Wussow Earns Top Prize in ’22 Pot O’Gold Production Contest
In his last year of eligibility, Colin Wussow, Cecil, Wis., has topped the 2022 Pot O’Gold Production Contest with JX Bar MB Avon Klay Brooklynn 16312 {4}.
She produced a first lactation with a value of $6,402.01 to earn first place.
The milk wagon and equity builder started her milking career in June 2020 as a milking yearling. She showed promise from the start, giving 84 lbs. milk on her first test in July. She gave 91 lbs. milk in September and 96 lbs. in February at 239 days in milk. She wound up with 23,830 lbs. milk, 1,174 lbs. fat and 904 lbs. protein in 295 days on 3x milking. She calved again a year later and made another stellar record of 23,680 lbs. milk, 1,160 lbs. fat and 884 lbs. protein at 2-9.
“Brooklynn 16312 {4}” was fresh again in mid-May 2022 with her third calf. She gave 103 lbs. milk a month fresh and had 126 lbs. milk on her most recent test in August. She is projected to 28,860 lbs. milk, 1,358 lbs. fat and 1,003 lbs. protein actual at 3-8.
Colin has also been blessed with the luck of the Irish as she has given him three heifer calves by natural birth. He purchased “Brooklynn 16312 {4}” from Boer Jerseys, Dalhart, Texas, in the 2019 Pot O’Gold Production Sale for $1,900. For winning the contest, he will receive a check for $2,345.49, nearly $450 more than the price he paid.
Colin has fared well in Jersey youth competitions over the years. He won the National Jersey Youth Production Contest with Michael Centurion Darla in 2009 and was named winner of the National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest in 2020. He and his family operate Milk-n-More Farms in Cecil.
Awards Ceremony
Colin and 36 other juniors who placed in either the 2022 Pot O’Gold Production Contest or the 2021 National Jersey Youth Production Contest will be recognized for their achievements on November 4, 2022, at the Junior Banquet, which wraps up junior events at The All American in Louisville, Ky.
The 22 winners in the Pot O’Gold Production Contest will receive certificates and cash prizes from the funds set aside from the sale three years ago.
Records for the contest were ranked by the dollar value of the record. Values were determined by calculating the 305-day mature equivalent (m.e.), then applying Federal Order component values for the previous year along with a weighted average Producer Price Differential (PPD). This is the second time this method has been used in the Pot O’Gold Production Contest. Those values were $1.89 per pound fat, $2.76 per pound protein, $0.39 per pound solids and -$0.14 per pound PPD.
Contest Details
Since its inception in 1958, the Pot O’Gold Sale has offered youth between the ages of seven and 20 the opportunity to purchase genetically superior heifers from top herds across the country. A percentage of the sale gross (varying from 7-25% over the years) is set aside in a fund and held for three years to provide cash awards for the juniors whose heifers complete the highest records for dollar value.
On November 9, 2019, the 62nd program offered 35 heifers to juniors in the Pot O’Gold Sale in Louisville. From the sale of those heifers, $13,030.50 was set aside in the fund to pay out this year. It will be distributed as follows: first prize, 18%; second, 11.5%; third, 8%; fourth, 6.5%; fifth, 6%; sixth, 5.5%; seventh, 5%; eighth, 4.5%; ninth and 10th, 4%; 11th-13th, 3%; 14th-16th, 2.5% each; 17th-19th, 2.0%; and 20th-22nd, 1.5%.
To qualify for competition in the Pot O’Gold Production Contest, heifers must calve before they reach 30 months-of-age, be tested in a DHI herd owned by the purchaser or his or her parents and have a Data Collection Rating (DCR) of 90 or higher for protein. Loss, death or transfer of ownership of any purchase before the record is complete eliminates the heifer from competition.
This year, 25 of the 35 entries met the qualifications to compete in the 2022 edition of the contest. The 25 records had an average m.e. of 22,219―1,086―819 and an average value of $4,773.88.
Other Top Placings
Placing second in the contest is Peelers Oliver Apricot 1837-Twin, owned by Renee Lydia Bok, Defiance, Ohio. “Apricot 1837” also won Division I of the 2021 National Jersey Youth Production Contest.
The daughter of Dutch Hollow Oliver-P, GJPI +12, produced a first lactation with a value of $6,225.90. She calved in August 2020 as a milking yearling and peaked with 89 lbs. milk in December and 88 lbs. in January. She completed a 305-day record of 20,470 lbs. milk, 1,159 lbs. fat and 835 lbs. protein. The m.e. on the 1-9 record is 26,927―1,452―1,070.
Renee purchased “Apricot 1837” from Iris Barham Peeler, Davis and L.D. Peeler, Starr, S.C., in the 2019 Pot O’Gold Sale. She will receive a check for $1,498.51, an amount well over the purchase price of $1,250.
Michigan junior Colton Haywood of Hastings placed third with his entry, JX Cal-Mart Craze Briza 565 {6}-ET. The daughter of River Valley Circus Craze-ET, GJPI +61, was a donor dam at Sand Creek Dairy LLC, operated by Colton and his family in west-central Michigan, prior to calving for the first time in July 2021.
“Briza 565 {6}” started her milking career with 78 lbs. milk in August 2021 and peaked with 94 lbs. milk in December. She completed a 305-day record of 23,910 lbs. milk, 1,346 lbs. fat and 919 lbs. protein on 3x milking. The m.e. on the 2-5 record is 26,221―1,485―1,019 and the value is $5,998.11. She is appraised Very Good-84%.
She gave 69 lbs. milk at 351 days fresh on her most recent test in July 2022. She has five registered daughters to date, including Sandcreeks Thrasher 14198-ET, with a GJPI of +124.
Colton purchased “Briza 565 {6}” from Martin Dairy LLC, Tillamook, Ore., in the Pot O’Gold Sale for $2,500. He will receive a check for $1,042.44.
The high selling heifer of the 2019 Pot O’Gold Sale, JX Ahlem Brothers Stormcloud 41090 {5}, placed fourth in the production contest. Owned by Henry Dizek, Hadley, Mass., the Very Good-82% daughter of JX Ahlem Boudreaux Stormcloud {4}-ET, GJPI +93, produced a first lactation with a value of $5,550.99.
The consistent, steady producer calved in May 2020 and gave 68 lbs. milk on her first test in June. She completed a 305-day record of 18,960 lbs. milk, 997 lbs. fat and 668 lbs. protein at 1-10 and was still giving 49 lbs. milk in December 2021. Though she left the herd shortly after, Henry has opportunity to continue her bloodlines through her daughter, JX Ahlem Brothers Disco Star {6}.
Henry purchased “Stormcloud 41090 {5}” from Ahlem Brothers, Hilmar, Calif., for $4,300. For his fourth-place rank, he will receive a check for $846.98.
Addison Fischer, Cecil, Wis., placed fifth in the 2022 Pot O’Gold Production Contest with her purchase, OSU-ATI Chrome Ohio 2666. The Very Good-88% “Chrome” daughter produced a milking yearling record with a value of $5,479.01.
She is a herdmate to “Brooklynn 16312 {4}” at Milk-n-More Farms in Cecil. She freshened with her first calf in February 2021. She peaked with 89 lbs. milk in June and produced 21,570 lbs. milk, 1,007 lbs. fat and 820 lbs. protein in 291 days at 1-11. The m.e. of the record is 25,078―1,200―985.
“Ohio 2666” calved again in February 2022 with a heifer calf―Addisons Tucker Oklahoma―and gave 107 lbs. milk on her first test in March. She produced 88 lbs. milk on her most recent test and is projected to 23,839 lbs. milk, 1,204 lbs. fat and 898 lbs. protein actual at 2-11.
Addison purchased “Ohio 2666” from the OSU Agricultural Technical Institute, Wooster, Ohio, at the sale in 2019 for $2,300. She will receive a check for $781.83.
Other juniors being recognized in the 2022 Pot O’Gold Production Contest are Bailey Graves, Dundas, Ill.; Devin Haywood, Hastings, Mich.; Lydia Chittenden, Schodack Landing, N.Y.; Clayton Kirchdoerfer, Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Coltan Owen Seals, Beaver, Ore.; Camille Herrera, Hilmar, Calif.; Eneli Jenson, Wellsville, Utah; Ryan Mattingly Jr., Five Points, Calif.; Kylie and Kiara Konyn, Escondido, Calif.; Elaina Hodge, Norwich, Ohio; Clara Lynn Evans, Chester, S.C.; Addison Josi, Tillamook, Ore.; Ela May Hebgen; Jacob Lars Ahlem, Hilmar, Calif.; Griffen Auer, New London, Wis.; Hobbs Lutz, Chester, S.C.; and Kennedy Paul, Milton, Wis.
The 65th Pot O’Gold Sale is scheduled for November 4, 2022, in Louisville. The animals purchased from this sale will compete in the 2025 Pot O’Gold Production Contest. It will begin at 7:00 p.m.
