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Royalty crowned, producers recognized at Clayton County Dairy Banquet

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2021 Clayton County dairy royalty were crowned at the June 4 banquet. Pictured (front, left to right) are 2021 Clayton County Little Miss Squirt Briella Schutte, 2019 Clayton County Junior Dairyman Bradley Schroeder, 2021 Alternate Clayton County Little Miss Squirt Brooklynn Martins; (back) 2019 Clayton County Little Miss Squirt Jennifer Smith, 2019 Clayton County Dairy Princess Kayleigh White, 2021 Clayton County Dairy Princess Rebecca Schumann and Iowa State Dairy Princess Meghan Hettinga. (Photos by Melissa Spielbauer Combs, The Guttenberg Press)

Jeff and Jess Hillers of Millville were the recipients of the Outstanding Young Dairy Producer award. Pictured are Jess Hillers and 2019 Clayton County Dairy Princess Kayleigh White.

Robert and Elizabeth Brandt of Postville received the Senior Dairy Producer Award. They have been farming for over 50 years and milk 95 registered Brown Swiss and grade Holsteins.

Dr. Larry Moore with the Postville Veterinary Clinic was the recipient of the Dairy Appreciation Award. Moore and the clinic take pride in servicing Clayton County dairy farmers, supporting 4-H students, promoting the Clayton County Fair and supporting the dairy industry in many ways. Here, Moore is pictured with 2019 Clayton County Princess Kayleigh White.

2021 scholarship recipients were Hazen Loan of Elkader (left), Pierce Harbaugh of Postville and Kayleigh White of Luana.

The Clayton County Dairy Promotion Committee held its annual dairy banquet on June 4, at Johnson’s Reception Hall in Elkader.

 

A highlight of the evening included the crowning of the 2021 dairy royalty. Briella Schutte, the daughter of Lance and Jonna Schutte of Monona, was named Little Miss Squirt, and Brooklynn Martins, daughter of Adam and Brianna Martins of Luana and Katelyn and Mike Peterson of Postville, was the alternate. This year’s Clayton County Dairy Princess is Rebecca Schumann, the daughter of Bill and Sally Schumann of Garber.

 

Jeff and Jess Hillers of Millville were recognized with the Outstanding Young Dairy Producer Award, which honors young dairy producers who have achieved excellence in managing their dairy enterprise and have contributed leadership in the dairy industry and their communities. Nominees must be 40 years of age or younger to be eligible. 

 

Jeff and Jess operate Hillers Dairy Farm, which is home to 80 registered and grade Holsteins and nearly 200 acres of hay, oats and corn. Jeff joined his parents, Bob and Joyce, in running their farm in 2000 and bought into one-fourth of the operation. He married Jess later that year, and she became part of the farm, milking cows, feeding calves, driving tractors and helping with the daily operations. They moved to the family farm in 2005, and, in 2008, built a new milking parlor and bought in another one-fourth interest and farmed 50/50 with Jeff’s parents. In 2017, Jeff and Jess purchased the home farm from his parents.

 

The Distinguished Dairy Producer Award, which honors dairy families and individuals who have achieved excellence in managing their dairy enterprise while contributing leadership to the dairy industry and their communities, went to Jeff West. 

 

West was born and raised on the current dairy site. He decided to go into farming with his parents at age 17, and designed the new 46 stall stanchion barn that would be the first of many expansions. At 21, West went on shares with his mom and dad, and, in 1999, when his parents decided to retire, he incorporated the farm and became sole owner of the cattle. West currently rents the farm and 273 acres from his mother. The farm took on the latest transition in 2014, when West installed three Lely robots and switched to a new bedding system using manure solids. He then brought on Tony and Jamie Goodrich to help get the next generation started in dairying. The dairy then became known as WestRich Dairy and is currently milking around 155 grade Holsteins.

 

Robert and Elizabeth Brandt of Postville earned the Senior Dairy Award, which honors individuals who have provided outstanding support to the dairy industry and producers. The Brandts have been dairy farming for over 50 years and milk 95 registered Brown Swiss and grade Holsteins and market their milk through Prairie Farms. 

 

The farm was purchased in 1892 by Robert’s grandparents. The first registered Brown Swiss was a 4-H project calf for Robert’s father in 1929. Robert grew up on the present farm south of Postville, while Elizabeth grew up on a registered Holstein farm between Boone and Ames. Robert earned a dairy science degree from Iowa State in 1968. After two years in the Navy, he returned to farm when his father, Ewald, was injured. He actively worked the farm until 2010, when he turned operations over to sons Russ and Nathan, who tend to the daily work while Robert and Elizabeth provide management and accounting assistance. Good friends and neighbors assist with fieldwork.

 

Dr. Larry Moore received the Dairy Appreciation Award, an honor the Clayton County Dairy Promotion Committee bestows on a person or business that supports the dairy industry. 

 

Moore graduated from Iowa State University in 1978, and after one year of veterinary practice in Monroe, Wis., returned to his hometown of Postville and went into practice with Dr. R.F. Schneider. At that time, they named the practice Postville Veterinary Clinic. Through the years, Moore has hired and inspired fellow veterinarians and students who have a passion for veterinary medicine and agriculture. He has partnered with the Iowa State Extension office and hosted educational meetings on dairy production, calf nutrition, health and management and techniques of producing high quality, low somatic cell milk.

 

Moore has also supported many 4Hers by purchasing their animals at the conclusion of the county fair. He happily writes letters of recommendation, and he and the Postville Vet Clinic have sponsored various Clayton County dairy royalty. In 1998, he served on a grassroots steering committee, the Northeast Iowa Community-Based Dairy Foundation, which helped raise financial support and enthusiasm to open the Dairy Center facility to northeast Iowa.

 

The Dairy Best award, presented annually to an eating establishment in Clayton County that does an outstanding job of serving real dairy products to the public, went to Joe’s Pizza in Guttenberg.

 

Joe’s Pizza was established in 1982 in Jesup. Joe’s has always been family owned, with attention given to making quality pizza for customers. Rich Dlouhy started working at Joe’s Pizza in Guttenberg as a kid, helping his mother in 1997. He took over full ownership in 2008 and continues to carry on the tradition of serving the highest quality pizza, chicken and ice cream. Restaurant manager Randi Bodish started working at Joe’s in 2012, and she has remained and is engaged to Rich. In the summer, Joe’s boasts 26 ice cream flavors. Last year, the business served just under 3,000 gallons of ice cream and used over 800 pounds of blended cheese and almost 15,000 pounds of mozzarella. These numbers do not include cream cheese and sour cream, as distribution was a challenge last year due to COVID-19.

 

The Excellence in Promotion Award went to the MFL Mar Mac class of 2021, which did an outstanding job of selling cheese curds as a prom fundraiser. The class was recognized for selling over 848 pounds of cheese.

 

For the fifth year, the Clayton County Dairy Promotion Committee offered scholarships to support youth education beyond high school. The latest recipients were Pierce Harbaugh, Hazen Loan and Kayleigh White. 

 

In addition, the committee handed out production awards to Clayton County dairy farmers.

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