DAIRY ST R
September 14, 2013
World Dairy Expo Special Edition October 1-5, 2013
Alliant Energy Center Madison, Wisconsin, USA
What’s Inside...
CENTER of the DAIRY UNIVERSE
New cattle ID system implemented..........Page 3 New leadership at World Dairy Expo..Pages 8-9 Kjome remembered as first Klussendorf winner........................Pages 12-13 Trapp judges third Expo for the Ayrshire breed.......................................Page 14 Scheps Dairy hosts virtual tour........Pages 16-17 Elliotts to host virtual tour of expanding operation........................................Pages 24-25 Maxwells display new technology, on-farm processing for virtual tour..............Pages 28-29
Advocating for ag is Schauf’s role in life Karen Schauf named dairy woman of the year BY RUTH KLOSSNER Staff writer
BARRON, Wis. – Karyn Schauf is passionate about agriculture. It’s a role she’s taken seriously all her life. From being Alice in Dairyland, then working with ADA of Wisconsin, and finally as a dairy farm owner with her husband, Robert, Schauf has spoken up for agriculture. That passion for her industry led to her being named 2013 Dairy Woman of the Year. She will be honored, along with other industry leaders, at this year’s World Dairy Expo. It’s an honor she did not expect. “Expo’s interim general manager had spoken at our dairy convention so I was aware of who he was. When he called, I expected he’d ask me to be on a committee or help with something. I had to ask him to repeat what he said, then he asked, ‘Will you accept?’ My mind was really going fast. I thought of all the people who have received the award over the years. I said yes. I didn’t want to disappoint the person who nominated me.” Schauf said the award has been presented since 1973, the year she graduated from high school, and has an impressive list of recipients. Schauf and Robert have been involved in Expo several ways over the years. As Alice in Dairyland (1977-78), Karyn felt like Expo was her second home, spending the entire time there. The Schaufs have exhibited their high quality Registered Holsteins at Expo numerous times over the last 30 years. Though they don’t go every year, they are considering taking two of their better prospects this year. The Schaufs’ Indianhead Holsteins were the subject of a virtual tour one year and the family has hosted on-farm tours many times during Expo. Schauf said those tours made it hard to be at Expo, since the show is a good four hours from their farm.
Schauf has helped out in other ways at Expo, working with school tours and doing a stint at the Barron County Ag Promoters booth. “I wish I knew why they nominated me,” Schauf said. “They tell me it’s because I’ve advocated for ag consistently over the years, that I’ve been in it for the long haul. I didn’t think anyone noticed,” Schauf said. “It comes from being Alice. I’m passionate. There are different issues that need to come to the front. It’s important that people understand. I can’t be silent on those things.” While working with ADA of Wisconsin — a natural fit after being Alice in Dairyland — Schauf promoted dairy on the state and national level. After marrying in 1979 and starting a family, she made a conscious decision to do things closer to home, working in the county and with the state Farm Bureau and Holstein boards. The Schaufs first dairied in Richland Center, Bob’s home area, where he managed a farm, then purchased the herd. When Karyn’s grandfather died, they bought his farm at Barron in 1981, and transitioned there. The first task was to rebuild the barn, twothirds of which had burned. “I was at New Richland with 120 cows and Bob was back and forth. That was quite an experience,” Karyn Schauf is World Dairy Expo’s Schauf said. 2013 Dairy Woman of the Year. She Indianhead Holsteins was estaband her husband, Robert, farm near lished in October 1981 when the catBarron, Wis. Turn to SCHAUF | Page 5