E612 Three Gold Medal Sons From One Cow the Studs Didn’t Want
About this episode
The episode tells the story of a cow from Wisconsin that defied expectations to produce three Gold Medal sons.
Rain-soaked West Salem, Wisconsin, 1989. A breeder named Frank Regan looks up, sees a tall black cow move through the show gate, and can't stop thinking about her. What he didn't know: Select Sires had already passed on her. Her two-year-old milk didn't clear their index. This is the story of how a home-bred cow from the Wisconsin coulees — no franchise money, no famous address — went on to throw three Gold Medal sons and build one of the most consequential Holstein families of the modern era. The eye beat the formula. Key Moments • How two donated straws of Bell semen, won at a barn meeting, set a dynasty in motion • Why Select Sires screened her out — and what their PTA-milk cutoff couldn't see • The night before the show: a warning, a plate of doubt at the Country Kitchen, and four bales of hay • The grand championship — and the three gallons of sand that nearly killed her two months later • How Durham, Dundee, and Derry — three Gold Medal sons by three different sires — stamped Holsteins on two continents • The one thing that set Dellia apart from every contemporary she stood beside: she handed it down You've seen these names in pedigrees. Regancrest Elton Durham. Regancrest…
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