Top Acres Present ET

The Brown Swiss Cow was painted to resemble Top Acres Present ET owned by Sunshine Genetics of Whitewater, WI  in partnership with Garrison Brothers of Ohio.  She was purchased as a 2 year old from Wayne and Connie Sliker of Ohio.  The Garrison Brothers, Dr. Keim and Dr Hornickel were looking for a young cow to develop for their embryo program that was a promising individual with good conformation and an exceptional pedigree.  This cow later exceeded all expectations as her genetic potential was realized.  

Present was admired for her milk production, with over 40,000 pounds 

(80,000 cups) of milk produced in her second lactation. In her four lactations, this cow produced over 182,000 pounds of milk with exceptional levels of fat and protein that cheesemakers like, 4.9% fat and 3.5% protein.  Her milk production earned Present two Honor Roll Awards from the Brown Swiss Breeders Association.

Present matured into the type of cow that all dairy farmers dream of.  She was analyzed or classified for “her looks” or conformation, rating “Excellent 94 points”, the maximum score for the breed at that time.  She was also the first cow to be scored 96 in mammary system.  Compared to most cows, she was a glamorous movie star.

Because of the performance of Present’s offspring, she earned the Superior Brood Cow (SBC) designation.  She was the 4th generation of “Excellent” “SBC” cows.  A very rare genetic pedigree 

One of the employees of Sunshine Genetics who cared for Present asked to take her to World Dairy Expo with the other Sunshine Show cows.  But considering that she wouldn’t be likely to win her class, it was decided she would stay at Sunshine, where she would be seen by the busloads of international breeders as they entered the barn.  The admirers of Present and her daughters led to future frozen embryo contracts with AI companies and breeders from other countries. 

Present was an exciting genetic “package”.  She produced 57 calves through the use of embryo technology, 38 females and 19 males.  Her outstanding daughters and their descendants have also been embryo producers.  Artificial insemination (AI ) companies purchased eight of Present’s sons.  Her most popular son, Sun-Made Garbro Pronto, at Alto Genetics sired 16,000 daughters and was in great demand by European breeders for several years.

Present’s genetics are still in demand today as her descendants can be found in herds throughout the world. Can we say that Present was “a gift” to the Brown Swiss breed?