Creep across the pasture land Got dirt on the
boots and a working hand From the milk house
home to the auction call These are the folks
standing strong and tall Hey there, welcome to
the Bullvine Podcast, and today I've got a story
that's going to make you rethink everything you
know about building a Holstein empire. You ready
for this? An 82 -year -old dairy farmer just
proved that a $50 Jersey calf can build more
genetic excellence than all the genomic testing
in the world. And before you roll your eyes thinking
this is another feel -good farm story, hang on.
because what the Schwartzbeck family accomplished
at Peace and Plenty Farm is going to challenge
every assumption you have about breeding champions.
Here's the kicker. They bred 181 excellent Holsteins
from one foundation female. One. No genomic testing.
No million -dollar embryo purchases. Just observation,
patience, and a philosophy that'll make the genomics
companies squirm. Their 2025 sale? grossed over
a million dollars, and they just won the McCown
Master Breeder Award, Dairy's highest honor.
So buckle up, because this isn't just a success
story, it's a blueprint that turns everything
the experts tell you on its head. Let's roll
back to 1952. Gaithersburg, Maryland. Picture
a teenager named Joe Schwartzbeck, standing in
his father's small barn before dawn, his breath
visible in the cold morning air. Seven or eight
Jersey cows waiting to be milked. by hand. That's
right. Hand milking. The rhythmic swish swish
of milk hitting the bucket. The sweet smell of
fresh hay mixing with the warmth of the animals.
This kid's running a cream separator. Selling
cream to a creamery in Hagerstown, feeding the
skim to a few hogs out back. His dad? Only farms
part -time. But Joe? Joe's got bigger ideas.
That year, Joe buys his first 4 -H calf. A jersey.
Price tag? $50. The next year he splurges $75
for another one. These two jerseys become the
foundation of everything that follows. And I
mean everything. Fast forward through high school,
military service, and Joe marries Nona. They
borrow $6 ,500, serious money in those days,
and build a 20 -cow stall barn. But here's where
the story takes its first twist. Joe's working
for a neighbor, right? But instead of paying
him cash, this neighbor pays him in Holstein
Heffers. First time those black and white girls
start producing? Game over. Joe realizes his
Holsteins are absolutely crushing his jerseys
in milk production, so he makes the switch. All
in on Holsteins. And that decision changes everything.
December 1968. Picture this. Joe and Nona sitting
in a Carroll County auction barn. It's freezing
cold. The kind of cold that makes your bones
ache. The auctioneers chant, echoing off the
metal walls. When that gavel falls on a 295 -acre
farm, they've just committed $125 ,100 to their
future. Think about that for a second. That's
like betting everything on a vision that only
exists in your head. The first few months? Chaos.
They're living in Montgomery County, driving
to Union Bridge every single day, renovating
barns, fixing fences. None is tracking every
expense on a yellow legal pad. while their young
sons Gus and Shane are dodging construction equipment
and flying sawdust. When they finally move those
45 Holsteins into their 49 -cow tie stall, Joe's
first milk check hits around $2 ,500 a month.
Not impressive by today's standards, but it represented
something bigger than money. It represented ownership,
independence, the American dairy dream. They
expand methodically, no flash, no debt -fueled
gambles. In 1974, Joe builds a double four herringbone
parlor that serves them for 26 years. 26 years.
That parlor sees them through decades of 4 a
.m. starts and midnight emergencies. By 2000,
they upgrade to a double eight, growing from
120 cows to 240. Today, their rolling herd averages
24 ,000 pounds with 4 % fat and 3 .1 % protein.
Those butter fat numbers? That's the consistency
cheese plants dream about. But here's where this
story goes from good to legendary. Every great
breeding program has that one foundation animal.
For Peace and Plenty, her name was Peace and
Plenty Atwood Jubilant. Everyone called her Juby.
Listen to these numbers. First flush, seven offspring
with the Ocaliber prefix. Second flush, six docks
and six gold chips. This cow just kept delivering
genetic gold. Her offspring never disappointed.
Never. But here's what separates the Schwartzbecks
from everyone else chasing the next hot bull.
They didn't just multiply genetics. They curated
them. Generation after generation, they chose
which daughters to flush next, building depth
through the Juby line like master craftsmen.
The proof? In 2023, all seven piece -and -plenty
All -American nominations came from jubilant
bloodlines. Every. Single. One. Then 2024 rolls
around and lightning strikes twice. Seven more
All -American nominations, including both senior
and junior best three. All tracing back to that
one remarkable cow. Now, let me paint you a picture
of what excellence really looks like. Peace and
Plenty has bred 181 excellent Holstein cows.
Let that sink in. 181. We're talking about cows
scoring 90 to 97 points. That's the top 5 % of
all classified cattle. Two cows at 95 points.
That's approaching perfection. 10 at 94. 14 at
93. 25 at 92. 36 at 91. And 95 cows hitting that
coveted 90 point threshold. These aren't lucky
breaks. This is systematic excellence. This is
what happens when you know what you're doing
and stick to it for seven decades. But here's
the beautiful part of this story. It's not just
about genetics. It's about family. Walk onto
Peace and Plenty any morning, and you'll see
something increasingly rare in our industry.
Genuine, multi -generational collaboration that
actually works. No drama. No stepping on toes.
Just family working towards shared goals. Joe,
now 82 years old, and he'll gladly remind you
of that fact, still handles the fieldwork. Five
-plus decades of wisdom applied to every acre.
Nona manages the books with the precision of
a Swiss watch. Their son Gus and his wife Lisa
run daily operations. The third generation? That's
where the future lives. Davis serves as herdsman.
He's the guy who knows every cow's personality,
who spots trouble before it becomes a problem.
Austin handles the technical breeding work, though
the brothers share mating decisions. No egos.
Just collaboration. Austin's wife Lauren and
sister Aubrey run the show program. And when
I say program, I mean program. These animals
don't just show up and win. It's daily grooming,
teaching heifers to set up properly, having the
patience of saints when an animal decides she's
not interested in cooperating. Speaking of showing,
let me tell you about 2011. Austin had a heifer
named Peace and Plenty Asteroid Fishy. She takes
junior champion at the Junior Holstein Show at
World Dairy Expo. on the colored shavings. If
you know, you know. That feeling when they call
your number at Madison? You never forget it.
But here's what really gets me excited. The fourth
generation is already in the ring. Chandler's
story. Aubrey's daughter just turned nine. She's
heading to World Dairy Expo this year with her
Jersey winter calf that was just named junior
champion at All American in Harrisburg. Her brother
Madden got his first chance to exhibit at Expo
last year. Four generations, all connected by
those moments in the ring, by early mornings
prepping cattle, by learning to win and lose
with grace. Now, let's talk about their breeding
philosophy, because this is where they flip the
script on modern breeding. High type with positive
milk production, a cow that can represent your
prefix but also produce milk to pay the bills.
They call it their no -pansy -cows philosophy.
They breed for aggressive, strong animals with
genuine presence. These aren't delicate show
queens that need special treatment. These are
cattle with attitude, with dairy strength that
catches your eye from across the barn. Their
selection criteria, longevity, milk production,
and the ability to push to the feed bunk. A cow
that's hungry is a cow that milks. Think about
that. While everyone's chasing genomic numbers
on a computer screen, the Schwartzbecks are watching
which cows are hungry. Which cows want to work?
It sounds simple because it is, and it works
because it's right. April 2025. The Springtime
Jubilee Sale, co -hosted with Duckets and Borderview.
The sale grosses over $1 million, averaging $8
,635 on 117 lots. But here's what those numbers
don't tell you. The energy in that sale barn
was electric, international buyers flying in,
domestic buyers driving from across the country.
When Peace and Plenty honored JUB 360 sold for
$27 ,000 to Pine Tree Genetics, you could feel
the validation rippling through the crowd. This
wasn't just a sale. This was the market saying,
yes, this approach works. This genetics matter.
The Schwartzbecks understand something that too
many operations forget. Excellence in breeding
is just part of the equation. They earned the
2006 Carroll County Soil Conservation District
Cooperator of the Year Award recognition for
conservation achievements through the Double
Pipe Creek Rural Clean Water Project. Young stockpens
picked twice daily, calf barn power washed and
sanitized after each group. This isn't for show.
This is systematic care that becomes second nature
when you genuinely care about what you're doing.
And their community, as they put it, If there's
one thing about Carroll County, it's that one
call leads to an army of support. Whether it's
weddings at the farm, their cow sale, a barn
fire, or help during crop season, an army shows
up. They're even featured on Maola milk bottles
shipped down the East Coast. Direct consumer
connection. Farm -to -table visibility. That's
marketing you can't buy. When the Klusendorf
Association announced Peace and Plenty as the
2025 McCown Master Breeder Award recipients,
the family's reaction tells you everything about
their character. Unexpected, they said. Something
that makes you look back at past winners and
realize how humbling this acknowledgement is.
The McCown Master Breeder Award is Dairy's highest
breeding honor. Previous winners represent the
absolute pinnacle of dairy excellence across
North America. And now the Schwartzbecks join
that elite group. But here's what they said that
really got me. Some roles are larger than others,
but nothing's worse than building a puzzle without
all the pieces. There are lots of pieces that
come together at piece and plenty. In an industry
that loves to celebrate individual achievement,
here's a family that understands success is collective.
Every person matters. Every contribution counts.
So what's next for Peace and Plenty? They're
not resting on their laurels. Davis puts it simply.
POLD and A2A2. They're investing in diversified
genetics to create resilient herds. They're thinking
about trends that'll matter five, ten years down
the road. They've embraced IVF technology, but
only after mastering traditional selection. They're
injecting liquid manure for better crop yields.
Building new calf facilities for improved air
quality and animal transitions. Always adapting.
Always improving. And with Chandler and Madden
already showing on colored shavings at World
Dairy Expo, the fourth generation isn't just
watching anymore. They're participating. Learning.
Building their own memories in those same rings
where their parents and grandparents made names
for themselves. Alright. Let's break down what
Peace and Plenty teaches us. Because this isn't
just an inspiring story, it's a roadmap. First,
build depth, not breadth. 181. Excellence from
one cow family proves focused breeding beats
scattered genetics every single time. Second,
start at any scale. $50 teen investment became
a million dollar sale 73 years later. Compound
annual growth beats quick flips. Third, share
breeding decisions. Austin and Davis's collaboration
produces 24 ,000 pounds at 4 % fat. Ego kills
consistency. Fourth, master fundamentals before
technology. They added IVF after perfecting selection.
Tools amplify skill. They don't replace it. Look,
I've covered this industry for decades. I've
seen every trend, every technology, every supposed
revolution in dairy breeding. But the piece -and
-plenty story? This hits different. In 2025,
when input costs are through the roof, labor
challenges are everywhere, and everyone's telling
you that you need the latest genomic technology
to compete. Here's an 82 -year -old proving them
all wrong with observation, patience, and a cow
that's hungry enough to push to the feed bunk.
The Peace and Plenty story started with a teenager's
$50 gamble on a Jersey calf in Gaithersburg,
Maryland. 73 years later, it's proof that with
dedication, vision, and genuine love for what
you do, the most unlikely dreams can become generational
reality. As Nona Schwartzbeck puts it, nothing
gives me more joy than watching the great -grandchildren
play in the yard. That's not just a nice sentiment.
That's the whole point. Family. Legacy. Excellence
that spans generations. So here's my challenge
to you. Tomorrow morning, walk your barn. Really
look at your cows. Pick your best one. Focus
on her bloodline. Stop diversifying your mediocrity
and start building depth. Because if a $50 calf
can build a Holstein empire, what's stopping
you? The bull vine, reminding you that sometimes
the best genetics aren't in a catalog or a genomic
test. Sometimes they're in that cow pushing hardest
to the feed bunk. Until next time, keep breeding
better cattle and challenging what everyone tells
you is impossible.