A generational event

HUMBIRD, Wis. — Ever since its inception, World Dairy Expo has been intertwined in the life of the Pralle family of Selz-Pralle Dairy near Humbird.

“Expo was the family event — it was our family vacation, it was what we did,” Pam Selz-Pralle said. “I didn’t ever go to homecoming in high school, because it was always during Expo.”

Pam and her husband, Scott Pralle, milk 450 cows on their Clark County farm. The dairy is home to Joliam Holsteins and their three children: Ryan, Jessica and Nicole.

“We’d get our yellow Kent bags and go around and pick up all the things,” Pam said. “Going to Expo was the first time I ever went to a Burger King, coming into the west side of Madison. It was a big deal for us farm kids from central Wisconsin.”

Scott’s first Expo experience came in college.

“My dad was always on the Tri-State board or involved with (National Association of Animal Breeders), so my parents would go for meetings and I’d stay home and take care of things,” Scott said. “Once I got in college, I started helping Tom Morris and Jim Hoskens with their show string.”

Growing up, Pam never realized the extent to which her family had been involved in the earliest days of WDE. Her father, John Selz, sat on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Holstein Association when the first event took place in 1967 and was involved in the beginnings of the show. He was elected president of the WHA in 1968 and continued to be involved with Expo.

“Going through old papers of my dad’s, I found old minutes and letters on letterhead from before the show was actually even called World Dairy Expo — when it was called the World Food Expo,” Pam said. “They were things that Mrs. Hetts would have typed up on old carbons and old mimeographs — really just fascinating to read.”

As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pam recalls working with the Badger Dairy Club at WDE.

“Back then the BDC students provided nightline services in all the barns,” Pam said. “We’d walk around keeping the animals clean. Barb (Natzke) and I always liked doing the Milking Shorthorn barn. They showed early in the week, and never got upset if animals got too dirty — so we were able to run around and have some fun, too.”

Pam recalls when Expo hosted social events for exhibitors and dairy enthusiasts.

“I remember the square dances, the big parties they would have, and the dances they would have in the Forum building,” Pam said.

While Expo has changed over the years, the primary reason the Pralles attend remains the same.

“It is really about the cows and the people,” Pam said. “It’s a social gathering, a place to see everyone. And it is like the art fair, the breeding art fair. You go to see the daughters of the bulls you might like to use, and really just everything about the industry.”

Not every idea that came home from Expo turned out to be a good one, Pam said.

“One year we went down to Madison, and all those (Hilltopper) Warden daughters were winning — they were big, powerful, massive heifers,” Pam said. “We came back home and started using Warden. That was a disaster — they didn’t milk, they didn’t breed back.”

Scott was surprised to hear Warden had been a service sire in the Joliam herd.

“Your dad used Warden?” he said.

Pam laughed in reply.

“They were impressive to look at,” she said.

The Pralles admit they use fewer of the bulls siring the show-winning Holsteins these days, recognizing the importance of staying true to their own breeding goals.

“Everyone comes home, all excited to use the new bull siring all the show winners,” Scott said. “I usually tell them that we’ll just hold off for a while and see how they turn out.”

Keeping that focus has allowed the Pralles to find success within their own herd.

“We focus on breeding cows that are functional and well-balanced,” Pam said. “They need to look good, but they need to earn their keep. We’ve got 50,000-pound cows and 96 Excellent scored cows walking around out in the barn.”

While they do not breed cattle to create an Expo winner, they said they enjoy marketing competitive animals.

“Even if you’re not trying to breed those types of animals or using those bulls, you can still enjoy your time at Expo,” Pam said.

When it comes to visiting the trade show, Pam has traded in her yellow Kent bag for a more streamlined approach.

“I typically go through the trade show to look for specific things, based on the current technology,” Pam said. “One year it was to look at milk taxis, another year it was to look for things to improve upon our freestalls and decrease our sand usage.”

The educational opportunities that Expo added have sparked interest in the Pralle family.

“There are always some seminars I enjoy taking in,” Pam said. “Since you can’t be there every single day, it is nice to now have the option to watch or listen remotely, and also to have them available on-demand.”

With their own family, the Pralles continued the Expo tradition as their children grew up.

“We took our kids down to compete in the junior show and do showmanship and the fitting contest,” Pam said. “They were all involved with Badger Dairy Club and had that experience, too. Now they’re following in their grandpa’s footsteps.

She said they volunteer and have been elevated to take on leadership roles within Expo. Jessica and Nicole work together as the superintendents of the youth contests, overseeing the fitting and showmanship contests.

Watching their children take on those roles has really driven home the idea that Expo is a generational event.

“Who would have ever thought Jessica would work alongside and learn from people like Verlo DeWall and Bill Hageman, Sr., as a volunteer?” Pam said. “These young people are working with the older generation, developing those relationships because they all have something in common: a love for the artistry of breeding.”