ANAMOSA, Iowa — Doug Fairbanks likes to let his cows speak for themselves. He is looking forward to the opportunity for them to do just that when he welcomes National Brown Swiss Convention attendees to his farm in July.
           “I’m looking forward to being able to share what we’ve got with other breeders,” Fairbanks said. “I want people to come, see the cows and make their own opinions about what we’re doing. Sure, I’m proud of the cows, but I’d rather just have the cows speak for themselves.”
           Fairbanks and his daughter Abby Rickels operate Wapsi-Ana Farm near Anamosa, where they milk 400 cows, about 100 of which are Brown Swiss. Doug’s nephew, Josh Fairbanks, works on the farm with the cows, fieldwork and repairs. Doug’s wife Jody teaches school and helps with calf chores and bookwork, while Abby’s husband, Dylan, works off the farm as an engineer. The farm employs several full-time and part-time employees.

            The herd is milked in a double-12 parlor and housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn built in 2013. The bulk-tank average on the entire herd typically ranges from 85-90 pounds of milk, per day, with a 4.4% butterfat and 3.4% protein, on three-time daily milking. The Brown Swiss hold a lactation average over 25,000 pounds milk.
           The farm now consists of 600 acres which is used to grow forages and feed for the herd, including 400 acres of corn and 150 acres of high-oleic beans that are roasted for protein.

            The Fairbanks are proud to have raised their four children on the farm. In 1999, they purchased the farm Doug grew up on, which had previously always been rented, first by his father and then by Doug. Since making the initial purchase of the farm, the Fairbanks have slowly purchased land connecting or adjacent to their farm as it has become available.

            “When I finished college, I bought my dad’s cattle, feed and machinery and starting farming,” Fairbanks said. “We’ve worked hard and come a long ways. We’ve been diligent and kept grinding — that’s our strong suit.”

            Looking towards the future, Fairbanks has no interest in expanding the herd, but instead looks to find growth in improving on the things they are currently doing, while considering potential paths for transitioning the farm to the next generation.

            “That’s my passion — improving the herd, breeding the best animals we can,” Fairbanks said. “I admire and respect the showring, but I don’t have a passion for it. I prefer to invest in cow families that have been successful, where the advertising has been done. I like to stay home, farm and breed cows I like.”

            Fairbanks’ affinity for the Brown Swiss breed was born when he was awarded a Brown Swiss calf as part of the Share-A-Heifer program, which he purchased back as a springing heifer.
           “My dad just had Holsteins, and I really liked when someone came to the farm and saw the one brown heifer, that she was mine,” Fairbanks said. “She had a few heifer calves for me, and the older I got, I grew to really like working with the breed. The Swiss just have a special place in my heart.”

            The herd that Fairbanks has built today is a unique blend of all facets of the breed.
           “We’ve got some cows that high-indexing, among the top of the breed and we’ve got some cows that go back to some class winners at Madison,” Fairbanks said. “We’ve got a lot of diversity for both type and production. Almost every cow has a pedigree behind her.”
           Families that Fairbanks counts among his favorites descend from cows like Timberline Jetway Toni 3E-94 and Cutting Edge T Delilah EX-95; along with a full sister to Jenlar Carter Waltz EX-91 and several animals from both the Red-Brae and Voegeli Brothers herds. The Fairbanks also have members of the family that produced Hilltop Acres B Daredevil. Hilltop Acres H Damara was purchased by the Fairbanks family as a heifer. Damara was sold to Peter Vail prior to her winning the senior three-year-old class at World Dairy Expo in 2025. Daughters of Damara and her maternal sister, Hilltop Acres Salsa Destiny, remain at the farm.

            “I’m really excited, as a breeder, by the Swiss breed right now,” Fairbanks said. “They have all the pieces to make a complete package.”
           Fairbanks has developed a breeding philosophy that creates that complete cow.
           “We use bulls that put milk in the tank, but I keep a close eye on type,” Fairbanks said. “I still milk all my cows at least once a day, either me or Abby is milking the morning shift every day, and we’re seeing the whole herd, every day. I think that’s really important because we obviously want to milk a certain kind of cow.”
           Fairbanks utilizes genomic traits as a to help determine bulls he is interested in using, but maintains that regardless of what the genomics say, the bull’s family has to pass muster, too.
           “We’re pretty balanced in our decisions,” Fairbanks said. “We mix and match type along with production. They’ve got to milk but I refuse to sacrifice type, either.”
           Fairbanks and Rickels have an active flush program within their herd and market around a dozen head each year, and they have put bulls into AI.

            There is no denying that first Share-A-Heifer ignited Fairbanks passion for Brown Swiss 45 years ago, but it has been the people that surround the breed that have kept him captivated.
           “I like the breed but in the registered business, especially, it’s more the connections that you make,” Fairbanks said. “I’ve made some life-long friends, across the entire country, because of the Brown Swiss cow. The people become like family, and essentially we’re all working towards the same goal — to breed a better Brown Swiss cow.”