Evergraze Holsteins, Armstrong, BC is a team effort, where accomplishment is measured in terms of being successful at what they do, and working well together as a team. The proof of this success comes with the recognition of a second Master Breeder Shield, which verifies the commitment the Wagner family has to their farm, their cows and to each other.
Terry Wagner, along with her children own and operate Evergraze Holsteins, since the death of her husband Bob in 2008. Her son Marc and his daughter Kelsey, and her daughter Michelle, along with two new grand-babies, Brynn and Brooklyn, make up the heart and soul of this family operation.
One hundred head call Evergraze home, 40 of which are milking, with one Lely Robot, and living in free-stalls. The herd is currently averaging 40kg of 3.93%f milk, going to the robot an average of 4.1 times per day. The herd classification breakdowns include one 4E cow, five 3E, three 2E, five Excellents, 23 Very Goods and 7 Good Plus.
The family farm consists of 80 acres. They feed grass silage, grass haylage, some corn silage, grass hay and purchase dry cow hay and textured grain to complete the ration for the herd. No TMR is fed, so all the grain the cows consume is fed through the robot.
The Wagner family opted to retire their 55-year-old, single-four Surge parlor and built a new free-stall barn with one Lely robot, moving into the new facility on October 13, 2015.
Achieving a Master Breeder Shield has been a goal that the family has always strived for, and after winning the first shield in 1999, they were keen to work on winning a second for the herd. One of their most influential families is their “M” family, of which Maria Storm was the matriarch.
When choosing service sires for the herd, they stick to high-type bulls. Current sires in use include Dempsey, Gold Chip, Absolute-Red, Aftershock and Bradnick. Bulls that have worked well in their herd in the past include Storm, Rudolph, Counselor, Hanoverhill Spirit, Blitz, Dundee and Mr Sam.
The herd is now a closed herd. The last purchase made made by Terry’s late husband Bob. In a partnership, Bob purchased Willswikk Blitz Ramona. Terry’s last purchase was another partnership animal, Wedgwood Atwood Hope. When buying the focus was always placed on deep pedigreed animals that look good.
Terry has done some flush work in the past, but not much in recent years, however she is interested in possibly pursuing some IVF work. Terry says a limited number of recipients is an issue for any type of flush program, and notes they have a bunch of embryos in the tank already.
Over the years, the Wagner family has remained true to their breeding philosophy and continues to work toward the goal of breeding good, functional, beautiful, long-lasting cow. They also plan to continue enjoying their new barn.
Cowsmopolitan would like to congratulate the Wagner family of Evergraze Holsteins on their accomplishment of their second Master Breeder Shield.
