VIERRA DAIRY Show Ring Champions and So Much More!
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t’s been a big splash! The entry of Vierra Dairy into the show ring pool has been a cannonball of astounding results. In a very short time, high-type and show enthusiasts have heard Vierra Dairy announced as the owner of numerous class winners and champions, including the Grand and Reserve Grand Champion at the International Jersey Show in 2019. They equaled that feat last year in Madison, again exhibiting Grand and Reserve, and adding the Junior Champion Jersey title as well - a historic and unprecedented accomplishment by one show string. And while the ringside has been accustomed to hearing the Vierra name during the Jersey show, 2021 saw the family operation add partial ownership in a couple of high-profile Holsteins to their line up - Oakfield Solom Footloose-ET EX-94, named Reserve Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show, and Ms Beautys Black Velvet-ET EX-95, the winning 5-year-old at Madison. This prominent entrance has turned heads, as has their leap on to the top GJPI male and female lists. How did a dairy that primarily milked grade Holsteins until
2015 make such a dramatic jump start into the genetic heart of the Jersey breed?
It’s not long into a conversation with Peter Cipponeri, who along with his wife Maia, manages the dairy operation in Hilmar, CA, that you learn the wide-ranging goals for the family’s dairy business. The dairy herd itself is now at 6,000 cows (3,000 Jersey and 3,000 Holstein), and general manager Eddie DaRocha oversees the day-to-day operation. Maia’s parents, Matt and Maria Swanson, hold the reins of a number of family enterprises. It’s quickly evident how a strong entrepreneurial streak emphasizing forward thinking and a dedication to excellence colors all of their decision making. Deeply rooted in the California Central Valley, Vierra Dairy originated in the 1940s when Tony and Angie Vierra, like their parents, milked a herd of grade Holsteins. They eventually settled in Hilmar, and over the decades, the herd grew and the farm expanded to 1,500 acres. Their son Anthony and his wife, Marie, were at the helm for much of this growth before passing the reins to their eldest daughter, Maria, who became the fourth-generation Vierra to oversee a dairy.
In 1988, Maria married Matt Swanson, who hails from a family ingrained in this rich agricultural region of California since the late 1800s. The Swansons were one of the premier turkey breeders in the state in the days when the bronze-breasted turkey was the commercial variety of choice even President Truman had a Swansonbred bird during his White House tenure. While the Swansons have founded and expanded other businesses and have moved away from turkey breeding, they still own a number of turkey ranches. Fifty years ago, Matt’s father, Rick Swanson, founded Associated Feed & Supply Company, Inc., which has matured into a leading animal feed manufacturer, with a full line of conventional and organic feed products for a variety of species. The company has dealers throughout the west coast states and additionally in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. The passion for production agriculture, obviously, is a motivating factor for every endeavor undertaken by the family. When they made a change in 2016 to begin shipping their milk to the locally-based Hilmar Cheese Company, they quickly recognized the value of adding Jerseys to
