Brown Swiss herd to showcase at Minnesota State Fair

SPRING GROVE, Minn. - To celebrate 100 years of the Brown Swiss breed in Minnesota, the Klug and Beranek families will be featured at the Minnesota State Fair as a part of Moo Booth’s dairy showcase herd.
“It’s a long time coming,” Myriah Klug said. “We realized several years ago that it would be 100 years of the Brown Swiss breed in Minnesota so we spoke to the state fair and they agreed to let our breed be showcased. It turned out to be easiest for our families to take it on.”
The Klugs will be bringing 12 cows from their farm, Cozy Valley, as well as three cows and one heifer from Linda Beranek and her family who own Bluff View Farm.
“We will have cows from 2-years-old all the way up to some 8-years-old,” Klug said. “We just want to highlight the rich heritage of Brown Swiss in Minnesota.”
Myriah, her husband, Matt Klug, and their kids, Estelle, Maverick and Dallas, farm with Matt’s parents, Steve and Ann Klug, and Matt’s brother, Darrel, his wife, Krista, and their kids, Carter, Katie and Chayce. They milk 100 cows near Spring Grove. Matt’s sister, Julie, and her son, Nikoli, are also involved with showing but not the day-to-day operations as Julie has an off-farm job.
The herd at Cozy Valley is mostly Brown Swiss with some Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns.
“I was born and raised a Holstein girl so when I met my husband, I brought some with me and we’ve been slowly growing our Holsteins ever since,” Klug said.
The Beraneks - Paul and daughters, Linda Beranek, Sandy Johnson and Tammy Reichenbacher, and her husband, Tom, and their kids, Maya and Ella - milked for a number of years before retiring and now house their eight cows at John and Karyl Dierson’s in Caledonia.
Showing dairy cattle is rich in both the Beranek and Klug families, and most of the animals they will be bringing to the fair are show animals.
“Matt and I actually met at the state fair back in 2007 so it’s always fun to show there,” Klug said. “Most of the animals are also already broke to lead and quite friendly so it was naturally a really good fit for us to bring them. There will be a few new faces though because it is challenging to find that many show cows to bring.”
The families have shown their herd at many open class shows, county fairs and the state fair. The Klugs’ children have also shown at the Southeast Minnesota Youth Show and the Minnesota Brown Swiss Association youth show held in conjunction with the state sale which Matt organizes along with Mark Fjelstad from Minnesota.
“We like to engage as much as possible with the public while we’re there,” Klug said. “We’ve always prided ourselves in keeping our area clean and well-kept so people approach us and ask questions.”
Klug is also involved in the Houston County American Dairy Association, Matt was a National Director for the Brown Swiss Association, and Steve was on the board of directors for their creamery, Swiss Valley (now Prairie Farms), for many years.  
“Our family likes to step up and take active roles in participating in our communities and organizations,” Klug said.
Their herd is also well known and has made a huge impact on the breed. In 2005, Matt bought some embryos which resulted in the bull, Top Acres C Wonderment.
“We have a lot of diversity amongst our herd as we have both show and some genomic animals,” Klug said.
The family also partnered with Mark and Diane Fjelstad of Zumbro Falls to create BMG Genetics. That partnership led to the development of BMG Lust Get Lucky, a breed leader for milk production for the Brown Swiss breed.
“We have worked hard to create more genomic animals, have really good cow families and put several bulls in stud,” Klug said.
“We really believe in developing good, solid families that have stood the test of time. A daughter of Blessing Prophet Ashton was purchased by Myriah at the Maryland National Convention and her granddaughter will be featured in the showcase, as well as a daughter of (World Dairy) Expo grand champion, Eloc Wagor Kandid.”
Throughout the fair, they plan to highlight the benefits of the Brown Swiss breed by using videos from the Minnesota Brown Swiss ambassadors as well as explaining farming practices in general.
“I really want to highlight why Brown Swiss and show the public why we treat cows the way we do and why we have the breed we have,” Klug said. “Most people don’t know where their food comes from, and I have a unique perspective because I work for a dairy processing company and see both sides of the product from when it’s produced on the farm to when it hits the factory and how those different products are made.”
Brown Swiss are also higher in components which are better for making cheese, are more heat resistant and have lower somatic cell counts, Klug said.
In preparation for the showcase, Klug has worked with Midwest Dairy and plans to have a QR code for people to scan during the fair.
“I’m hoping that this is an engagement that will reach the younger generation,” Klug said. “They may not be as comfortable coming up and asking questions face to face so I’m hoping that they will be able to get their information this way and be more willing to ask questions.”
Throughout the 12 days of the fair, the Klugs, Linda and Kevin Brown, will be handling chores as well as two overnight people.
“Linda is what we call the super sweeper,” Klug said. “She keeps everything clean and everybody on task. We couldn’t do it without her support. Kevin also worked with the Sprengelers for a number of years so it will help to have his insight on what to do. It really takes a village to do this.”
Meanwhile, Steve and Darrel will be handling chores on the farm and keeping everything going while the family is at the fair.
The Klugs normally just bring their animals to the state fair for open class and occasionally for 4-H but are looking forward to staying at the fair for the whole duration this year.
“Our intent is to bring several cows to the showcase and then also show many, if not all, of them in the open class show,” Klug said. “I’m excited that we won’t have to move in the middle of the night like we’re used to. We will already be set and just have to bed down and bring the animals back in instead of unloading multiple trailer loads of stuff when we arrive for open class.”
To get ready for the fair, the Klugs have to make some final touches on the marketing end of things, clip animals and work with a few animals who will be new to the show ring.
“Our county fair is the week before the state fair starts, and it’s my son’s first year showing in 4-H,” Klug said. “So, we will be coming right from the county fair straight to the 12 days of the state fair, but we are definitely ready for that challenge.”
At the fair, Klug hopes to share her passion for the dairy industry with the public and tell people how important it is to add dairy to their diet and daily lives.
“We want to encourage kids who are in sports to refuel with chocolate milk and let the public know that dairy farming is environmentally friendly,” Klug said. “We have made so many strides, are very focused on our environmental impact and want to let everyone know dairy is safe and nutritious.”