Skagvale Holstein Farm



Foundation Cow … PUGET SOUND NETHERLAND GRACE (EX-93)
PUGET SOUND NETHERLAND GRACE Excellent – 93 LT: 217,547 3.5%F In early 1957, with a few dollars in their pockets (admittedly very few), and after 4 years in the business, feeling somewhat knowledgeable about registered Holsteins, John and Glen Tenneson were off to the Waltner Bros.’ “Puget Sound Holsteins” herd in nearby Mount Vernon, Washington. They had previously purchased the breeding bull, PUGET SOUND PRINCE, from Waltners, and now they wanted to purchase their first real foundation female from this without-peer breeding herd which was deep in early-Carnation – Colony – and Frasea blood. John and Glen told Charlie Waltner that they’d like to buy a good bred heifer, so off to the heifer lots they went. The Tenneson boys picked out a nice black heifer and told Charlie, “That’s the one we want.” Charlie’s reply shocked them,… and certainly brought them back down to earth with a “thud”!! He said, “You boys can’t afford that heifer”…!! He didn’t even price her! He then commented that the big, black unfreshened 3-year-old over in the corner would be more in their price range. That big, black unfreshened 3-year-old was “GRACE”. Charlie priced her at $475, and so the Tenneson Bros. decided that she would have to do! She was BIG … the trucker who delivered her estimated her in the 1800 lb. range. She was WIDE,… STRONG,… a bit rough in the rump, and a bit gangly on her legs. But the rest of this tale indeed turns out to be a “Cinderella Story”!!

(On a side note, … the big black heifer that the Tenneson Bros. had originally liked so well … the one out of their price range?!! She was never heard from again!!)

Today, every single animal in the Skagvale herd traces back to old GRACE at least once!! It goes without saying that she is the single most influential cow in the Skagvale breeding program,… and her influence on this herd has been absolutely AWESOME!!! While PUGET SOUND NETHERLAND GRACE (EX-93) was the dam of many outstanding progeny, two in turn had a profound influence at Skagvale, namely SKAGVALE CHARMING DYNAMIC (the sire of Skagvale Graceful Hattie, through whom the HATTIE family flows), and SKAGVALE NETHERLAND GAY, the second generation of “Excellent” cows in the GAY family tree.

3^rd Generation Excellent SKAGVALE DELIGHTFUL GAY Excellent-90 LT: 236,850 4.1%F 2^nd Generation Excellent SKAGVALE NETHERLAND GAY Excellent-90 LT: 198,100 3.8%F SKAGVALE NETHERLAND GAY (EX) was, in John’s memory, the fourth “Excellent” cow bred by the Tenneson Bros.! Although she didn’t produce many daughters (despite calving 12 times), when mated to SKAGVALE ROYAL MONARCH, she delivered SKAGVALE DELIGHTFUL GAY (EX). This was a very closely linebred mating, as Colony Colanthus Perfection blood shows up four times in her pedigree!! DELIGHTFUL GAY was an exceptional producer, making over 236,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime with 4.1% Fat! Like her dam, she calved 12 times, resulting in only 2 heifer calves. However, the crossing of DELIGHTFUL GAY to Forest Lee Centurion Rocket (an outcross mating), made SKAGVALE GAY ROCKETTE (EX-93), who is without doubt a “Queen Brood Cow”!!

4^th generation Excellent… SKAGVALE GAY ROCKETTE Excellent-93 LT: 218,810 3.6%F SKAGVALE GAY ROCKETTE (EX-93) was a huge cow, … the proverbial powerhouse, being deep, long and wide. She produced 4 “Excellent” daughters and an “Excellent” son, creating the first real ‘branching’ in the GAY family tree. Three of her four “Excellent” daughters at Skagvale all had own daughters who passed along the true GAY type: Skagvale Telstar Gay (EX-92), Skagvale Maple Gay (EX-95), and Skagvale Tempo Gay 2nd (EX-91). (Her fourth “Excellent” daughter, Skagvale Lenmary Gay, never had any daughters.)

5^th generation Excellent… SKAGVALE TEMPO GAY 2ND-ET Excellent-91 LT: 192,880 3.5F 3.1P SKAGVALE TEMPO GAY 2ND-ET (EX-91) was a big, powerful, “no-nonsense” kind of cow. She spelled Power, Strength, Width and Longevity through and through! TEMPO GAY undoubtedly weighed in excess of a ton on many occasions. She was an easy, regular breeder and pretty much trouble-free (…a benefit of big, strong ‘tough’ cows!!) Unfortunately, TEMPO GAY had only two heifers during her lifetime. The oldest “VG-2y” was one of the high sellers ($6,400) in the 1987 Skagvale Opportunity Sale. The younger daughter was SKAGVALE PREFERRED T GAY (EX-91) who was retained through the pairing process in the 1994 “Skagvale Changing of the Guard” Sale (a testament as to what an important cornerstone we considered her to be in the rebuilding of the Skagvale herd following this dispersal sale for our Dad and Uncle’s retirement).

6^th generation Excellent… SKAGVALE PREFERRED T GAY-ET (RC) Excellent-91 6y 365 3x 32519 3.9 1258 3.1P LT: 141,360 3.8F 3.2P SKAGVALE PREFERRED T GAY-ET (RC) (EX-91) was, as mentioned previously, retained from the ’94 “Changing of the Guard” Sale due to the impact that we hoped she would have on the Skagvale herd. Her five direct maternal dams, … all Excellent, … have lifetime production averages of 212,838M 3.7%F, and she and her 5 dams all carry absolutely no US-born AI sires: no Elevation, no Bell, no Chief, no Astronaut, … a truly outcross pedigree!!! PREFERRED T GAY was crossed to Marshfield Elevation Tony, resulting in SKAGVALE MARS T GAY (RC) (VG-88). MARS T GAY was an dandy youngster who we expected to easily score “Excellent” and make a great milk record (she was an over-4.0F tester), but was devastatingly lost midway through her 3rd lactation … thereby never reaching her potential in this family where LONGEVITY is king. She did, however, leave us a daughter who is without a doubt one of the finest in the herd today …

7 maternal dams: 6 EX, 1 VG-88 SKAGVALE BENEFACTOR T GAY Excellent-94 4y 365 2x 32780 3.1 1011 3.1P 6y 365 2x 38,860 3.5 1356 2.9P LT: 136,550 3.2F 3.0P * currently in the Skagvale herd SKAGVALE BENEFACTOR T GAY (RC) (EX-94) is one that will make your mouth water!! Sired by Skagvale Benefactor [Carnation Counselor x Skagvale Mark Ellie Gay (EX-92)], she is big, tall, well-balanced and has a magnificent udder. We absolutely love this cow, and have semen from her red “Kite” son – Skagvale Flashy-Red for sale. We’re planning on flushing her extensively in an effort to get some offspring of this fabulous member of the T Gay family in the Skagvale herd. We’re sure that with the strength of her maternal line, BENEFACTOR T GAY will be the dam of some real good ones!! She’s one you’ll want to stay tuned for!!!

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