Sassy Red & Whites for a Sassy Redhead

Sassy Red & Whites for a Sassy Redhead By Melissa Hart

“Ever since I could walk, I can remember being on the end of a halter,” remarked Lily Marshman of Tigerlily Holsteins. At 14, the redheaded Oxford native has grown her herd of Registered Red and Whites to approximately 50 head.

Why Red and Whites? “I like to say they match my hair and my personality. They have a little bit of sass in them,” she chuckled.

The Tiger Lily herd is part of Marshman Farms, LLC, established by Jacob Marshman in 1856. Lily’s father, John, and his brother, David and his son Corey, are the sixth generation managing the farm where they milk approximately 425 cows with 400 head of replacement heifers. They farm 1,100 acres of corn and hay to produce forage for the herd, while most of the grain is purchased.

Selecting for dairy character, style, good feet and legs and nice udders, Lily’s preferred sires include Unstopabull, Altitude, Warrior and Analyst. “I really like my Unstopabulls, they are pretty nice. I have a nice fall calf and a winter yearling that just freshened.”

While winter hangs on in central New York, she is working diligently with her show string. When Tigerlily Holsteins pulls into Hamburg for the NY Spring Dairy Carousel they will have a fall calf (Tiger Lily Analy Jade-Red sired by Analyst), a winter yearling (Tiger Lily Alt Rylan-Red sired by Altitude) and a fall yearling (Tiger Lily Unstp Riah-Red sired by Unstopabull). Her cow lineup will be a Senior 2-yearold Altitude daughter and a 4-year-old Derringer

Lily was named Premier Breeder of the NY State Red & White Show in 2021. She also had Reserve Junior Champion with Tiger Lily Unst Riah-Red-ET and Reserve Grand & Intermediate Champion with Tiger-Lily Incr Ripley-Red.

daughter.

When the weather permits, Lily works with her show string as much as she can between sports and school. As spring show gets closer and the weather warms up, they will start washing the animals every day. They are fed a special 40 percent show ration, with all the hay they can eat.

Over the years she has had several role models for support and advice. Her parents have been a huge influence; she credits her mom, Sheila, for support and her dad for teaching her about the dairy business. John said, “Showing cows is not Sheila’s strong

passion, but she is a strong female role model for Lily and we all know that with most every show kid, there is a mom there getting all the work done at the show.”

Her cousin, Karly Marshman, has been helpful with the process of getting cattle ready for the shows. “Karly is a really great role model and has a really positive attitude and has taught me how to have a positive attitude, too,” Lily added.

She also credits former NY Dairy Princess Shelby Benjamin for helping her along the way with public speaking and dairy promotion, in addition to Kristin Rumovicz, her 4-H and Junior Holstein leader. Hard work paid off when Lily won the Prepared Public Speaking - Junior Division contest at the National Holstein Convention in 2021.

If a young person asked her for advice in the show ring, she would tell them to keep calm and keep showing. “One thing I’ve learned is to stay calm. If you get nervous, your animal will be nervous too, so keep calm.” While there is always work to be done at the show, for instance, one of her favorite things to do is to sit around the tack area and play cards with friends.

Lily has great aspirations for Tiger Lily Holsteins - one is to have a class winner at World Dairy Expo. Her long-term goal is to have a Junior Champion on the colored shavings. Off the farm, she enjoys singing,

Lily’s fondness of Red & Whites started at a very young age. She was featured on the cover of the Red & White issue in 2010.

May 2010

Red & White Issue

acting and is the pitcher on her softball team. This year she played basketball for the first time and quite liked it.

Marshman Farms also has a vision for its dairy. The owners strive to produce high-quality milk while providing a similar quality environment for their cattle and their people. Their employees are important assets to the farm and the Marshmans want to provide them a good standard of living. Their success can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of their people and the ability to treat the farm as a business, while enjoying the process.

Marshman Farms was established in 1856 by Jacob Marshman and is home to Tiger Lily Holsteins in Oxford.