OUR STORY
3rd Generation Dairy Farmer
Family-raised Miniature Jerseys located in Mitchell, South Dakota. We are the perfect storm of two farm kids born to Dairy families. With the love of the four-legged ladies in our blood, we endeavor to produce the healthiest Miniature Jerseys for small homesteads.
ABOUT OUR FARM
Owned by Dennis and Connie Beeson and considered a labor of love, we enjoy the day-to-day running of our little farm. We are both hands-on with milking, feeding, calving, and cleanup. A lot goes into the day-to-day running of a small homestead but there is always time for cow snuggles and treats so who wouldn’t love what we do?
We both have a strong farm and dairy background so this is like a dream job for us. Retirement allows us to do what we enjoy. We milk, feed, and work cattle together daily. Each of us excels in different areas which makes us a well-rounded team. If I had to say what I like the most I'd say calving is the best and sometimes the worst part of the job. Dennis would probably say putting up hay :)
Dennis focuses on backgrounding the bull calves to see if they are suitable as herd sires and the replacement heifers to see if they meet our standards to remain in our breeding program. He cares for all of our livestock and has 45+ years of nutrition and animal husbandry experience. After chores, Dennis handles the day-to-day maintenance and running of the farm, building fences, welding, fountain repairs, tree trimming, pasture maintenance, oil changes, machinery servicing, etc. Never a boring day on the farm. Know right now that farm work is never done. There is always something that needs to be built, fixed, sprayed, cleaned, painted, or maintained.
Connie’s focus is more on animal health, marketing, breeding, shots, scheduling, embryo collection and sales, vet appointments, record keeping, and running the AMJA registry which is an exciting and sometimes daunting job. Tracking who is in heat and which bull or semen to use at our house involves several large whiteboards and a lot of spying on the girls :)
Our goal is to find the perfect family for each and every animal we raise and to assist our families throughout their little cow journey. Our relationship doesn't end the day they leave the farm. We like to think that with every animal that leaves our farm a new friendship is formed.
AMJA Registered Mini Jerseys
All of our Animals come registered to the new owners with the American Miniature Jersey Association. We include a copy of the UC Davis Tests for your records as well as a copy of their health tests.
We stress the importance of Health and DNA testing on all animals. Especially DNA testing with parentage proving your calf to the Sire. Health testing just guarantees the best possible start with your new family member.
Our breeding program focuses on quality animals that are built for longevity. We don’t breed tiny animals that will struggle in later lactations. We are always breeding towards a flat udder floor, nice hand miking teats, and a nice high attachment. Since every cow has different needs we never use the same bull on all of our girls. We hand-pick the bull for each lady. You will not see us breeding for A2 Beta Casein, Poll, or color. Instead, we look at topline, rear angulation, tail set, and pigment. It takes no skill to breed an A2 Homo polled animal. That's just a matter of putting two A2 Homopolled animals together. We breed much more than that. We breed Miniature Jerseys that you will want to have in your pasture for years to come.
A quality cow is built off of the pedigrees of her ancestors so we dig back into those pedigrees to see what might come forward and what we hope to incorporate into our calves. We encourage our customers to come to meet the dam and sire and take lots of pictures and videos so you can compare your calf to them as it matures. Mostly we encourage you to come to meet us, our little girls, and see what years of experience, knowledge, and dedication to animal genetics are all about.