A sire of 33 All-Americans, Reserves

When Golden-Oaks Temptres ET won the laurels as the World Dairy Expo supreme champion, the Red & White blood in her veins traced back to a Minnesota-born sire from the 1920s-30s, Sir Inka May*RC.

An article in the Holstein-Friesian World dated Oct. 12, 1940, speaks of the impact of the then-living Sir Inka May.

“The Sir Inka May production and his influence on the breed today is perhaps greater than that of any other sire now living,” the article said.”

Sir Inka May was a Holstein bull who — along with many of his family members — was a red carrier. He was born at the Minnesota Holstein Company near Austin, Minnesota.

“The most lasting contribution to the dairy cattle industry (of Minnesota Holstein Company) is that through their cattle they unknowingly and irrevocably disseminated the recessive gene for red hair color throughout the North American Holstein population,” wrote dairy historian, Ron Eustice, in his book, “They Saw Red! History of Red & White Holstein Dairy Cattle in North America.”

Sir Inka May was the 1924 All-American junior yearling champion. According to “They Saw Red!”, he was the first All-American bull to produce an All-American daughter.

He ended up producing 18 All-Americans and 15 Reserve All-Americans according to a Holstein-Friesian World journal dated Oct. 12, 1940. Sir Inka May’s offspring also had high milk components.

“He has more 1,000-lb fat daughters (11) and more 800-lb fat daughters (45) than any other living sire of any breed,” the Holstein-Friesian World said. “In both categories standing second among all sires that ever lived to the late Matador Segis Ormsby.”

Sir Inka May’s butterfat can be attributed to his dam, May Walker Ollie Homestead. According to “They Saw Red!”, she held the U.S. butter production record at his birth. On Dec. 18, 1922, she had completed a lactation with 31,608.6 pounds of milk and 1,521.59 pounds of butterfat. She held the record for almost five years according to the Holstein-Friesian World.

She also was the dam of three All-Americans and an All-American produce of dam according to “They Saw Red!” On Sept. 1, 1927, the Farmers Independent made the following comment.

“No other animal has performed so sterlingly for the upbuilding of the dairy industry,” the paper said.

Sir Inka May’s sire was Sir Inka Superior Segis. An article dated May 3, 1923, in the Mower County News heralded Sir Inka May’s birth April 8, 1923.

“This introduces you to the Crown Prince of the Inka herd at the Minnesota Holstein Company,” the article said. “He is being groomed to keep up the family trait of being American champion of something.”

The Minnesota Holstein Company existed from 1919 to 1927, according to “They Saw Red!” records. It was operated by Vere Culver and his business partner, Alpha Eberhard, who was a Hormel executive at one time. The herd’s maximum size was 75 head, including youngstock. Over its existence, the farm won 85 first-place awards at national Holstein shows and 14 champions. In 1925, they won the premier breeder and premier exhibitor at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa. They also had six All-Americans in their herd, a record for that time.

At the dispersal, “They Saw Red!” said the 61 animals sold averaged $1,078, about three times the industry’s average cow price of $376.

A few months after his birth, a half interest in Sir Inka May was sold to four McLeod County, Minnesota, breeders for $25,000, the Mower County News reports. Adjusted for inflation, that would equal about $476,550 today.

According to “They Saw Red!” Sir Inka May sired at least 70 animals in Minnesota with over 30 being born to his McLeod County owners. In 1924, he spent time back at the Minnesota Holstein Company in the show string before returning to McLeod County.

In 1925, Sir Inka May was consigned to the Fourth Brentwood National sale in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The sale totaled $88,950 according to the May 28, 1925, Mower County News. Buyers from three countries and 18 U.S. states were present. Sir Inka May topped the sale, the May 14, 1925, edition reported. He sold for $12,000 to Carnation Milk Farms, Seattle, Washington. The article said Carnation Milk Farms was “prepared to go to $30,000.”

Carnation Milk Farms, Sir Inka May’s new home, was owned by a milk products company that was later bought out by Nestle in 1985. According to “They Saw Red!” the herd prioritized production with a goal to sell the genetics to the farms they bought milk from. In 1900, the average production of a dairy cow was 3,000 pounds of milk a year and in 1950, that number had risen to 7,000 pounds. Carnation Milk Farms on the other hand, had a record output in 1927 of 37,000 pounds.

After a couple years of service at Carnation, “They Saw Red!” records that Sir Inka May’s offspring had won over 90 blue ribbons in 1926 and 1927.

Sir Inka May’s progeny also revealed his red carrier status. According to “They Saw Red!” he sired 13 Red & White calves from 1928 to 1937. Several of his sons also sired red calves. Carnation Milk Farms had a total of 31 Red & White calves born from 1915 to 1965.

Eustice said in his book that though some say Sir Inka May brought Red & White Holstein genetics to Carnation Milk Farms, the evidence shows the genetics were already present.

Another myth Eustice dispels in an article in Cowsmo, Fall 2025, entitled, “From Outcasts to Supreme Champions — How Red & Whites Became Fashionable,” is that Sir Inka May came by his red genetics through an illegitimate, unrecorded Ayrshire father. However, his sire and other members of his family also produced red calves, disproving this.

Sir Inka continued siring at Carnation until about a year before his euthanized death July 15, 1943.

“At that time, the Carnation people claimed he had a greater influence on their program than any sire previously used,” said Eustice in ‘They Saw Red!’

Sir Inka May sired four of the main herd sires at Carnation Milk Farms, and six of his grandsons were also herd sires the Oct. 12, 1940, Holstein Friesian News reported.

There was strong prejudice against Red & White genetics in early Holstein circles.

Carnation Milk Farms tried to eliminate the red gene from the herd. “They Saw Red!” quotes from a 1963 edition of the farm’s magazine.

“The red factor is becoming so much a problem in some places that it does not seem advisable to run the risk of further spreading the factor throughout the breed,” the book quotes.

However, opinions quickly changed with global demand, “They Saw Red!” said. Carnation Milk Farms introduced Red & White bulls to A.I. in 1969.

It was over 25 years after Sir Inka May’s death that the registered herdbook allowed Red & Whites. Canada allowed them in 1969 and the U.S. followed in 1970, according to the article by Eustice in Cowsmo Fall 2025. Some state Holstein associations even took out ads in opposition before the by-law change.

The first World Dairy Expo Red & White show was held in 1968.

Today, Ron Eustice in “They Saw Red!” said almost all Red & White Holstein and Red & White carrier Holstein cattle trace back to a great-grandson of Sir Inka May, Montvic Rag Apple Sovereign.

“(He has) furnished herd sires and seed stock to countless herds, thus spreading the Sir Inka May influence to every corner of the world where Holsteins are known,” said the Oct. 12, 1940, Holstein Friesian World

Sources:

— “They Saw Red! History of Red & White Holstein Dairy Cattle in North America” by Ron Eustice.

— “From Outcasts to Supreme Champions — How Red & Whites Became Fashionable,” article by Ron Eustice, published in Cowsmo, Fall 2025.

— Expertise from dairy historian, Ron Eustice.

— Holstein-Friesian World, Oct. 12, 1940, edition.

— Mower County News, May 3, 1923; June 14, 1923; May 14, 1925; and May 28, 1925.

— Farmers Independent, Sept. 1, 1927.