CECIL, WI (WTAQ) – A Shawano County Cow has been named 2019 Cow of the Year.
Tequila Naomi, a seven-year-old Jersey lives on Milk-n-More Farms in Cecil.
“We knew she was special but until you write it all out, it is hard to document that.”
Milk-n-More Farms is owned by Ron and Nicolle Wussow, who purchased the fifth-generation farm from Nicolle’s parents, Roy and Mary Ellen Fischer, in 1999.
Nicolle Wussow says the family has been showing competitively since 2005.
After a successful summer show season, Naomi was named 2012 Reserve Junior All American Winter Calf at the All American Junior Jersey Show, and the Reserve Junior All Wisconsin Winter Calf. In 2014, she showed true promise as a senior two-year-old and again won Reserve Junior All American and Reserve Junior All Wisconsin laurels. As a four-year-old, she won 2016 All Wisconsin honors. In 2017, she earned Grand Champion honors at the Junior Show at the Wisconsin Spring Showcase, and she placed ninth in the five-year-old class at the All American Junior Show.
She was also the top cow at the Shawano County fair in 2017.
Wussow says she has excelled in show and in production and it made her a strong candidate for a top award.
“She has done above average for what the breed is and beyond what most show cows produce by her records. She showed well and competed well as a calf and then later on as a cow.”
While Naomi’s show ring career is impressive, she also was extremely productive on the farm. She has a lifetime production record of 115,010 lbs. of milk, 5,068 lbs. of fat, and 3,796 lbs. of protein. During her top year, she produced 28,560 lbs. of milk, with a 4.2% fat test for 1,208 lbs. of fat, and 3.2% protein for 910 lbs. of protein, with a total cheese yield of 3,141 lbs. Her first appraisal score was Very Good-89%, was later raised to Excellent-91%, and in 2017 was scored Excellent-93%.
Nicolle said Naomi has been a blessing to the family throughout the years. “She was one of our children’s favorite 4-H project animals with her sweet disposition and seeming love to compete at the shows.” Daughter, Kaila, is a University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF) graduate who works for the American Jersey Cattle Association as assistant director of communications. She resides in Twentynine Palms, Calif. with husband Joseph Tauchen, a graduate of UWRF and member of the U.S. Marine Corps. Son, Colin, is a sophomore at UWRF majoring in ag business with minors in dairy science and crop science. The Wussows are active members of the Wisconsin Jersey Breeders Association
She says it was her two children that convinced her to nominate Tequila Naomi.
“The kids are ones who were like “Mom, let’s just fill it out and see what happens.” We are very proud.”
Each year, a different Wisconsin purebred cattle association selects a cow to represent her breed as the Cow of the Year at World Dairy Expo. The honor rotates annually among Wisconsin’s seven major dairy breeds, (Guernsey, Ayrshire, Holstein, Red & White Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn), with the Jersey recognized this year.
She says this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“I don’t suspect that we will ever get it again.”
The cow and family will be honored next month during the International Jersey Show.
This is the first time the family has had a cow win Cow of the Year.
