Harmony Ho Farms Dairy Holstein Breeding

Biography of Harmony-Ho Holsteins
and Ralph and Sharon Bredl

Harmony-Ho Holsteins was established near Stratford Wisconsin, the heart of Marathon County, in 1989 by 3^rd generation USA dairy producers Ralph and Sharon Bredl (along with daughters Martine and Rachel) as a 60 cow registered Holstein dairy.

In 1994, reacting to the changes occurring in the registered Holstein and milk production businesses, the Bredl family made the transition to free stall housing - flat parlor and grew the business to 200 cows. The construction of a double-8 milking parlor and additional milking herd housing, in 1997, allowed the herd to grow to 320 cows.
With the addition of another 80 stalls, 1999 brought the opportunity to capitalize on internal growth of cow numbers and to become a cooperator in the Genex Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer program and grow the herd to 400 total cows.

In 2000 Harmony-Ho Holsteins and Badger Holsteins of Unity LLC formed a joint herd sire marketing enterprise that annually sells 80 breeding age bulls to other dairymen. The construction of a Dry Cow barn in 2004 resulted in the current herd size of 450 total cows. The herd growth of the past 10 years was accomplished while maintaining a 29,000 to 31,000# herd average along with annual cull rates of <25%. Realizing that the foundation of a successful dairy enterprise is built upon high quality cattle, all purchased animals were closely screened for pedigree quality, production potential and biosecurity.

HERD RECOGNITIONS

Holstein USA “Progressive Breeder Award” – 7 years
Top 10 milk production herd in Wisconsin 1993-1998
Validus Certified - More than ever before, consumers are concerned about the way animals are raised and handled on the farm. Validus offers consumers third-party verification that producers are adhering to acceptable animal welfare standards.
Harmony Ho Dairy has successfully completed the Assessment portion of the Validus Animal Welfare review process. Click on the certificate to view a larger image.

PERSONAL RECOGNITIONS

Bachelor of Science UW River Falls 1977 (Ralph)
Bachelor of Science UW Stevens Point 1979 (Sharon)
Former Board member and past president of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (Ralph)
Former board member of Community Bank of Central Wisconsin (Ralph)
UW Dairy Science advisory board (Ralph)
National Farm Medicine Center Steering committee (Sharon)
Marshfield Medical Research Foundation board of Trustees (Sharon)
Guest speaker at numerous dairy producer meetings across the Midwest, Northeastern US and Western and Eastern Europe addressing the importance of developing business and personal management and planning skills. (Ralph and Sharon)
“Dairy Today”-“Dollars and Sense” columnists 1994-1995. (Ralph and Sharon)
1993 Central Region Dairy Farm Family of the Year
Member and Chair of UW Dairy Facilities Advisory Council (Ralph)
Member of Dairy Business Association – participated in Washington June ’04 lobbying tour and various State of Wisconsin lobbying tours. (Ralph and Sharon)
Marshfield Medical Research Foundation – Personalized Medicine project steering committee member 2003-present. (Sharon)
Member of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health - AgFF Sector Council - Ralph 2007