The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Ocean-View Sterling Silver

Ocean-View Sterling Silver, bred and owned by Ocean View Genetics, Daryl and Pam Nunes in Deerfield, Wis., has earned the honor of being named Holstein Association USA’s 2019 Star of the Breed.

The Star of the Breed recognition is given annually to one Registered Holstein® cow that exemplifies outstanding milk production combined with exceptional conformation. To be eligible for the Star of the Breed award, a cow must place in the top five in her class at a National Show, be in a herd enrolled in the TriStarSM program and have an official classification score. Once eligible cows are determined, a calculation is done using the cows’ combined mature equivalent fat and protein and age adjusted classification score to determine the top cow.

Silver is classified Excellent-94 2E, and completed her most recent 365-day lactation, calving in at five years and seven months of age with 58,330 pounds of milk, 2,419 pounds of fat and 1,640 pounds of protein. She was the fourth place 150,000 Pound Lifetime Production Cow at the 2019 Midwest Spring National Holstein Show.

Sired by Regancrest S Braxton-ET, Silver traces back to one of the foundation cows of Ocean View, Ideograph Burkgov Steps. She completes 13 generations of Excellent and Very Good dams, with her nearest three dams being Ocean-View Zenith Sassy EX-90, Ocean-View Starlet Sassy EX-93 3E and Ocean-View Benefit Sassy EX-91 2E.

According to Daryl and Pam Nunes, Silver represents and pays tribute to the breeding philosophy that Daryl’s father, Marvin, started at Ocean View. Namely, silky, dairy cows that work hard and possess outstanding individuality with depth of pedigree. “We feel that today the art of breeding is getting lost in our industry and it’s easy to forget about the balanced cow,” they said. “We don’t look at proof numbers, we look at what a bull is making for daughters, what his cow family did and what a cow is doing in our herd. When you have worked with cow families over the generations, this one for over 50 years, you gain an insight as to how they breed. Balanced cows are our goal- cows that milk, last and look great doing it!”

An in-depth profile of this impressive cow can be found in the Spring 2020 issue of The Pulse, available at www.holsteinusa.com under the Latest News tab.

Holstein Association USA, Inc., www.holsteinusa.com, provides programs, products and services to dairy producers to enhance genetics and improve profitability — including animal identification and ear tags, genomic testing, mating programs, dairy records processing, classification, communication, and consulting services.

The Association, headquartered in Brattleboro, Vt., maintains the records for Registered Holsteins® and represents approximately 25,000 members throughout the United States.