Welcome
2013 WJHA Preview Weekend & Open Jackpot Show
June 7-9, 2013 • Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Jefferson, WI
WLBA Preview Show
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Entry Form
WJHA Open Jackpot Show
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Entry Form | Rules & Regulations
2013 PRIDE Convention & Scholarship
View WJHA PRIDE Scholarship Application (Due June 1, 2013)
Recent Updates (5/6/13)
Results (added WHA State Sale results), Members
Featured Member Profile:
Dave Simmons
Dave Simmons was inducted into the WHA Hall of Fame posthumously during the WHA Annual Meeting on February 16, 2013. Dave was involved in the purebred livestock industry his entire life. He grew up showing Ayrshire dairy cattle before Willard Allen, Wales, Wis., helped him get started raising Herefords in 1973. Over the years, Dave and his family also raised Hampshire sheep and rabbits, including the Champion Rabbit in Houston one year.
Dave was active in the former Wisconsin Polled Hereford Association, serving as a director and participating in many state sales. He raised several Champion Bulls at the former Vacationland Sale. His herd grew to over 40 cows before selling many of the cows so he could manage Willow Brook Farms in the late 1970’s. While at Willow Brook Farms, Dave had the opportunity to purchase breed leading and sale topping genetics from Beartooth Ranch in Montana. Some of these same genetics reside in the C&L Hereford Ranch gene pool today.
After leaving Willow Brook Farm, Dave ran a small farm near Dousman where he had a select herd of cows. During this time, Dave also worked full time off the farm at Lad Lake, a place where troubled and neglected boys could acquire the strong values of personal responsibility and hard work while getting their lives on the “right track.”
Although Dave’s cow herd was small in number, the quality was extremely high. He raised females like Flirt Vic, a Sierra Hercules 2L daughter who was the dam of the champion bull at the 1987 State Sale. He also bred a cow named Lady Beth, whose first three offspring had average weaning weights of 750 lbs. Her calves included two Wisconsin State Fair Junior Show Champions, a Wisconsin Champion in the Open show and Preview Show. Another female named “The Rose” was also a source of great pride for Dave and his family.
Although Dave passed away in 1987 at the age of 53, he left many friends and lessons behind. He helped cultivate the love of Hereford cattle that is felt by several breeders in Wisconsin today. Not only did he raise great cattle, but Dave and his wife Gail raised two wonderful daughters…Dawn and Rachel. The WHA was honored to have members of the Simmons family attend the annual meeting, where they could recognize their father’s lifetime achievements in the WHA.
