FAIRDALE FARM LLC
A Powerhouse for Brown Swiss I
f you took a poll of attendees’ memories from the 2019 World Dairy Expo, ‘Brown Swiss show’ would probably appear more than once. Not only did Delilah walk away with backto-back Grand Champion titles, but the official judge provided entertainment of his own - from crouching in the ring for the perfect look to unique reasons like “She’s a honey of a calf,” “She’s a silk wagon,” and finally about his Grand Champion, “She’s a train coming at ya, and if she’s a train, what a caboose!” The man behind the mic that day was Joe Sparrow of Fairdale Farm LLC, a small, but powerhouse Brown Swiss operation located in Owenton, Kentucky. And while the cows that day were certainly impressive, Joe’s speech during Grand Champion was heartful and brought emotion to the crowd: “25 years ago, I was sitting in the passenger seat of my dad’s pick-up truck like any other Saturday in winter, we ground ear corn every Saturday to feed our cattle for the week and it was fun to get to be with him alone. We got biscuits
Joe Sparrow wasn’t afraid of a different pose to get a better look during the 2019 International Brown Swiss Show! 18 « COWSMOPOLITAN Fall 2021
and gravy and it was the highlight of my week. I was about halfway through my third biscuit when he stopped me and asked me to open the glove box, and in it was a bank envelope with eight $100 bills, and he told me he had saved that money to buy my brothers and I our first Brown Swiss calf at the upcoming spring sale. And we did, Goldfawn Lucy, who went on to be an Excellent cow, and he lit a fire that day in me for dairy and Brown Swiss that will never be put out. He fostered it, took us to 25 county fairs every summer, drug us all over the place, works daylight to dark, and just to help us support our dream. And as a parent, that is the greatest thing you can do, support your children’s dreams, and I only hope I can do something like that for my boys, thank you all for everything you’ve done for me!” Pretty remarkable that this day in 1994 would be the fuel that has fired three brothers to breed and develop an outstanding herd of Brown Swiss that has earned national recognition in both the show ring and the barns at home.
Richard Sparrow, the patriarch of Fairdale, purchased his first grade Brown Swiss in 1962 and shipped milk to a local Kraft food processor. He has farmed his whole life, and sons Ben, Joe and Kirby joined the operation, starting their own farm in 2012. Today, they milk 40 Registered Brown Swiss, while all having off the farm jobs as well. Richard is on the farm fulltime, but one of the three boys are on the farm each day to assist with chores, farming and day-to-day activities; there are no other employees than the four of them. The next generation of Sparrows is eager to start, but it might be a few years for Archie (5), Wylie (3) and Hallie (3). Cows are housed in a compost bedded pack barn, fed grain in the parlor and a PMR outside. The Sparrows farm 800 acres and grow their own Corn Silage and Triticale/Ryegrass baleage as well. While the set-up is simple and the nutrition uncomplicated, the cows of Fairdale know how to work. With an RHA of 28,520M 4.4F 3.6P on 40 cows, they were named High Herd in
The next generation is eager to start taking over at Fairdale! Hallie, left, helps with feeding, while Archie, right, is the next leadsman for the Sparrow family!
