Half of the story .... Part One

This is my first crack at doing a blog, so we will see how it goes. -Ben

Vaughn Brancel

Brancel Farms, now the home of Next Generation Genetics, has been in existence since 1865. Tod and Sondra, the current owners, are the 6th generation of Brancels to farm the land near Endeavor, WI. The farm started out with a little of everything as far as livestock, but eventually became a dairy farm with some pigs. The hogs were referred to as the mortgage burners. My uncle, Fred Brancel, brought some of the first registered Holsteins onto the farm after graduating college. He left for the mission field in the late 40’s as an agricultural missionary. Shortly there after, my father, Vaughn returned from Farm and Industry Short Course at the UW Madison to join my Uncle Earl on the farm. They farmed together until 1965 when my uncle decided to leave the farm. He joined what was then a new Co-op called Wisconsin Dairies.

My father and mother farmed alone until 1972 when I came home from college and farmed with them in a working relationship. In 1975, my father and mother left the farm and my wife, Gail and I took over Brancel Farms. I was involved in 4-H growing up and showed dairy cattle at the local and state fair. My father had maintained the registration papers on the offspring of those original animals my uncle had purchased and added one every once in awhile. Thus my interest in high quality dairy cattle was instilled in me at an early age. I enjoyed the show ring and the people you meet while competing. My family had one of the top producing herds in our county for many years starting with my grandfather.

When Gail and I were farming on our own, we developed a friendship with Wally and Arlene Lindskoog of Arlinda Farms in California. Wally instilled in me the wisdom to have balanced cows that had strength/dairy plus body/udder and a structural conformation that produced lots of milk over a number of lactations. We ended up with a rolling herd average just short of 24,000# in the 1980’s. Eventually we went back to showing some at district and state black and white shows and even World Dairy Expo. We had the good fortune to have Grand Champion once in a while, which was pretty good considering we were not breeding for the show ring.

Tod, Gail and Ben

By the time Tod was five or six, he was taking an interest in showing our registered Holsteins and did well on the local level. As he grew older, along his friend Tommy Lyon from Westfield, his desire to compete at a higher level was building. One day he asked if he could breed some cows for the purpose of showing.  I said he could have one cow. He bred that cow the way he wanted and she calved with a beautiful heifer calf that grew like gang busters. Then one morning, there she lay dead at three months of age. He bred that cow back the same way and again a great heifer but this time it lived and he showed her several times, either winning or standing near the top each time. Now this cow he bred to the bull of his choice and her daughter he showed at the State Black and White Show, World Dairy Expo, at the NAILE in Louisville, and Harrisburg and she was selected as the All American Junior Two Year Old. Now that’s a feat, I, his father could never have reached. So now you have the brief version of the early start of one half of the Tod and Sondra of Next Generation Genetics. Next blog, I will share more as I remember it...