Celebrating 50 Years at Hawkeye Breeders Service

by Hawkeye Breeders Service w/ Hilary Rossow- reprinted from the April issue of The Stockman

photos courtesy Hawkeye Breeders Service

Celebrating a 50 year feat with Hawkeye Breeders Service.

A short drive off Interstate 80 near Adel, Iowa, lies the sprawling campus of Hawkeye Breeder Services (HBS) complete with ten covered barns and individual housing for over 250 bulls, state-of-theart laboratory, and office building. David and Brandy Jensen are at the wheel of the facility, a leader in semen collection, distribution, and evaluation.

David’s grandfather, Lloyd Jungmann, worked for Iowa Dairy Genetics (IDG) after discharge from the Navy in 1946. He married his sweetheart, Doris Kirkman., and they lived in a small house on the property just north of Des Moines, Iowa. He was the herdsman, and she worked part-time as a secretary and book-keeper. Under the supervision of Dr. Greg Rapps, Lloyd’s knowledge of animal husbandry and the relatively new concept of artificial insemination grew. He watched AI grow from freshly collected semen, to frozen pellets, to glass ampules, to plastic straws. Dr. Rapps also encouraged Lloyd to get his pilot’s license on the GI Bill and after obtaining his license, he would pick up board members to attend the monthly meetings and fly semen all over Iowa. Doris also contributed to these meetings by baking delicious pies. This love of flying has passed down through generations, and there is still an airstrip on the farm today as David and his father, Carl, also fly. In fact, one of Lloyd’s original planes still functions on the farm and is used sporadically for nostalgia’s sake.

IDG merged with Midwest Breeders in 1965 then Genex/CRI later. Lloyd continued to collect semen at producers’ sites then bring the semen back to the Des Moines lab, a converted 2-stall garage, for testing and processing. Although their operations focused on dairy bulls, the Jungemanns saw great potential for AI in the beef industry,where bulls were collected far less frequently than their dairy counterparts. In 1969, Lloyd and Doris decided to start their own business and partnered with a Charolais breeder to house bulls for customers that wanted to collect larger volumes on their bulls. Twice weekly, he and a crew member would drive to the farm, collect the resident bulls, and bring the semen back to the lab for processing.

This arrangement worked well for several years, but when the opportunity to expand arrived, Lloyd and Doris decided to start exporting semen to other countries. They bought a small farm near Adel, IA and began to build the current campus for the company. At this time, David started working for his grandparents while in middle school. His first jobs included mowing, painting, and picking up nails around the new barns built to house bulls. His responsibilities grew, and the experiences were invaluable as they allowed him to learn every facet of the business. David recalls, “My grandfather had a wonderful sense of humor, but he was always serious about what he did and the dangers that were involved.”

The campus of Hawkeye Breeders Service in Adel, Iowa pictured in the Fall of 2018.

Before David was allowed to come on board at Hawkeye Breeders Service, Lloyd insisted that he work for at least a year somewhere else, so he worked for a row crop farmer, Ron Peterson, during college. He returned to HBS as it was in his blood, and his heart was home with the family operation. He started at the bottom again and worked his way up the ladder from scooping manure off the collection room floor to identifying abnormalities that degraded the viability of semen post-freeze.

David’s parents, Carl and Gloria, joined the business during this time also, testing bulls on customer’s farms and assisting with collections while also handling all international shipping. Hawkeye West in Montana and Dakota Sire Service in South Dakota were both acquired a few years later, and with the help of managers Scott and Andrea Spickard and John Weston, respectively, both operations saw great success.

The ‘voice’ that most customers hear first, Karla Soper. Beyond her are storage units housing over 4 million straws, all privately held.

Erik Skogerson puts frozen straws into goblets for U.S. distribution.

David met one of his customer’s daughters, Brandy Fleenor, in 1997, and married her at the farm in 2000. Their three kids are their biggest blessings, and David describes Brandy as his perfect partner. Carter, their 16-yearold son, has started helping with chores on weekends and during the summer. They were able to share the office with his grandparents for ten years before they passed and gained invaluable firsthand experience of handling issues and successes in their growing business.

Bulls in residence at the facilty in Adel, Iowa.

Today, Hawkeye Breeder Service spreads over 180 acres outside Adel, Iowa. HBS is associated with two couples collecting semen in Kansas (Kevin and Sheila Jensen) and North Dakota (Tom and Shelly Becker). A facility was recently built in Brooklyn, Wisconsin, and is managed by Dan and Kathy Nevel. Dr. Patrick Phillips is their veterinarian and manages bull and semen health. All bulls are owned by their clients and no marketing is done by HBS. Despite this, over 1 million units of semen were shipped overseas last year alone. “We never take this legacy for granted and with all the innovations and new equipment being introduced, try to stay current,” says David.

Although HBS has its roots in the beef industry, over 80% of collections are done on dairy bulls with 250 bulls residing on the campus. They are grateful to their customers in the US and abroad. Further, the Jensens are grateful for their HBS “family” in the office and barns for being integral to their success. They look forward to a great future and the impact the next generation will have on the beef and dairy cattle industries.

David & Brandy Jensen family.

David says, “I have been around the business all of my life, it is great to see breeders that we work with hand their herds and cattle programs down to the next generation. Fifty years is definitely an achievement that we are proud of. Thank you everyone that has made this possible, and we look forward to working with old friends and ones that we have yet to meet!”

Entrance into Hawkeye Breeders Service, just 2 miles off I-80.

Please join us in celebrating Hawkeye Breeders’ 50th year in business. Saturday, September 28th, 2019 beginning at 5 p.m.

Hawkeye Breeders Service - 32642 Old Portland Road • Adel, Iowa 50003

Dress casually for a barbeque, music and 50 years of memories!

David & Brandy Jensen 515.993.4711 www.hawkeyebreeders.com

learn more hawkeyebreeders.com | 515-993-4711

“We never take this legacy for granted and with all the innovations and new equipment being introduced, try to stay current.”

Resident Veterinarian, Dr. Pat Phillips.

(l-r) Dr. Phillips, Jordan Collins, Erik Skogerson and Jennifer Hogue, lab employees at HBS.

Receptionist, Karla Spoer.

Wishing Hawkeye Breeders another 50 years in business!

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