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Friday, May 1, 2020
Volume 8, Edition 5
Cattle
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
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Brooke (from left), Chris, Leslie, Desirae and Colton Polzin are pictured at the 2019 Minnesota State Fair, where Brooke’s Hereford heifer, Lil Red, won her class at the 4-H Show. The Polzins are invested in elite cattle at their farm and embryo center in Darwin.
Polzins pursue elite genetics of various breeds By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer
DARWIN – At the Chris and Leslie Polzin household in Darwin, it’s all about cattle … and family, and connections. Now, like everyone else with kids, they are adjusting to school at home due to COVID-19. Each day begins with the Pledge of Allegiance. At 9 a.m. Central, they sit in with Neal McCoy, a buddy of theirs who for more than 1,560 consecutive days has recited the Pledge of Allegiance live on his Facebook page. Then, their school day begins. McCoy is a country music legend who has released 15 albums since the early 1990s, including three platinum and one gold. He is also an investor in cattle and well known to the Polzins. The Polzins have three children – Brooke, 13, Desirae, 9, and Colton, 6. Amidst discussions of homework, friends and sports, the family is just as comfortable talking genetic traits of various breeds of beef cattle, with a few goats thrown in for good measure. Each of the kids is involved in their own separate business. The Polzins own Polzin Cattle, paired with Polzin Embryo Center, and there is never a dull moment for this busy family. During a Facetime interview on April 20, the family gathered to talk about their life that centers around cattle. “Truthfully, my role is
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I drive around and talk on the phone and my wife and the kids do the bulk of the work,” Chris said with a smile. “I am not organized. We make a good team trying to meet in the middle.” The organization is primarily done by Leslie, who admits she prefers to stay in the background. She is most involved in the day-today operations of the Polzin Embryo Center, as well as the paperwork and registrations. Leslie is a transplant from California whose parents moved to Minnesota in 1993. “I had absolutely no farm experience,” Leslie said. Before the couple started a family, they both also worked off the farm. By the time Desirae came along, Leslie had enough, and wanting to be more available for her family, decided to work full time at the embryo center. Today, Polzin Embryo Center is the producer of more than 5,000 top embryos each year, for themselves and for their customers. On any given day, there are likely to be 50 donor cows on
hand to produce embryos, and perhaps another 50 recipients to receive the embryos. Those embryos have become some of the leading cattle in the industry. “I have always had a thing for elite quality cattle and our goal is making the best cattle in the industry even better,” Chris said. “We are involved in helping our customers make decisions, and it’s great to go to their sale [later on] and see them reap the rewards.” Chris grew up in the cattle business and made his way through college showing purebred cattle. “After college I switched to Charolais,” Chris said. “I made some college connections with Charolais breeders from throughout the nation, with South Dakota and Nebraska being the most influential. We owned and operated up to 400 cows at one time, but our focus now is more on embryo production.” He also joined the Form-a-Feed company in Stewart and worked there for 10 years, but eventually committed his time exclusively to his own family
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company. The Polzins also own many bulls for their genetics, but the bulls are housed elsewhere, and only frozen semen used. Their genetics are marketed through a partnership with ABS Global, formerly the American Breeders Service, as well as Genex and through some of their own marketing. At the embryo center, most of the cows taken in are from customers involved with Polzin Cattle, as well as friends and connections in the industry. For the Polzins, one Charolais cow stands above all the rest: Thomas Ms Impressive 0641, more commonly known as 0641. “I told people ‘if she walks around here like she owns the place, there is a reason,’” Chris said. “She is by far our foundation cow and has more registrants than any cow in the breed. She actually passed away on Christmas Eve. She would have been 20 years old this season and was working until the end. She died as unexpectedly as any cow who is 20 years old can.” Her legacy includes 10
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Leslie Polzin speaks to students from Desirae and Colton Polzin’s elementary school in winter 2020. The students visited the farm to learn about the Polzin Embryo Center during a career day activity. national champions in the U.S. and Canada, highlighted by PZC Lily, who was selected as 2017 World Champion Female Overall Breeds. She has over 300 registered progenies, and many others unregistered. The Polzins feel her many daughters will continue to influence the industry for years to come. Ms Impressive 0641 will retain her place of honor in a pasture on the farm. “She’ll get buried in her favorite pen up on the hill, where she and her friends liked to be,” Brooke said. Though just 13 years old and a seventh grader, Brooke is well-spoken and knows
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her business. The Hereford breed is Brooke’s project. “I partnered with Express Ranches,” she said. “Dad and I went to their sale in Yukon, Oklahoma, to check it out and meet a few of the people in the Hereford breed and get to know them. We went down there and bought a cow.” Since then she increased her business and invested in more animals. Express Ranches is now one of the largest customers of the embryo center. “I purchased half interest in those donor cows,”
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