The National Jersey Association is excited to announce that Marion Barlass, Janesville, Wis., will be honored as the 2008 Dairy Woman of the Year on October 1, 2008 by the World Dairy Expo. The award is sponsored by Furst-McNess, Monsanto Dairy Business and Select Sires, Inc.
Other honorees at the banquet will be Charles, George, Tom and Mark Crave of Waterloo, Wis., 2008 World Dairy Expo Dairymen of the Year; the 2008 Industry Person of the Year, Dr. Michael Hutjens, Urbana, Ill.; and the 2008 International Person of the Year, Dr. Hubertus Diers, Altenberge Westfalia, Germany.
This award has been presented since 1973 to a woman who is an active dairy producer and whose primary source of income is derived from the dairy enterprise. Selection criteria include excellence in progressive management practices, efficient milk production and breeding of quality dairy animals; and involvement in the community, government activities, marketing organizations, World Dairy Expo and other aspects of the dairy industry.
Marion Barlass grew up on a large Jersey farm in northwestern Wisconsin, Owens Farms Inc. She was very involved with 4-H, registered Jersey projects and other dairy activities while she was growing up, even being selected as the 1971 National Jersey Queen.
As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marion was one of the first women on the dairy judging team, and was second runner-up in 1972 for Alice in Dairyland, Wisconsin’s dairy ambassador. She graduated in 1974 with a B.S. in Home Economics and Education Extension, and then worked as the Dane County Home Economist for about two years before marrying Bill Barlass and joining the operation at Barlass Jerseys, near Janesville.
Bill and Marion later purchased the farm and continued to build the herd. They milked about 100 cows in a 63-stall barn until 2000, when they built a milking parlor and gradually expanded the all-registered herd. Today about 360 milking cows are housed in two freestall barns and milked through a swing 16 DairyMaster parlor, installed late in 2007. The Barlass family also grows alfalfa, corn, soybeans, wheat, and canning crops on about 560 acres.
Marion is an invaluable part of the farm’s day-to-day management and long-term future. In addition to handling all of the financial records, she takes care of the bi-weekly herd health, the monthly DHI testing, and works closely with the OvSynch breeding program. She also does most of the heat detection and works with the young calves, particularly processing newborn calves.
The Barlass herd is among the top producing Jersey herds in the United States. Its 2007 AJCA lactation average of 19,870 lbs. milk, 935 lbs. fat and 707 lbs. protein ranked fourth for fat and ninth for protein among herds with 150-299 records.
Marion has served as Treasurer and Board member for Alto Dairy and is in her second term as a Director of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), also serving as its Secretary. She was the first woman ever to serve as president of the Wisconsin Jersey Breeders Association, and was editor of the Wisconsin Jersey Booster for 15 years.