herd. There were several cows in the herd that ranked well on the Holstein index system at the time, and flushing those cows led to numerous bull in AI carrying the LostElm Prefix. Lost-Elm Guardian was the #1 bull in the breed for pounds of fat in 1989. In total, the Luttropps put 29 Holstein bulls into AI.

In addition to growing their herd, Jerry and Phyllis were also raising their children: Jeff (49), Jason (48), and Jodi (44). The Luttropp kids were getting their feet wet in the show ring, and really starting to love it. Jerry made some purchases in subsequent years to feed that passion. Jeff had plenty of local success with Wes-Lyn Tribesman Stephany EX-93, who was Grand Champion at their WI District 7 Show. Daughter Jodi had an eye for a different color, and because of her, the first Brown Swiss calf - Sun-Made Jub Startle, from the famous Kilravock Snow Storm family - was her Christmas present in 1992. That calf started a trend at the farm, as in 1993, Jerry purchased Alpine-Hills Mary May and R&S Jubilations Rosy on the Kentucky National Brown Swiss Sale and that fall nodded the final bid at the World Premier Sale for VB Sensat X Cruella Rose. “Those were the years that saw Lyndale Convincer Elaine and Hoosier Knoll Jade Monay be Supreme Champions at Expo, and we really admired those cows,” remembers Jerry. That first purchase, Startle, may not have been a winning show heifer, but she developed into an EX-93 3E cow with records over 36,000M. Jubilations Rosy was Junior Champion of the Junior Show at Madison in 1993 for Jason, and Cruella Rose calved in with a beautiful udder for Jodi. She won her class and was Grand Champion of the Junior Show at World Dairy Expo on her way to being named All-American Senior 2-Year-Old in 1994. The Holsteins had been cut back in numbers in the herd by that time, and the Brown Swiss population kept growing. “Honestly, it just kind of exploded,” says Jason, who went to the Farm and Industry Short Course at UWMadison before returning home to the farm. “We kept flushing the good Swiss cows and sold embryos, but always kept some as well.”

Another purchase in those years was Alpine-Vue Dotson Posy-TW, who eventually scored EX-90 2E. Her 4.1% protein test was eye-catching to say the least, and the family thought she was a

Jerry, Phyllis & Jason Luttrop of Lost Elm Jerseys.

“When we changed breeds, we looked to purchase from those elite cow families that were already proven successful. So much of the work is already done for you when you buy from those prominent families.”

PHYLLIS LUTTROP

good investment to market from. They exported embryos worldwide from her, and put four sons in AI, namely Lost-Elm President-ET at New Generation Genetics. A well-known udder improver, President has 6,200 daughter recorded worldwide and was a notable sire of sons including Sun-Made Vigor-ET, one of the most popular Brown Swiss bulls of all time. With numerous All-American nominations and National Bellringers from the herd, the flushing continued and the herd grew. They added stalls in the barn and now could milk over 100 cows. They also kept purchasing select individuals to add new blood to the herd. Phyllis notes that this was their standard philosophy. “When we changed breeds, we looked to purchase from those elite cow families that were already proven successful. So much of the work is already done for you when you buy from those prominent families.” Another astute purchase was Top-Acres PR Popsy EX-90, who made a national milk, fat and protein record at 4-05 365d 53,430M 2588F 1855P and was honored as the National record holder for all age groups in milk, fat and protein, and proved their herd was more than just show cows.

In 2002, with the popularity of President and with their show ring success, the time was right for a herd dispersal. The sale was record setting at the time as the highest averaging herd dispersal as 103 head averaged $4,608. With embryos in the tank and some money in the bank, they went right back to buying from the best Brown Swiss cow families to rebuild the herd. More production leaders, bull mothers and show winners followed before they had their final Brown Swiss dispersal in 2010, when Jason was preparing to take over the herd and management of the farm. Another successful sale averaging over $4,000 on 117 head and cattle sold to 12 states, Mexico and Canada was the final chapter of Brown Swiss at Lost-Elm. Jason owned his first Jersey in 1999 - Valhalla Bonus Lulu, the All-American Spring Yearling that year - and had come to hold the breed in high regard. The tie-stalls in their barn stayed the same size while the Holstein and Brown Swiss cows were getting bigger. It was either remodel the whole barn or make the switch to Jerseys, and that’s what Jason did. He hoped to build an elite herd of Jerseys the same way his parents had with the Holsteins and Brown Swiss.

By 2015, the Lost-Elm heifers walked on the colored shavings at Madison, and LostElm Tequila Jade placed third in the winter calf class, foreshadowing more success to come at World Dairy Expo. Another Tequila daughter captured all the headlines in 2016 when Lost-Elm Tequila Petunia was an undefeated fall calf and won the Junior Champion title at every show she went to: the Wisconsin State Show, International Jersey Show, and the All-American Jersey Show and was the 2016 All-American Fall Calf.

When you see the Lost-Elm prefix, you may very well think ‘Tequila’. Petunia put the herd on the map in the Jersey breed, and the Luttropp’s enthusiasm for Tequila has never waned. Most Jersey breeders have a strong opinion about Tequila - love him or hate him, but Jason and Jerry are firmly in the first camp. “He’s the best bull we’ve ever used - we’ve bred 27 Excellent Tequila daughters,” notes Jason. Jerry thinks some of their success with him is because they went against the common advice when using him. “You had to use him on some strength. If you used him on real dairy, dairy cows, it didn’t work,” explains Jerry. On top of the daughters being outstanding individuals in the herd, they now seem to be breeding on for the Luttropps.

Lost-Elm Topeka Trish (EX-95%) was named Champion Bred & Owned at the 2022 Wisconsin Spring Show. Hi-Poits Concept Spunky Morgan {6} (EX-96%) was Grand Champion at the 2019 Spring Show and is due back this winter. Charlyn Tequila Eclipse classified EX-95% in August 2022 and is owned with long-time friends, the Natzkes of Crestbrooke.

Their breeding philosophy is to strive for high type and high components. Jason likes to alternate strength to dairyness and dairyness to strength in subsequent generations. Before Tequila, Forest Glen Avery Action left a number of good brood cows, and after the big Tequila wave, Chilli Action Colton (an Action son) has been the next sire that they’ve really appreciated in the herd. Current service sires and sires of their favorite calves on the ground include Ferdinand, VIP, Downtown Brown, Kid Rock, and Chocolatier. That sire list indicates that showing remains a priority for the family. They typically take a string to the Wisconsin Spring Show, Wisconsin State Show as well as individuals to World Dairy Expo and the All-American Jersey Show. They’ve won the Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners at both the Spring and State Shows and typically go home with a champion banner or two as well. Their thoughtful approach to matings has resulted in 119 homebred Excellent cows since 2010. Even more impressively, of that number, 11 have been scored EX-94, and two at EX-95. Since the Brown Swiss days, they had a reduction sale in 2018 and lowered the milking herd numbers to about 50-60 cows. Their September 2022 rolling herd average was 20,711M 5.0% 1026F 3.8% 790P on 56 cows. After their August 2022 classification, the herd breakdown was 42 EX and 17 VG with none lower.

With that decision to reduce herd size, they knew they had to market excess animals and merchandise genetics to make it work. They use sexed semen exclusively with the plan to sell surplus females. “A herd this size can’t stay in business unless you’re marketing,” emphasizes Jerry. “We’ve sold a lot through the Great Northern through the years - probably close to 1,000 head. We sell 20 to 30 young cows every year, which is pretty good for a herd our size. We try to sell heifers that will be good additions to someone else’s herd, and we’re now starting to see a premium when we put them through the sale ring.” They’re also doing a fair bit of flushing again. “We had stopped flushing for awhile when it seemed like genomics was running the market, but now we’ve got some cows in the barn that deserve to be flushed,” says Jason. The current queen of the barn is Hi-Poits Concept Spunky Morgan {6} who scored EX-96% in January 2022. Jason purchased her from the Minnesota Spring Special Sale in 2018, and in 2019 she was the Grand Champion at the Wisconsin Spring Show. Due in December to VIP, Morgan will have had eight calves in eight years, but they’ve had great IVF results with her and she has calves coming by Joel and Kid Rock.

Two more powerful matriarchs in the stalls that scored EX-95% in August include LostElm Topeka Trisha, who was the winning aged cow and Champion Bred & Owned at the 2022 Wisconsin Spring Show, and Charlyn Tequila Eclipse, who is owned with Kyle Natzke. The Natzkes have been long-time family friends and occasional partners in some Jerseys. One of those was River Valley Citation Lovely EX-90%, a former #1 GPTAT cow of the breed. Her daughter, Lost-Brooke Torpedo Love Bug, is EX-93% and one of the highest GJUI cows in the breed at +22.1 GJUI. Love Bug’s brother, Lost-Brooke Lonestar, is currently marketed by ABS. And while the stylish show cows and fancy uddered young cows catch your eye, Jason Luttropp says two of his herd favorites are a pair of 12-year-old cows: Lost-Elm Action Erotica and Lost-Elm Action Millie. Both sired by Action and both scored EX-92%, they both have produced over 230,000M lifetime. Millie is out of Underground Imperial Mayme-ET EX-92, who Jerry says “may be the best brood cow that’s ever been here.” That checks out as Mayme has five other Excellent daughters ranging from 90 to 94 points. It’s mainly a family-run operation at LostElm. Jason handles most of the day-to-day chores, while Jerry and Phyllis still pitch in where they can. Miranda Ewald grew up near Lost-Elm and has been full-time help with milking and other chores for over four years. Jason’s brother Jeff, who works as an agronomist, lives nearby. His daughter Hazil is a sophomore in high school and helps out when Miranda is off the schedule. Both Miranda and Hazil enjoy showing, so there is still plenty of incentive to put the fancy heifers on a program in the spring. Jason’s sister, Jodi works as an Executive Director at the Holstein Association, but comes home as often as she can to help the crew during the show season. With a herd as good as this, there’s always something to be excited about. Jason points out a milking winter yearling by Presto out of River Valley Citation Lovely that looks very promising. Also on the list of Lost-Elm cows you’ll hear more about is Lost-Elm Tequila Pixie EX-91%, a second calf full sister to the 2016 WDE Junior Champion, Petunia. The Luttropps have a deep appreciation for every breed that has stood in the stalls of this traditional Wisconsin barn, but don’t look for the featured breed to change again in the future. Jason loves the Jersey breed for the low-maintenance, efficient cows that breed true. When asked if he’d bring in a ‘cow of a different color’, he just smiles, shakes his head, and proclaims ‘It’s Jerseys for life!’