Daffodil blooms in August

WAUSAU, Wis. — When she was younger, Alex Jaskolski admits she was not immediately drawn to the cows on her family’s Marathon County farm. That passion was sparked later, when she followed along as her younger sister prepared to show cattle at their local fair.

“I was a little behind when I started showing; I was 12 the first time I showed at the fair,” Jaskolski said. “The first time I showed at the county fair, I had a Jersey cow named Cara that my grandpa had bought for me from a dispersal sale in Minnesota.”

Iota Action Hero Cara launched Jaskolski’s career as a fair exhibitor, being selected as the grand champion Jersey before being named the reserve supreme champion of the Wisconsin Valley Fair in Wausau.

From that moment, Jaskolski, a recent graduate of Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School, was hooked.

“Now I just love cows, everything about them,” Jaskolski said. “Having that ribbon handed to you, it felt good to have all the hard work pay off. That drive just finally kicked in and I didn’t want to stop showing.”

At this year’s edition of the Wisconsin Valley Fair, Jaskolski experienced another thrill when her 8-year-old Ayrshire cow, River-Bridge Burdet Daffodil-ET, turned away all her competitors to become the first Ayrshire to ever win the fair’s supreme championship title. She was also the first colored breed cow to accomplish the feat in over a decade.

“Here in Marathon County, we have some amazing Holsteins,” Jaskolski said. “There are some of the best Holstein breeders here and they bring some really nice, fancy cows.”

For judge Kaleb Kruse, he said Daffodil claimed the final prize easily in her seventh lactation.

“When this cow hit the ring, I thought to myself, ‘It’s going to take a really good one to beat her,’” Kruse said. “A cow at that age, with that many calves, and yet she moves around the ring so easily, with so much comfort.”

Jaskolski and Daffodil have a history together. Jaskolski’s father purchased the cow as a 3-year-old in 2020. That year, the Jaskolskis showed her at the Wisconsin State Ayrshire Show, where she was the fourth-place junior 3-year-old.

“She was pretty immature in her udder when she was young,” Jaskolski said. “We kept her for two more years. She was the grand champion Ayrshire at the county fair and went out in the supreme champion drive, but she’d never been picked.”

Jaskolski said she quickly became attached to Daffodil.

“She is my best bud,” she said.

As she aged, Daffodil no longer fit in the free stalls made for Jerseys on the Jaskolski’s farm. She was sold to the Jaskolski’s close friend, fellow Ayrshire breeder Damian Ullmer.

Last year, Jaskolski’s father surprised her by purchasing Daffodil back as a gift for her 17th birthday.

“I just couldn’t stop talking about her after she was sold,” Jaskolski said. “I love that cow more than life itself. It made her winning this year all the more special, because my dad had given her back to me.”

Daffodil is like a local celebrity at the Wausau fairgrounds, Jaskolski said.

“Anyone who knows me knows Daffodil,” Jaskolski said. “She walks in the barn at the county fair like she owns the place. Everyone’s calling her by name because they know her. She’s a huge cow, not that tall like a Holstein, but very wide. She comes at you like a freight train; she’s built to last.”

Daffodil is a boss cow, Jaskolski said.

“She has her quirks,” Jaskolski said. “She’s never offered anything towards people, but when it comes to other cows or heifers, she can be mean. She’ll lure in the heifers on the other side of the gate at the fair. She’ll starting licking them and being all nice — then when they get too close, she’ll headbutt them.”

During the times Jaskolski has owned Daffodil, the cow has yet to give her a heifer calf, so she hopes to flush the cow for embryos this year to continue building her project from her favorite cow.

Since her family sold most of their herd earlier this year, Daffodil has again taken up residence at Ullmer’s farm near Seymour, while the rest of her small herd lives at Jeff and Sarah Osborn’s farm near Athens.

Jaskolski said she feels blessed by the opportunities she has had.

“Not every kid gets the chance to grow up like this,” Jaskolski said. “It’s not just the excitement of winning at a show, it’s being able to have the chance to work with the animals, to experience what it means to take care of something, to put the work in, and to see that work pay off.”