Bred for the spotlight

COLFAX, Wis. — Jason and Heidi Benson’s dedication to excellent breeding was recently rewarded. A young Sable buck they bred in partnership with Ed Jodlowski was selected for the American Dairy Goat Association’s national Spotlight Sale, to be held July 2 in West Springfield, Massachusetts, following five days of breed class competition.

The Bensons milk 75 dairy goats at Lymett Farms and Idle-A-Wile Dairy Goats near Colfax in Chippewa County. The herd is comprised primarily of registered Sables, Alpines, Saanens and Toggenburgs and some recorded grades. They ship milk to LaClare Creamery.

Kickapoo-Valley GRP Vesuvius will be representing the Bensons’ herd as their first Spotlight Sale consignment. Vesuvius is a young buck that represents the fruition of years of dreams, with a sprinkle of luck thrown in.

“It’s exciting to have an animal selected for this sale,” Heidi said. “It is transitioning from being held at the national convention to being at the national show, so now the animals will be on-site, along with their supporting animals — sisters, dams, grandams and other female family members.”

The Sable breed is relatively new, in terms of ADGA recognition, first added to the association in 2006. The breed is more of a genetic offshoot or color variant of the Saanen breed — similar to Red & White Holsteins, versus the traditionally colored black and whites.

“A lot like Red & White breeders did, (Sable) breeders pushed the association to accept the Sable breed,” Heidi said. “So, while the breed is only about 20 years old according to the association, it really goes back to the same European roots as the Saanens.”

Sired by Grande Ronde NSNN Pendleton, who descends from a line of champion does, Vesuvius also comes from a line of national champion does on his dam’s side. His dam, GCH Kickapoo-Valley KVKM Lavaberry 10*M, was the 2024 national champion and best udder, and has two reserve best udder and two national show total performer awards on her resume as well. Lavaberry is also a breed leader for milk production and scored 92 points.

The granddam, GCH Kickapoo-Valley JDC Jakiaberry 9*M, scored 92 points, and took home ADGA national show junior champion honors in 2017.

Vesuvius’s great-grandam, GCH Joash PRB Akiaberry 8*M, was the 2013 junior national champion and the 2014 senior national champion and reserve best udder. Akiaberry was also the 2016 reserve senior champion and reserve best udder. Akiaberry is also scored 92 points.

“Vesuvius’s great-grandam was Ed’s first Sable doe; his son won her on a raffle,” Jason said. “He turned her into a national champion and she has produced national champions. The family really is the complete picture — they milk and they look good doing it.”

The Bensons came to own Lavaberry when Jodlowski dispersed his Sable herd to concentrate on achieving the same level of success with the Alpine breed.

“Ed knew I really liked the Sables,” Heidi said. “He approached me a couple of years ago and asked if I’d be interested in purchasing his Sables when he was ready to sell. It was a no-brainer. I told him I just needed a couple of months’ notice to make room for them.”

Last year, Jodlowski let the Bensons know he had a group ready to sell them, which included Lavaberry.

“She’d suffered an injury that would keep her from returning to the show ring, but Ed wanted to get another set of kids out of her,” Heidi said. “He knew we were interested in working with reproductive technology, and because we have a commercial dairy, we had recipients available.”

Lavaberry produced 10 embryos, eight of which were viable. The flush resulted in six confirmed pregnancies and five live births, statistics that exceeded the Bensons’ expectations.

Vesuvius, along with four does and another buck, were the result of that successful embryo transfer, and were born in March — a day Jason remembers as a stressful one.

“They were born the week after the big snowstorm,” Jason said. “It was cold, Heidi was traveling for work, and I was having trouble with the drain in the milkhouse. They weren’t due for a couple of days yet, but of course they came, all on the same day, when it was less than ideal.”

As he watched each kid be born, Jason said he got more excited with each one.

“I kept thinking, ‘This might be the best kid we’ve ever had born here,’” Jason said. “They really make coming to the barn every day a lot of fun, watching them grow and develop.”

Lavaberry is still thriving in the Bensons’ herd at 7 years old, despite the injury that sidelined her from the show ring. The Bensons are making plans to do more flush work on the prolific doe in hopes of making more kids of the caliber of Vesuvius and his flush mates.

While Vesuvius will make the trip to Massachusetts for the sale, bucks are not eligible for the show, so he will rely on his sisters to represent him prior to the sale.

Besides his flushmates, Vesuvius will be represented by two other daughters of Lavaberry that the Bensons own, along with other females from both Lavaberry’s family and from the family of Vesuvius’s sire, Pendleton.

As she prepares to head to the national show with 14 goats in tow, Heidi said she has been reflecting on what Vesuvius’s selection to the Spotlight Sale means to their breeding program.

“Being able to offer an animal from our barn in the sale, especially one of this caliber, with this pedigree, that’s really a dream come true for us,” Heidi said. “Creating an animal that embodies all of our goals, with the pedigree and genetics to impact another breeder’s herd and make a contribution to the breed, that’s what we love about breeding and developing these animals. They bring us so much joy and satisfaction.”