'Million' Calf will Benefit Wis. Foundation

News EditorGeneral

The Breunig family of Mystic Valley Dairy LLC, located in Wisconsin, has donated a top-notch Registered Holstein calf for a March 16 auction to benefit the Professional Dairy Producers Foundation. The Holstein calf, Jenny-Lou Million 2719 will be part of the Benefit Auction during the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s (PDPW) Business Conference March 16 & 17 in Madison, Wis. Proceeds from the auction will support educational programs of the Foundation.

Million’s Marsh dam, GP-83 @ 2Y and due to be rescored in February, is among the elite in the breed with a CTPI of 1734. The Brett grandam, VG-86 GMD DOM, has over 47,150M @ 2-11. The third dam is the well-known Patron Toyane, VG-89 GMD DOM, the dam of Toystory and Lou.

The Breunig family’s dairy business is built around a passion for excellent cows, and that passion has helped Mystic Valley earn a BAA rating of 105.2. That ranks 7th in the U.S. for herds over 300 cows.

From a young age, involvement in 4-H, FFA, the Wisconsin Holstein Association and, in more recent years, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), has helped fuel Mitch’s passion for quality cattle and build their dairy business. Though he’s a young producer himself, Mitch is in the habit of giving back to the industry that has taught him so much. He has coached 4-H dairy judging teams for the past ten years. In 2001, a team he coached won the national championship.

“The educational programs that the Professional Dairy Producers Foundation is able to fund are phenomenal and need to be supported,” Mitch says. “Education has been very rewarding for me and my family.”

The calf donation pays tribute to Mitch’s late father, Louis, who started the family farm in 1961 and nurtured Mitch’s passion for excellent cattle. Mitch and his mother, Jeannette, own the farm in partnership today. Mystic Valley Dairy expanded from a traditional 100-cow Wisconsin farm setup in 1998 to 400 cows and stands at 430 cows today. Their rolling herd average is just shy of 30,000. But their real niche has been developing quality genetics. The farm has been able to sell an average of 60 animals a year to fellow dairy producers.

Source: The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation