Indianhead Holsteins: The End of an Era Indianhead Holsteins, Bob and Karyn Schauf, is located in Barron, WI. Over the years they have kept an average of 85-90 milking cows. They normally carry 125-150 head of young stock. Their present Rolling Herd Average is 29,436M 4.0 1148F 3.21 945P. The herd is currently fairly young, 59 of the 86 cows on test are in their 1st and 2nd lactations. Over the past 20 years, they have maintained a 111.5-112.3 BAA. They presently have 37 Excellent Cows. They have also had much success over the years in the showring winning over 40 All Wisconsin and Reserve All Wisconsin Awards. Bob counts 25 Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners hanging in the office and they have had numerous All Americans, Junior All Americans and All Canadian nominations and awards. The History: Bob's story began in Richland County at Schauf Farms, a family farm. Bob's father was a great caretaker of cattle and a great conservationist. From a very young age, Bob was involved in everything that had to be done on the farm, showing a few calves through 4H and was the president of his FFA Chapter. Bob learned about hard work, perfection and is grateful for the lessons he learned as a kid from his mom and dad on the farm. Leaving home on his 18th birthday, Bob worked construction and attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. During that time, he did an internship at Heatherstone Enterprises. That internship sparked an interest in showing and breeding Registered Holsteins. In 1975 the Copps distributing company hired Bob to manage a farm in his home county, called Alpine Haven. At Alpine Haven, Bob realized that about all he knew about Holsteins, is 'that they were black and white'. Recognizing his lack of experience and knowledge, Bob reached out to a close friend of his dad for help. That man was Marlowe Nelson, Bob recalls that as 'one of the best calls I ever made.' Marlowe took Bob under his wing and taught him about pedigrees, bloodlines, cow families and more. Early on, Marlowe recruited a Japanese boy to help Bob, and since that time, the Schauf's have hosted over 100 trainees from Japan, Germany, Holland, England, Brazil, Italy, England, Canada, Ecuador, Austria and Mexico. Bob refers to Marlowe as a 'life-changer' for him and his family, introducing him to the exciting and rewarding world of Registered Holsteins. While at Alpine Haven, Bob returned to Heatherstone Enterprises to attend a twilight meeting that Wisconsin's agricultural ambassador, 'Alice in Dairyland', was speaking at. That year 'Alice' was Carol Jean and Duane Hegna's neice. A bit later, Carol Jean set up Bob to be the escort to 'Alice' aka Karyn to a Wisconsin football game. Bob loved Badger football, so he went and the rest is history! Bob and Karyn married in 1979. 16
Karyn's roots are in Barron County, WI. Her grandparents 'Clinton Stock Farm' has a rich Holstein history of its own, having its own bull stud, collecting and distributing fresh semen in 8 counties. Karyn's dad had been a herdsman and as a little girl, she lived in the upstairs apartment of their current home. The herd was dispersed when Karyn was 6 years old, so Karyn never got to grow up with Holsteins but rather was her grandpa's 'right hand man' in the fields. It seems however, her grandpa's passion for Holsteins was in her blood as well. In 1980 Karyn's grandfather passed away and the Schauf's made a proposal to her grandmother to buy part of the Clinton Stock Farm. After building new dairy facilities, they moved their herd in the fall of 1981. During the time that Bob was dating Karyn, he noticed a sign on the drive north on I-94 in the shape of an Indian Chief's head that said 'You are now entering Indianhead Country' and thus Indianhead Holsteins was born.
The Schauf Family
The Cows: While building the herd, Marlowe instilled in Bob the importance and value of great cow families. When possible, they would sell 3-4 grade or substandard cows and buy an individual from some of the best families of the breed. One heifer, spotted in a sale in Kentucky was Triple-J-Mac Bic Betty. Betty hailed from a great deep cow family and living to be over 18 years old. Betty was the first cow of the breed to have 20 Excellent daughters and that was before much embryo transfer. She herself was EX-94 and at one time had 10 Excellent daughters in the barn with 5 generations from her. To this day, the Schauf's are still breeding from this great cow family. Cow families continued to entice the Schauf's, looking for opportunities to buy into families that they admired and sometimes taking some pretty big financial risks! They bid last on C Alanvale Inspiration Tina in what ended up as a three-way partnership between Ernie Kueffner, Larry Mohrfield and themselves, when the gavel struck, the final price was $105,000.00. They have enjoyed the great offspring that they have from this family.