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Making the Headlines
Jeff and Alta Mae Core, Salvisa, Ky., received the Master Breeder Award given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies June 25, 2022, during the association’s 154th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The Master Breeder Award is presented to an AJCA member, family, partnership or corporation that has bred outstanding animals for many years and thereby made a notable contribution to the advancement of the Jersey breed in the United States. Since 1980, Jeff and Alta Mae Core have been breeding awardwinning Jerseys. They have bred 238 cows appraised Excellent-90% or higher. The highest being, KCJF Regency Treasure, Excellent-97%, just one of seven in breed history to receive this honor. “Treasure” is sired by both a Keightley-Core bred dam and sire, Renaissance Kims Regency. Many of their best performers include a sprinkling of KCJF sires on both the top and bottom sides of the pedigree. Among the cows who can be found in the lineage of much of the herd today is the early influencer, K.J.F. Amandas Mercury Mandy, Excellent-93%. Her son, Mandys Patrick Rex, born in May 1987, was the first bull bred and sampled by the Cores. He has 137 daughters in his proof, including Rexs Patrick Kim, Excellent-94%, an All American honoree with nine complete lactations, and the dam of four-time All American Junior Show Champion, KJF Renaissance Lacy {6}, Excellent-96%. Another family of impact is the “Molly” cow family, which began with KJF Responses Molly, Excellent-91. Her daughter, KCJF Sambo Molly, Excellent-94%, was Intermediate Champion of The All American Jersey Show in 2006 and topped the National Jersey Jug Futurity two years later. She has two records over 22,000 lbs. milk. Her sons, KCJF Mollys Ren Motion and KCJF One in a Million, have sired numerous blue-ribbon winners for the Cores and other breeders. Her grandson, KCJF Hired Magician, is in the Showcase Selections lineup at Select Sires Inc. “Magician” is out of KCJF Mollys Regency MartiniET, Excellent-95%, a paternal sister to “Treasure” and winner of the 2013 Bert Smith Leas Memorial Award for best bred and owned animal in the national futurity. Keightley-Core Jerseys have been named Premier Breeder seven times and Premier Exhibitor twice at the National All-American Jersey Show. Additionally, they have bred one national champion, have exhibited the national champion three times, exhibited the Genomic Jersey Performance Grand Champion in 2020 and 2021, bred three National Jersey Jug Futurity winners, and won the 2021 Leading Lifetime Production Award. In addition to their show ring success, their herd ranks at the top of the breed for production. In 2021, their herd had a lactation average of 18,238 lbs. milk, 928 lbs. fat, and 683 lbs. protein on 60 lactations. The herd has ranked as high as fifth for protein and eighth for fat among herds with 40-70 lactations in the past. The Cores have been active with the Kentucky Jersey Cattle Club and the Kentucky National Show and Sale. Alta Mae served on the Kentucky Fair Council and retired from the Kentucky Department of Revenue, in 2008, after 30 years of service. The Cores are both active cattle judges, having worked cattle shows in the United States and internationally. Alta Mae has served as a judge in Argentina, Brazil, Coasts Rica, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, as well as at the Royal Agricultural Fain in Toronto, Canada, and International Dairy Week, Australia. The couple have both won the Klussendorf Trophy, an award given for ability, character, friendliness and outstanding showmanship at the World Dairy Expo.
For the 2022 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder, returning home to farm was always a clear choice. Now, 30-year-old Mitch Kappelman manages his family’s dairy, Meadow Brook Farms. Because of his enthusiasm for dairy farming and the Registered Holstein® cow, Holstein Association USA is proud to honor Kappelman with the 2022 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder award.
Located near Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Meadow Brook Farms milks around 425 cows, three times a day, in a double-nine parallel parlor. The rolling herd average is just over 30,000 pounds of milk, with 1,230 pounds of fat and 927 pounds of protein. They are currently at 4.1% fat and 3.1% protein. Through the years, Kappelman’s passion for agriculture was ignited as he competed in shows and activities like Dairy Bowl through the National Junior Holstein Association. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a degree in dairy science in 2013. After working as a herd analyst for a couple of years, Kappelman followed his heart back home to the farm. “I loved the genetics side of things and working with other farmers, but there’s nothing like working with your own cows,” he says. Today, Kappelman is involved in all of the day-to-day activities at Meadow Brook Farms, where his biggest priorities are managing employees and cow health. He is always striving for new genetic goals with his Registered Holsteins, while remaining focused on keeping cows healthy and comfortable. Kappelman has taken on leadership roles in his local Manitowoc County Holstein Association, serving on the board for six years. He’s also a graduate of Class 10 of the Holstein Foundation’s Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI). As he looks ahead, Kappelman plans to continue his involvement in the dairy industry, both on and off the farm.
“To win this award means that I’m on the right track,” he says. “It means I’m doing good things, but that doesn’t mean I want to stop. I want to keep going, I want to do more, I want to be better. And I’m excited for where that future is going to lead.”
