History
Identity Enrollment
In the Spring of 1967 the National Directors of the Brown Swiss Assn. first discussed the need tolocate unregistered Brown Swiss cattle, evaluate and proceed to record the identity of theanimals. The Board of Directors developed the criteria and procedures for a program with thename of Identity Enrollment (IE). The proposed program was voted on by national members inFebruary 1969 and it passed by a 2 to 1 margin. The first animal was identified in May 1969.Bill Church, Riceville, registered the first heifer calf from an identified cow in the IE Herdbook onJune 5, 1970. Iowa breeders, Alfred Albers, Rudolph Fick, Iowa State University, Joseph Joyce,Larry Kruse and Family, John Huser and Orville Iverson were early participants in the program.On June 15, 1973, the first female registered in the Official Brown Swiss Herdbook from the IEprogram was from Rudolph Fick’s herd.With the recovery of “lost” animals, then the enrollment steps of succeeding progeny, productionand classification records contribute to sire summary data-- tools for management and geneticprogress.If a dairyman has unregistered Brown Swiss in his herd and is interested in Identity Enrollment,program details are on the National Brown Swiss Assn. website:www.brownswissusa.com/programs-applications-fees/registration/identity-enrollment-program.
The Great Train Ride
Shipping cattle by rail was a common event for around 100 years. Finished cattle went to the stockyards and packers. Show cattle journeyed to county and state fairs and ended the show season rolling into Waterloo for National Dairy Cattle Congress.
Ralph Streyffeler and his family farmed near Hubbard and acquired Brown Swiss in 1948. Ralph and sons Alan and Laurice were exhibitors at Canton Shows, Hardin County Fair and Iowa Sate Fair. In July 1961 their Brown Swiss were sold to W. F. Durrington who had a dairy in Chino, California. Alan and Laurice made the boxcar journey to care for the cattle. Included in the shipment were a few Swiss from Arlan Eller and Lawrence Kadolph.
The cattle were trucked to Sherman, a one store town on the Rock Island Line in southern Hardin County. Hay, straw and feed had been loaded in the cars the day before along with bedrolls and extra clothing for the boys. The boys also had to pack food for themselves-- most likely bread, cheese, baloney and peanut butter-- as they couldn’t leave the cars once the train pulled out. The cows and some heifers were in one car and the second car carried more heifers, and the supplies for the boys.
The engine backed half the cars onto the siding and slammed against the cattle cars to connect, then pulled onto the main track and reconnected with the rest of the train. Alan and Laurice cared for the cows and heifers, 20 were milking (by hand of course), filling the water tank when stopped in rail yards and pitching manure out the door. Laurice decided to sleep between a couple of cows as he thought the ride was smoother there. However, the train lurched one time and a cow rolled onto him; not causing any injuries.
Three days after leaving Iowa they were in El Paso, Texas, sitting in the railyard for eight hours in 120 degree heat. The boys couldn’t leave the car since they didn’t know when the train would pull out. They left in the early evening and the ride across New Mexico and Arizona at night brought cool breezes.
After the night milking and the milk had been thrown out the door, Alan had to crawl along the out- side of the car to return to the other car for the night. Alan said it was a challenge to step across the three foot expanse between the two cars and grab a hold of a slat of the back car.
Mr. Durrington met the train at Chino and the cattle were trucked to his farm. Alan and Laurice spent a few days with the Durringtons and were able to visit Disneyland and Sea World. They returned to Iowa on Amtrak.
Governor William Larrabee
Montauk Historic Site, Clermont, was named the 2025 Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area People’s Choice Site of the Year in November 2025. This annual honor recognizes sites that go above and beyond in preserving and sharing America’s agricultural story and was awarded to Montauk for its commitment to interpreting the life, legacy, and agricultural vision of Governor William Larrabee and his family. Silos & Smokestacks is one of 62 federally designated National Heritage Areas in the U.S. Wm. Larrabee settled in the Clermont area in 1853. He taught school, operated a flour mill and purchased farmland. Larrabee purchased his first Brown Swiss, a bull and 10 females, in 1883 from the W. R. Fish herd, Mystic, Connecticut. Larrabee was serving in the Iowa Senate at the time he purchased the Swiss cattle. He served in the senate for 18 years and was governor from 1886 to 1890. The Larabee herd was the first to exhibit Brown Swiss at the 1885 Iowa State Fair. The herd traveled by rail to Des Moines, sharing boxcars with a Hereford show string from Fayette county. Larrabee's sons, Charles and Fred, joined the National Brown Swiss Assn in 1913, their first animals coming from their father's herd. Charles and Fred joined with John Mooney and developed one of top show herds in the country. Located near Ft. Dodge, the Mooney & Larrabee herd set many production records in the early 1930's. The herd was dispersed in 1935. Fred served as President of the Iowa State Dairy Assn. 1929-1948.
