Creeping 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. Yeah, this is... Hey
there, and welcome to the Bullvine Podcast. I'm
your host, and today, I've got a story that's
going to stick with you. It's about empty barns
that stayed full of hope, about families who
kept breeding champions when there was nowhere
to show them, and about a reunion that's been
five years in the making. This is the story of
Cremona's 80th edition, happening November 27th
through 29th, 2025, and why it means absolutely
everything to European dairy. So let me take
you back to something Lorenzo Cicerani once said.
He runs Sabiona Holsteins in Italy, and they've
got 175 excellent cows. But here's what struck
me. He didn't talk about genetics or championships.
He said something much simpler. Quote, We want
to breed beautiful cows that are productive and
last a long time. Now those are simple words,
right? But imagine, just imagine, holding on
to that vision when those beautiful cows had
nowhere to go. when productive only mattered
in your own barn, when lasting a long time felt
less like an achievement and more like waiting,
just waiting for something that might never come
back. You see, what happened to European dairy
families over these past five years taught me
something profound about human nature. It wasn't
continuous closure that nearly broke them. No,
it was something crueler. Hope, then heartbreak,
then hope again. Let me paint you the picture.
2020 hits. Pandemic. Exhibition halls go empty.
2021, still empty. 2022, young handlers are practicing
in vacant barns with no audience. Then 2023 arrives.
Finally, families start preparing animals again.
There's this renewed energy, this belief that
normal is coming back. And then blue tongue strikes
in 2024. England alone reported 196 cases by
August 2025. Movement restrictions slam back
into place, borders close, again. The exhibition
that was supposed to mark their triumphant return,
cancelled. Now, you've got to understand what
this meant for families like the Beltraminos
at Bell Holstein. Mauro Beltramino, he still
gets emotional talking about how they started.
He says, quote, Our first heifer impressed everyone
back in 1987, and that moment sparked a dream.
That dream carried three brothers through decades.
It earned them grand championships at Cremona
in 2004, victories at Swiss Expo in 2017. But
dreams, dreams need stages, and for years, there
were none. Here's what gets me. The Bell -Holstein
family faced COVID -19, then Bluetongue, and
somehow, somehow, these experiences only strengthened
their resolve. Not because they're extraordinary,
but because stopping would have meant surrendering
something essential about who they are. I heard
this story that really captures it. During the
worst of the restrictions, breeders were practicing
their fitting skills on the same animals week
after week. Francesco Beltramino and his girlfriend
Chiara, working in empty barns, maintaining muscle
memory for competitions that might never return.
One breeder told me they named these practice
sessions, get this, rehearsals for hope. Dark
humor? Maybe, but it kept them going. Now, sometimes
the right person appears at exactly the right
moment, and Nathan Thomas accepting the invitation
to judge Cremona's 80th edition, that's one of
those moments. Here's why Nathan matters so deeply.
He doesn't run some massive operation with unlimited
resources. Triple T Holsteins in Ohio milks about
30 cows. 30. That's it. Yet from that small herd,
working with his wife Jenny and their three kids,
They've produced more than 150 All -American
and All -Canadian nominations. Just weeks ago,
at World Dairy Expo 2025, Nathan managed something
extraordinary. Stony Point Joel Bailey claimed
her third consecutive Grand Champion jersey title,
three years running at the pinnacle of North
American showing. She stood Reserve Supreme Champion
this year. Golden Oak's Temptress Red ET took
top honors. but that consistent excellence across
multiple years, that's what dairy farming really
demands. Not single moments of glory, but sustained
dedication when glory seems impossible. When
Nathan walks into Cremona's ring this November,
he brings that understanding. He knows what it
means for a family operation to compete globally.
He understands the weight these animals carry.
Not just genetics, but generations of hope. Okay,
let me give you the numbers. The statistics tell
one story. More than 800 elite animals from six
European nations, 70 conference sessions, 200
commercial exhibitors, the Italian Trade Agency
coordinating delegations from over 20 countries.
But there's another story those numbers can't
capture. Think about Sabiona Holsteins for a
moment. 12 generations of home -bred excellence.
Not 12 years. 12 generations. Each one building
on what came before. Their current herd? 650
milking cows producing 42 kilograms per day at
4 % fat, 3 .55 % protein. They're pushing forward
with robotic milking systems, adapting, evolving.
Meanwhile, Bell Holstein chose a completely different
path, and it's equally valid. No robots, no automation.
Francesco still clips and fits cows with his
girlfriend Chiara and cousin Cecilia. His brothers
manage their herd. 15 excellent, 59 very good.
with the same hands -on dedication their father
taught them. Both approaches worked. Both survived.
That's the lesson here. There's no single path
through crisis, only the courage to keep walking
whatever path you've chosen. What really hits
me is realizing these families weren't just maintaining
genetics. They were preserving identity. When
you're the third, fourth, or twelfth generation
carrying forward a legacy, your animals become
more than business assets. They're living proof.
that what your grandparents built still matters.
Now picture this with me, young handlers across
Europe spending three years learning to show
cattle with no shows. Kids like Greta Beltramino
at Bell Holstein, practicing in empty rings,
posting videos to encourage each other, maintaining
skills for competitions that kept getting canceled.
The strength in this generation fills me with
hope. They didn't just endure the absence, they
prepared for the return. I love this story. One
group of young handlers in Germany created a
virtual showing league during lockdown. They
were judging each other's animals via video,
maintaining that competitive spirit when actual
competition was impossible. Another group in
the Netherlands? They practiced with stuffed
animals when movement restrictions prevented
them from accessing their cattle. Sounds absurd,
right? Until you realize they were 17 years old.
refusing to let their dreams die. These aren't
just future farmers, they're the generation that
learned resilience before they learned normalcy.
Through all of this, certain themes kept emerging
from breeders across Europe. One Austrian breeder
who maintained full show preparation despite
no exhibitions for two years told me, excellence
isn't about conditions, it's about standards
you refuse to lower. An Italian farmer explaining
why he kept his routine unchanged through restrictions
said, the barn doesn't know there's no show next
week. A Dutch operation on why they accelerated
their breeding program during lockdown. We breed
for our grandchildren's grandchildren. A few
years of disruption doesn't change that timeline.
And my favorite from a young German breeder on
maintaining her program when everyone said to
scale back, sometimes continuing, is the rebellion.
Now, Picture November 27th, 2025 with me. Dawn
breaking over Cremona Fierre. After years of
stop -start disruption, pandemic, attempted recovery,
blue tongue, more restrictions, finally, a normal
morning. The first thing you'll notice is the
sound. After so much silence, the mixture of
cattle calling, equipment clanging, conversations
in six languages, it creates a symphony of survival.
Diesel engines warming up. Gates swinging open.
That particular squeak of well -worn wheelbarrows
that haven't been used for exhibition in too
long. Cattle trucks arriving from six countries
without restriction papers. Without extra health
certificates. Without the constant fear that
someone will call saying it's cancelled again.
Families seeing friends they last embraced before
everything changed. Nathan Thomas preparing to
judge not just cattle, but resilience made visible.
What strikes me as extraordinary is how ordinary
it will seem to outsiders. Just another dairy
show. Just farmers doing what farmers do. But
you and I, we know better. Every animal entering
that ring has already won. Every family competing
has already triumphed simply by still existing,
still breeding, still believing excellence matters,
even when excellence had no audience. Think about
what this means for different operations. For
Sabiona, With nearly 500 excellent cows in their
history, competing again proves their philosophy
endures. For Bell Holstein, returning to international
competition validates that traditional methods
still matter in an automated world. The economic
stakes are real. Embryo sales worth tens of thousands.
AI contracts potentially worth hundreds of thousands.
International recognition that opens new markets.
But that's not what November 27th through 29th
is really about. It's about Mauro Beltramino
seeing his life's work validated. It's about
young handlers finally experiencing what they've
only imagined. It's about Nathan Thomas placing
classes that represent not just this moment,
but all the moments that led here. As I'm recording
this on October 18th, 2025, just weeks before
Cremona opens, I'm struck by how this story speaks
to everyone facing their own storms. market volatility,
family succession challenges, technology changes
threatening traditional methods, climate pressures
rewriting the rules. The lesson from Europe's
dairy families is profound yet simple. Keep going.
Not because success is guaranteed, but because
the act of continuing is success itself. The
barn that saved their dreams wasn't a building.
It was belief, maintained through pandemic isolation,
sustained through blue -tongue restrictions,
preserved through every logical reason to quit.
The rhythm of European dairy life, broken so
many times, will finally resume November 27th
through 29th, not back to normal, forward to
something deeper. These families now know they
can survive anything. That knowledge changes
you, makes you both more grateful and more determined,
more aware of fragility, but also more certain
of strength. When I think about what awaits at
Cremona, Lorenzo Cicerani, seeing his family's
12th generation of breeding validated. Young
handlers like Greta Beltramino experiencing their
first full international exhibition. Nathan Thomas
recognizing excellence forged through adversity.
These moments remind me why this industry matters
beyond economics. November 27th through 29th,
2025, Cremona, Italy. Be there if you can. Not
for the genetics, though they'll be magnificent.
Not for the business, though opportunities will
abound. Be there to witness what humans can endure,
what communities can preserve, and what hope
can build when it refuses to die. Some moments
remind us who we are, what we're capable of,
and why we do what we do. This is one of those
moments, and I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.
Thanks for listening to the Bullvine Podcast.
If this story moved you, share it with someone
who needs to hear it, because sometimes the barn
doesn't know there's no show next week. And that's
exactly why we keep going. Until next time, keep
believing in excellence, even when excellence
has no audience.