Sharing their passion for the Milking Shorthorn

LUANA, Iowa —  On June 19, 200 people came to see the colored genetics at Henkeseen Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns.  The farm was the site of the  2025 National Milking Shorthorn Convention tour hosted by Matt Henkes and his father, Trent, who market their genetics on a national level. 

“It was a huge honor to be selected to host the national convention tour,” Matt Henkes said. “We were happy to have the platform to show off our genetics. We sell and merchandise a lot of our cattle, so it’s nice to have people come to the farm and see the mothers of the heifers they bought, or different parts of the cow’s family.”

The Henkes family milks 65 cows in a tiestall barn near Luana. Their herd includes Holsteins, Red & Whites and 12 Milking Shorthorns.

The convention sale, held at the Manchester County Fairgrounds at the end of the week, saw 150 people in attendance. Buyers  came from as far as Pennsylvania and New York to purchase 36 live lots, seven embryo packages and a pair of in vitro fertilization sessions. Consignments came  from across the East and Midwest .

“We had a great mixture of animals at the sale,” Henkes said. “We had cows that can compete in the showring, and we had heifers that can compete at all levels.”

On the farm, visitors had the chance to see two of the marquee members of the Henkeseen Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns herd. Their current bull, Henkeseen Bender Renegade EXP, out of Henkeseen Royalty Reason, was in his pen near the entrance of the farm.

Henkeseen Royalty Reason was on display in her pen near the west end of the milking barn. Reason was a two-time All-American, twice took first at World Dairy Expo and was reserve intermediate champion at World Dairy Expo in 2022.

Growing up, Henkes had shown Holsteins with a family that focused on Milking Shorthorns. That experience is what drove him to purchase his own animals from the breed. Some of his first came from a farm in California.

“After we got our Shorthorns, we bred one of our red Holsteins to a Milking Shorthorn,” Henkes said. “We started bringing them through a grade-up program, and that’s where we got our cow Reason from.”

Reason has been on an IVF program this year, and her genetics continue to bring home medals. In 2024, the All-American Junior Best Three Females was a trio of Reason’s daughters.

“She gives us a lot of milk, and she makes good offspring,” Henkes said. “Phenotypically and genetically, she’s a great cow.”

Along with the special viewing areas for Reason and Renegade, visitors had the chance to see seven of Renegade’s offspring in the calf barn.

“We hope that as people come in and see Renegade, see the daughters, it gives them the chance to see the cow family,” Henkes said. “That’ll also help generate more interest and help us work with more people who want these genetics.”

Genetics are what have put the farm on the map for the colored breed. When Matt took on a larger role on the farm, it was his passion for genetics that continued to take the farm to new heights.

“I was never a big fan of driving tractors and the field work,” Henkes said. “So I took a strong interest in genetics. I do the majority of the matings on our cows, picking out bulls to buy, and all that falls under that umbrella.”

Through quality genetics and social media, Henkeseen Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns has built a reputation for high-level animals.

“I post a lot on Snapchat and Facebook just trying to get our name out there,” Henkes said. “We post typical everyday pictures of the cows so they can see how they are on a normal day. We also sell cattle in sales and advertise in magazines. We do a little bit of everything.”

The Henkes family has seen customers come back and continue to introduce their genetics into the Milking Shorthorn world.

“We pride ourselves on our Milking Shorthorns,” Henkes said. “I’ve purchased more Short-horns than our Holsteins, which are essentially all homebred. We did that as we were starting in the breed, trying to get new genetics to work since we have fewer of them. It’s nice to have different cow families to breed from.”

The national stage is something the Henkes family was prepared for, and their genetics strategy has continued to elevate the farm.

“We’re a typical family farm in Iowa,” Matt said. “We put a focus on genetics and breeding good cows. My dad and I don’t want to milk ugly cows, so it’s very important to us to breed good cows. We’ve done a good job of that to this point.”