|
Each year National Dairy Shrine honors three or four living or deceased “pioneers” of the dairy industry. Nominated by members of National Dairy Shrine and selected by an anonymous committee, these Pioneers are honored at the National Dairy Shrine banquet at World Dairy Expo. Their portraits are then permanently displayed at the National Dairy Shrine Visitors’ Center in Fort Atkinson, Wis.
The 2009 Pioneers include: Dr. Ernest Berousek, a geneticist and Guernsey breeder devoted to using facts and reason to breed better cows; Dr. Truman Graf, whose counsel on dairy trade and marketing was sought for national and international dairy policy decisions and who spent countless hours helping Wisconsin farmers navigate those policies; Philip Higley, who was instrumental in building American Breeders Service and served as its first president; and Harry Roth, a leader in marketing U.S. genetics internationally and forging strategic business alliances to benefit cooperative members.
Dr. Ernest Berousek
An outstanding judge of dairy cattle, Dr. Ernest Berousek has bred excellent cows in four breeds, judged shows in 26 states, and served as a Jersey classifier. But Guernseys have been Berousek’s passion since he started Lily Lane Guernseys as a teenager in 1934. In partnership with his brother, Berousek kept the herd going for 30 years while he attended college and pursued an academic career. When he retired from university work in 1966, Berousek built a new herd, selecting cows that fit his unique standards and partnering with other top breeders to house the animals. Lily Lane Penny Perfecto-ET is one highlight of Berousek’s efforts to improve the breed. Perfecto is considered one of the greatest Guernsey bulls of all time and sired 159 Excellent daughters. In addition to his accomplishments as a breeder, Berousek was a superb teacher and counselor who mentored many students during his career at Oklahoma State University and the University of Rhode Island. His thoughtful advice and service to the Guernsey Association genetic advisory committee and the Guernsey Foundation have earned him great respect from fellow breeders. Berousek and his wife, Tela, reside in Yukon, Okla.
Dr. Truman Graf
Truman Graf served the dairy industry for 33 years as an agricultural economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Graf and his wife, Sylvia, live in Madison, Wis. He was a prominent figure in regional, national, and international dairy policy discussions during his career and continued active consulting well after his retirement in 1985. Graf’s research included studies regarding the feasibility of merging federal milk orders, analysis of agricultural import policies, dairy consumption trends, the impact of dairy promotion efforts, milk pricing policies, whey marketing, and numerous other issues of practical importance to farmers and processors. State and federal agencies, dairy cooperatives, and industry organizations regularly turned to Graf for his insight on the complex problems of milk marketing, and he consulted or advised governments and businesses in more than 30 countries around the world. Graf was highly effective as an extension educator, offering timely programs to farmers and dairy processors and consulting privately with farmers. In addition to research and extension, he taught a popular dairy marketing class in which hundreds of students learned the details of dairy policy, milk pricing, and marketing.
Philip Higley
The late Philip Higley was a pioneer of the artificial insemination industry. In 1941, Higley, who had built a reputation of being able to recognize high production bulls by their pedigrees, was hired by J. Rockefeller Prentice to find proven sires by identifying high-producing daughters of bulls. Theirs was the first organization to provide such a service. Higley’s hard work and belief in the new idea of artificial insemination helped fuel the growth of the organization, which came to be known as American Breeders Service (now ABS Global), and in 1963 he became its first president. Before the advent of frozen semen, Higley directed the establishment of six bull studs throughout the U.S. to distribute daily shipments of semen to over 1,200 technicians. He was also instrumental in leading ABS through the challenges of implementing frozen semen. Higley worked with the Linde Co. to develop containers cooled by liquid nitrogen that could store semen for technicians, in bulk at the bull stud, and during shipment. Higley was a true pioneer of the A.I. industry, and through his leadership ABS was the largest organization in the world offering bull semen for artificial insemination at the time of his retirement.
Harry Roth
One of the first to establish international marketing of U.S. genetics, Harry Roth is honored for his pioneering vision for the artificial insemination industry. Roth began his career with Atlantic Breeders Cooperative as a sire analyst and later became general manager. He combined Atlantic’s elite sires with the high quality and hospitality of Pennsylvania herds to set the standard for international marketing, including strong networks in Latin American and Europe. Roth was focused on the principles of cooperation: member governance, user capitalization, and community commitment. The export market provided additional sales income that was reinvested in member programs. Later in his career, Roth saw that member services could be improved by working with other cooperatives. He was instrumental in forming several alliances culminating in the formation of Genex, Inc., and then Cooperative Resources International. Roth served on the board and as chairman of the National Association of Animal Breeders and was a strong supporter of education. He advocated training for cooperative directors, cooperative education for youth, and provided guidance and support for extension programming. In addition, he organized and launched the All-American dairy cattle judging contest. Roth spent his entire career in Pennsylvania and still resides in Landisville.
[Go Back]
|
