Oak Grove Dairy

                                          Farm Owners Billy Epps, son Wayne, grandsons Jonathan and Jacob were doing their daily chores, when they had noticed that one of the dry cows had not come up to the bunk to eat.   As usually on a dairy farm, they began to wonder why and what had happened to Cow # 2067, and where is she?   So they left Jacob at the gate in case she happened to appear. Then Billy, Wayne, & Jonathan set out across the dry lot to find her. They noticed that a fence between the dry lot & a piece of woods was down.  So Billy went down one side and Wayne went down the other side and they sent Jonathan down the middle of the woods to search for cow # 2067.

   Shortly after Jonathan had begun his trip down the middle of the woods, he noticed the cow and called to his dad & grandfather,  “We’ve got calves”.   So Wayne yelled back to Jonathan , what do you mean we’ve got calves there’s only one cow to freshen.  Jonathan yelled back to Wayne, “Here’s # 2067 and she’s got three calves with her”.

   Billy said that when Wayne and I got to the place where Jonathan was, there was #2067 and she was beside herself, trying to attend to each one of her little girls.

   Wayne thought just like any other dairymen would, “OH Great, I wonder how many are heifers and how many are bulls?  So Wayne started checking to see what the count was, and after checking the third calf, he felt that he had made a mistake and went back over them again, surely one had to be a bull calf!   But as many times that Wayne checked, the count still remained the same – the triplets were all heifers.

   Now the Epps’ and Oak Grove Dairy are pretty proud to have the triplets and defying the odds of having all of them being heifers.

The heifers’ names are as follows: Bacon Castle AVA Hannah, Bacon Castle AVA Macy, Bacon Castle AVA Lucy

     Oak Grove Dairy – Billy & his father purchased the farm from a relative in 1955. At that time the farm was being operated as a small dairy & small sawmill operation. Today the Epps have a milking herd of 70 Holstein cows and 50 heifers, which are about 85% registered. A rolling herd average of 19,500 lbs of milk.

They Own 568 acres and rent additional 340 acres. They raise 200 acres of corn, 75 acres for silage & 125 acres for grain. 355 acres of soybeans – 35 acres of wheat for small grain silage & 90 acres of wheat for grain the wheat land is doubled cropped for beans. They also grow 35 acres of Sudex for silage & hay. They also make 65 acres of Orchard grass & Fescue hay. There is 40 acres of pasture and approx. 140 acres of woodland. Billy’s brother Hugh Epps is also a partner in the farming operation. Hugh manages all of the crops and fieldwork.

We are glad to report at this time that the triplets are doing fine. They are enjoying all of the visitors who stop by to see them.  If you would like to see the triplets, you can find them at: 

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation's 2007
Farm Woman of the Year

Janney Holsteins  
  
 James and LaVaun Janney operate Janney Holsteins on a rented farm near Stuart’s Draft.  They milk 85 Holsteins with a rolling herd average of 22,800 pounds of milk. 
James and LaVaun both grew up in Shenandoah County and met when James was asked to escort LaVaun
to her high school Homecoming Dance.  They have been
married six years and both have a real commitment
 to each other and their goal of having an outstanding herd of registered Holsteins.
James was active in the Virginia Junior Holstein Association and 4-H.  He was a member of the Virginia
 4-H Dairy Judging Team that won the national 4-H contest and he was high individual in the
 national 4-H contest.
 They have bred about 15 of the 85 registered cows and have bred all but one of the 70 heifer calves and
yearlings on the farm.  At the World Classic Sale at World Dairy Expo they purchased as a heifer, Grillsdale
Eagle Jazz.  She has developed into an outstanding Holstein cow that has been scored Excellent 91 points
with a 97 point score on frame.  She has two twin daughters that have just been scored 84 and 87 points. 
They have an Excellent Mirage great-granddaughter of Brookfield Elevation Pretty, EX-94, that they
purchased from Larry Kibler as a bred heifer.  Their goal of “buying good ones and breed from them”
 is certainly being met in these two purchases. 
They are now beginning to merchandise their registered Holsteins.  Last summer their consignment in the
Virginia Sale of Stars was bought by a 4-H’er from North Carolina who reported a very good show season with
the animal.  They are planning to have another consignment for the 2006 VA Sale of Stars.
Their real love is the show ring.  At the 2006 Virginia Spring Show they exhibited three blue ribbon winners. 
They have participated for the past several years in both the spring and summer state Holstein shows.
 They have one part-time helper, Andy Buchanan and custom hire most of their crop work.  They just
finished a new bedded pack barn that they hope will solve some cow management problems.  They have
also worked hard on meeting environmental regulations for the area of Christian’s Creek. 
They invited everyone to come by for a visit but do request that you give them a call at 540-337-4630 to let
them know you are coming.

Elevation Celebration!!!

            Over 250 Holstein breeders, dairymen, and friends of the dairy industry gathered on Saturday, July 22 to celebrate the life and accomplishments of the registered Holstein bull,  Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation.  The celebration was held at the Loudoun County Farm Heritage Museum in Sterling, Virginia. 
             Speakers for the program were Dr. James Nichols, former Dean of the School of Agriculture at Virginia Tech; Richard Chichester, retired Manager at Select Sires; and George Miller, former Marketing Manager of Select Sires and cousin of Ronald A. Hope.  Each related a story of how “Elevation” was purchased, developed, marketed, and his vast influence on dairy genetics worldwide.
 The event was concluded with the dedication of an historical roadside marker for Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation.  It is believed that this is the first and only historical marker for a dairy bull in the United States.  It will be installed near Round Oak Farm to commemorate the influence of the bull on dairy genetics.
           Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation was born near the small village of Airmont in Western Loudoun County at Round Oak Farm.  His breeder, Ronald A. Hope, was a well known and highly respected Holstein breeder who was one of the earliest users of the bull Osborndale Ivanhoe.  “Elevation” was the result of a cross of Tidy Burke Elevation being used on an Excellent Ivanhoe daughter, Round Oak Ivanhoe Eve.
           July 20, 1966 was an important day for two males, one human and one a bovine.  Foxlease Farm, Upperville, Virginia hosted the 1966 Virginia Holstein Field Day and the guest speaker was Rep. Gerald Ford of Michigan.  After the Field Day, a group of Holstein breeders representing Virginia Animal Breeders went to nearby Round Oak Farm to look at a young Holstein bull by the name of Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation.  Who knew that Gerald Ford would become President and “Elevation” would have such an important impact on Holstein genetics worldwide?
          Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation has over 70,000 registered Holstein offspring and over 9 million descendants worldwide.  He was named “Bull of the Century” by “Holstein International”.  It certainly would be a very difficult task to research a modern day Holstein’s pedigree and not find “Elevation” in it.