In another addition of the “Glass of Milk” series, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jerry Strandlund, who will receive a Pioneer Award from the National Dairy Shrine at World Dairy Expo this year. The Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who are outstanding representatives of the dairy industry and have been great contributors to the dairy community.
I’ve known Jerry for several years, in fact, I have a cow photo taken by Jerry hanging on the wall in my house. Jerry’s gentle spirit and vast cow knowledge make him an incredibly likeable guy, and he’s never too busy to share stories from years gone by or to talk about publications and events in the Northwest. Jerry has an incredible passion for purebred registered cattle and breeders in this industry. I hope to be in attendance when he receives his prestigious award in a few weeks, but I enjoyed our conversation about his past, some of the great cows he’s encountered along the way, and his plans for the future.
Talk a little bit about your history and some of the things you did early on in your career.
JS: I was born and raised on my family’s dairy farm in Mora, Minnesota, where we milked 19 cows. I attended the University of Minnesota and took the Herdsman Short Course, after which I continued with my studies and graduated with a degree in Animal Husbandry in 1962. I had the incredible opportunity to work with some great herds and cows after graduation, including Al Hay and the Carnation Milk Farms show string. I also worked at Mor-Ayr Farm in Red Wing, MN, which was the highest scoring herd in the state at the time. While there, I had the privilege of working with the only 97-point cow the Ayrshire breed as seen in the US.
In 1967, I started working with the USA Holstein Association as the Western Regional Fieldman in the Midwest. I travelled around to several events during that time and eventually called Washington state home, where I have lived ever since. I later became the Marketing Manager for All-West Breeders, where I met my wife of 40 years, Sandy, before starting my own cattle photography business, Bovagraph.
How did Bovagraph start? How many cows did you picture? How did that launch your career in publications?
JS: Bovagraph started when I took a picture of the Produce of Dam from Berk Gov Inka Dekol at the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City. At the time it was tough to get a photographer out in the northwest and I was able to really crank things up when I worked at All-West by taking pictures of bulls and daughters of bulls. Since then I’ve probably pictured between 4000-5000 cows, but when the digital craze started, I backed off. It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve done a side portrait.
After I started picturing, the opportunity came up for me to take over the Northwest Holstein News in 1976. This publication covers the seven northwestern states (WA, OR, ID, UT, MT, CO & WY) as well as California and some events in British Columbia, Canada. I also started the BC Holstein News, which is still going strong in BC, and the Western Jersey News.
Diamond-S Eve Corry EX is my favorite cow that I’ve pictured, and that was 35 years ago. Carnation had about 35-40 daughters of her, she was quite the brood cow! She was one of the first cows to ever have that many daughters because of embryo transfer.
What are you actively doing in publishing now and what has been your biggest challenge?
JS: I only put out the Northwest Holsteins Annual now, which at 196 pages is the largest dairy publication in the US. The newspaper that used to come out three times a year has fallen by the wayside. The biggest problem is that 80% of the advertisers I had 40 years ago are gone. It’s tough sledding to be in publishing right now, but I’m immensely thankful for the patronage of the advertisers in the annual magazine. One of the biggest challenges for me is that I’m not involved in social media, I don’t have a smart phone and all the other fancy stuff!
What has been the most fulfilling part of your career and your most memorable moment?
JS: Definitely working with the breeders! I’ve worked with the same people in the northwest for the past 50 years and those people are some of the most grateful people to work with. They always appreciate the work you do for them. It’s been a pleasure to watch kids come up through the ranks and succeed and now have kids of their own. Being able to watch the evolvement and improvement of the people and the herds over the years and having the opportunity to put my input into it has been very fulfilling.
There have been so many memorable moments in general it’s hard to pin-point just one, the journey has been an incredible one! Definitely working with Carnation and travelling in the boxcar with their show string, over 5000 miles, was an incredible highlight for a young guy (only 21 at the time). I love catching up with breeders at shows and other events and I haven’t missed a Western National Show in Richmond, UT, since 1967.
Who has mentored or inspired you over your career?
JS: Al Hay for sure. He was the showman at Carnation and was so dedicated. I was honored to receive the Al Hay Memorial Award at the Western National a few years ago. Working for him was a grand experience. I also really enjoyed working for Robert Rumbler who was the secretary of the USA Holstein Association and considered one of the great breed secretaries of all time. Archie Nelson was the Manager of All-West Breeders when I was there. He was a great cow man, judged at Madison 40 years ago, and really helped me along and expanded my horizons.
What’s next for you? Have you started thinking about retirement or a successor for your publication?
JS: I just want to continue to produce the Northwest Annual as long as I can. I don’t know that I’ll ever officially retire! I’m slowing down now (at 81), but Lord willing I’ll keep going as long as I can. I still love going to all the shows and sales, it keeps me young. I’ve pretty much “been there done that” on my bucket list now and I haven’t really given much thought to a successor, so I better keep going a little while longer!