Scott and Laurie Langmaid, along with their three sons, pictured from left to right, Bradley, Ross and Trevor, continue to breed outstanding females at Vermont Pond View Farm.
Scott and Laurie Langmaid of Danville, Vt., have been selected by the Klussendorf Association as the sixth recipient of the Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award. This award recognizes a well-managed breeder herd that has been successful at showing and judging and emphasizes all qualities of the Klussendorf Award, including ability, character, endeavor and sportsmanship. The award will formally be presented on Friday, October 3 during the 48th World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.
Scott and Laurie, along with their sons Ross, Brad and Trevor, operate Vermont Pond View Farm. Scott grew up at Vermont Pond View Farm helping his father, Hugh, build a genetic base that has produced 170 Excellent cows. They have bred four Excellent 95-point cows and six Excellent 94-point cows.
The farm has been in Scott’s family for six generations and more than 200 years. Hugh and his wife, Ann, began working with registered Holsteins in 1964. In 2001, Scott and Laurie took over the dairy and have continued to grow the recognition of the herd.
The tradition of excellence runs deep in the cow families that the Langmaids develop. Several of the more prominent cows that wear the VT-Pond-View prefix (short for Vermont Pond View) come from lines that date back to cow families purchased by Hugh. This includes VT-Pond-View Round Oak Sue EX-94, whose line produced two Excellent 95-point cows, and VT-Pond-View Charisma-ET EX-95, whose line produced three Excellent 94-point cows. The Swampy Hollow Elevation Sweet EX-92 3E cow family also has played a large role in the herd.
Another of the more prominent lines on the farm had its beginning with Twin-Wind TC Broker Lass EX-95. The cow was purchased by the dairy in 1990 and has left her mark producing nine Excellent daughters and several Excellent granddaughters. One of her daughters, VT-Pond-View Rubens Lilyana, also scored EX-95 points and produced many high-scoring offspring.
In 2011, VT-Pond-View Goldwyn Libby-ET, the granddaughter of Lass, was recognized as the Unanimous All American and All Canadian Spring Yearling winning the spring yearling class and junior champion honors at the Royal Winter Fair, New York State Fair and Maryland State Fair. The family has also earned All American Best Three Females in 1991. That same year they earned Reserve All American Produce of Dam, an honor they repeated in 1994.
The family stays busy on the farm and has been unable to do much showing in the last several years, but they have a strong history at the Northeast Fall National Show recording five premier breeder awards and two premier exhibitor titles. The farm has also exhibited many years at the Vermont State show winning premier breeder six times and premier exhibitor five times. They have also laid claim to premier breeder or exhibitor titles at the All American Dairy Show, Mideast Fall National and New York State Fair.
A dedication to breeding and developing good cow families alongside the pond in northeastern Vermont has earned the Langmaids the honor of being named the 2014 McKown Master Breeder.
The Robert “Whitey” McKown Memorial Breeder Award was made possible by the family and friends of the 1997 Honorary Klussendorf honoree after his passing in 2009. Whitey joined the Holstein World staff in 1956 and became widely respected as he traveled nationally and internationally, reporting on shows, sales, meetings, and other Holstein events. The 1987 National Dairy Shrine president also developed MooKown Holsteins at Belleville, N.Y. Whitey had great admiration for the farmer breeder.
The Klussendorf Memorial Association, considered by many as the Hall of Fame for Dairy Cattle Exhibitors, began in 1937 in memory of Arthur B. Klussendorf, considered the outstanding dairy cattle showman of his time. Each year, the Klussendorf Association votes to add a new dairy cattle exhibitor to its roles with lifetime membership for their cumulative works including ability, character, endeavor, and sportsmanship.
