In some ways, determining how to best handle a string of dairy cattle competing in the breed shows at World Dairy Expo is similar to making decisions about how to best stage a musical concert. Some Expo cattle exhibitors opt for a “solo performance,” relying on one farm’s family members and/or employees to carry out the long list of tasks that go along with participating in a world-class event—everything from checking in animals and preparing barn displays to bedding stalls, washing and feeding cows, fitting animals and more.
Others, like Nick Uglow, of Horseshoe Hill Brown Swiss in Watertown, Wis. and Tom Agnew, of Mapleton Valley Farms Milking Shorthorns in nearby Oconomowoc, Wis., prefer more of a full symphony orchestra approach, combining resources from each of their respective farms and bringing in a handful of other breeder friends to form a single, large string.
Agnew and Uglow became good friends in college (at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) in the late 1990s.
“About ten years ago, we started talking about combining forces,” Uglow says. “We just thought working together would lead to more fun.”
“Having fun is definitely the big reason for doing this,” Agnew adds. “We both work full-time off the farm (Agnew manages a dealership for IBA Dairy Supplies, Uglow is a dairy nutritionist with Vita Plus). We take vacation time to be here. So, it had better be fun.”
A quick look at a roster of the individuals involved gives a good idea of how the string is put together. Along with Uglow and his wife, Buffy, the Horseshoe Hill contingent includes Uglow’s parents, Norm and Joyce. Mapleton Valley Farms is represented by Agnew, his wife, Keely and their kids Bryn and Blake. Also involved are Tom’s parents, Pat and Phyllis, his sister, Katie, and brother-in-law Darrin Gregory.
Other longtime members of the group include Josey Morris (Crown J. Guernseys), Jessica Hasheider (Hasheider Milking Shorthorns), Nick Tetzlaff (Daltondale Ayrshires), Dave and Rene Johnson and their children---Otis, Malcolm and Quincee (Trackside Brown Swiss) and Mara Budde (Wildweed Holsteins & Jerseys).
“We all enjoy working with each other and making sure all of our animals look their best when they get over to the Coliseum and step onto the colored shavings,” Uglow says. “Along with that, we all enjoy spending time together at our display in the barn, visiting with each other and with friends who stop by.”
Uglow and Agnew begin laying out the game plan for each year’s show in early September when they get together to make up a list of what everyone connected with the string will be bringing to Expo. A week ahead of the show, they start loading trailers with feed, bedding and other supplies they’ll need. They deliver those supplies to the Expo grounds on Friday of the week before Expo and begin setting up their display in the New Holland Pavilions. Animals are brought in on Saturday. During a typical year, the combined string will consist of 20-25 head. Last year (2019), string members brought a total of eight cows and 16 heifers.
Divide and Conquer
Throughout Expo week, team members divide up responsibilities according to each person’s interests and skills.
“We operate with the idea that no one job is more important than any other,” Agnew says. “We don’t spend a lot of time talking about what needs to be done. Everybody just kind of knows what their job is and they go about doing it. If somebody needs help, there’s always somebody around to pitch in.”
Uglow, Agnew and Nick Tetzlaff handle all the fitting, clipping and milking chores, while Josey Morris and Jessica Hasheider do all the washing of animals. On show days, Morris is also responsible for getting hay and beet pulp into the animals for filling. Dave Johnson, a residential builder by trade, handles a variety of maintenance chores in the display area.
Katie Agnew is responsible for making and putting up the informational signage for each animal’s stall. Buffy Uglow serves as the team photographer, capturing images in the barn and Showring to share with other team members. She also maintains an Instagram page called @Expocation featuring photos and written accounts of string members’ activities during the week.
All the team members pitch in for feeding, chores and making sure the alleyway and stalls in the string area remain neat and tidy.
“We pride ourselves on having a nice display so that people will want to come through and look at our animals,” Uglow explains.
The all-important head cook job is Jessica Hasheider’s domain.
“She’s very talented and spends a lot of time in the weeks leading up to Expo planning and preparing meals and freezing them so they’re ready to go once the week starts,” Uglow says. “She makes sure we get three great meals every day. We’re blessed to have her.”
The group has discussed getting together to go out for a meal at a nice Madison restaurant at some point during the week.
“But with so many animals to take care of, we figured that somebody would have to stay behind to look after the string,” Uglow says. “They’d feel left out, and we don’t want that. Besides, when you have a great chef like we do, there really isn’t any reason to go anywhere else.”
Team Approach
The rewards of taking this kind of team approach show up in a variety of ways. Uglow says he especially appreciates having the opportunity to join other team members for breakfast following morning chores each day.
“We joke around and talk about what’s coming up that day and what happened the day before. There’s a lot of camaraderie to it. It’s great.”
Agnew points to the memories created by working with a team striving to reach a common goal as the biggest reward.
“We ride the enjoyment together and we suffer together when things don’t go well,” he says.
One example of riding the enjoyment came in 2011, when a Brown Swiss fall yearling heifer shown by Otis Johnson (David and Rene’s son), was named Junior Champion of the International Junior Brown Swiss Show and Reserve Junior Champion of the International Brown Swiss Show.
“We were all standing down at ringside when the announcement was made, and we all went crazy,” Agnew says. “We had all worked together to get that animal ready for the show and it paid off. It was a lot of fun.
“It’s those kinds of shared moments that make doing this all worthwhile,” he adds. “They stay with you for a long time after the show is over.”
