As a teenager, Leroy helped out on his uncle’s dairy farm in Sibley, Iowa, and developed a passion for it. Now, over 30 years later, he is actively involved in promoting the dairy industry – especially Holsteins. Serving in his 5th year on the Board of Directors of the USA Holstein Association, Leroy has been a major voice for unity within the dairy industry on matters of supply management programs and breeding concerns and writes for a quarterly dairy magazine. In addition to his work in the USA Holstein Association, he also received the Hall of Fame Award from the Iowa Holstein Association in 2010, and has served as Past President of the IHA, and on his local DHIA board. He has been awarded the Progressive Breeders’ Registry Award five times! Even his children enjoy showing their cows!
Leroy enjoys being on the farm and values the freedoms that a farming lifestyle affords. He has learned the importance of balancing profitability and milk production with having quality cows – which he breeds himself. His 46 cows are averaging 78 lbs/cow (herd: 21,500) and seldom have the problems they used to have just a couple of years ago, and their SCC numbers typically range in the upper 100’s to lower 200’s, with very little mastitis.
When Leroy contacted AlphaGenetics, Inc. in early 2011, having been referred to us by a fellow dairyman, his cows had SCC and reproductive problems. He decided to start using the Udder Program products right away. Early on, he saw drastic improvements, and has had consistent benefits since then: improvements in breeding and conception (for example, he recently had an 85% success rate), and lower SCC numbers.
We asked Leroy if he had any advice for others considering joining the Udder Program: “Try it – it’s worked for me and I’m happy! It’s cost effective, and you can make it pay. You have to try it for some length of time and make your own decision.” We salute Leroy Eggink and his family – real dairy heroes
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