{"id":459448,"date":"2019-09-28T08:35:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-28T14:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cowsmo.com\/?p=459448"},"modified":"2019-09-28T08:35:28","modified_gmt":"2019-09-28T14:35:28","slug":"what-dreams-are-made-of-gamlake-dairy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/?p=459448","title":{"rendered":"What Dreams Are Made Of – Gamlake Dairy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured in our Summer 2019 written by Julie Ashton, Gamlake Dairy made their mark where and when it counted most!<\/p>\n

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APGambo Atwood Keenan EX-94 is undefeated in 2019, winning California and the Western Spring National.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just two years ago, the Gambonini family exhibited at World Dairy Expo for the first time. Their goal for the week was simple: place in the Top 10 with their two Holsteins in the Junior Show. Not only would Keenan and Sallie each medal, but Gamlake Dairy quickly became a name the biggest players in the Holstein show world would recognize after 2017. While their success over the last two years has made them a household name, it has been the work and dedication over the last century that has gotten them to where they are today.<\/p>\n

A CENTURY IN THE MAKING<\/strong>
\nSilvio Gambonini purchased a ranch in Petaluma, CA, in 1913, and began a grade Holstein farm. The farm, located in the heart of wine country in Sonoma County, has remained in the Gambonini family, passed onto Earl and Ester, then George and Margaret, and now the next generation: Frank and Stacey, and their daughters, Francesca (23), Alexandra (22) and Samantha (16).<\/p>\n

While the farm has always been home to Holsteins, Frank and Stacey saw an opportunity to cater to a growing niche market. \u201cWe transitioned to an organic herd in 2007,\u201d Frank commented. \u201cWe already pastured our cows, had an ideal location in Petaluma, and saw the growing trend of organic milk.”<\/p>\n

Today, the farm and all 200 cows are certified organic, with milk shipped to Sierra Organics. The herd is raised on pasture year-round, and supplemented with a mixed grain, alfalfa hay and a winter forage silage. \u201cThere are a lot of feedstuffs that aren\u2019t available in the organic market,\u201d noted Frank. \u201cProducts just aren\u2019t as available, or the quality might not be as good, but we make it work with what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There are also very specific herd health regulations the farm has to follow. \u201cVaccinations and preventable medicine is big in organics,\u201d Frank said. \u201cWe can still care for our cows, just with different products, like probiotics and aspirin.\u201d All products used on the farm has to be organically sourced, manufactured properly, and the accompanying paperwork kept on file.<\/p>\n

While their nutrition and herd health does have different protocols than what traditional farms are used to, it doesn\u2019t limit their ability to breed for the kind of cows that most dairymen are looking for – functional, sound, healthy cows with the ability to milk. \u201cWe focus on a lot on fertility and DPR, since we can\u2019t use hormones in our repro program,\u201d said Frank. \u201cAnd components are important since we are a pasture herd.”<\/p>\n

The herd has a current RHA of 22,811M 3.8F 3.3P. \u201cBecause we are organic, we don\u2019t breed heavy for production,\u201d noted Frank. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to feed cows organically and push for milk.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Frank\u2019s favorite bulls is Mogul, which he still uses currently. \u201cThe calves are always healthy, they calve in with good udders, and they aren\u2019t too big for our operation.\u201d While functional type has always been a focus for the herd, of lately, they\u2019ve started to use more show-type bulls including Artist *RC, Crush, King Doc, Unstopabull and Ammo P. About 65% of the herd is registered, and of the classified cows, they have 11 EX, 36 VG and 49 GP.<\/p>\n

Frank\u2019s father, George, began buying registered Holsteins for Frank and his sisters when they were younger. \u201cHe thought it would be neat for us to show,\u201d Frank mentioned. While Frank and his sisters would only show on the local level, the spirit of competition was ingrained in him, and that would be something he would pass along to his daughters.<\/p>\n

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Gamlake Destry Sallie and Sammie at the 2018 WDE Supreme Champion Show.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DREAMS TURNED TO REALITY<\/strong>
\nFrankie, Alex and Sammie Gambonini took an interest in the dairy all at young ages. \u201cAt a very young age, I fell in love with the Holstein cow,\u201d Alex commented. \u201cThe fact that I had no cows registered under my name didn\u2019t deter me from thinking that every cow on Gamlake Dairy was mine for the taking.\u201d In 2005, Frank gifted Alex her first registered cow, which further sparked passion for the dairy industry.<\/p>\n

While the family saw moderate success at the local level, Alex had bigger goals in mind. She exhibited at the California State Show for the first time in 2012. \u201cEver since I had taken \u2018Extra Mile\u2019 to my first state show, I had dreamed of winning a champion title at World Dairy Expo with one of my very own cows,\u201d she commented.<\/p>\n

During their 4-H years, Frank gifted his girls heifers from sound, yet average cow families, \u201cas my father always believed that we needed to earn our calves by working to get the best ones and having enough knowledge to know they are the best,\u201d stated Alex. APGambo Atwood Keenan EX-94 is undefeated in 2019, winning Calfornia and Western Spring National.<\/p>\n

With her passion for showing and dairy judging expanding through her teenage years, Alex continued to work hard with her animals and compete throughout California. In 2017, she showed APGambo Atwood Keenan as a Junior 3-Year-Old in the open show at the Sonoma County Fair. \u201cJohn Cunningham of R-John Holsteins told me that Keenan was good enough to go to Expo,\u201d show recalled. \u201cHe offered me the opportunity to send her back with his show string to Joe and Amber Price\u2019s in Illinois leading up to Expo.”<\/p>\n

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Gamlake Destry Sallie EX-94 was Grand Champion at the 2018 WDE Junior Show.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The family decided to also send 5-Year-Old Gamlake Destry Sallie owned by Sammie to the show. Sallie was Reserve Grand Champion at State Fair the year before, but was dry when she went to Illinois. \u201cEven though we didn\u2019t know how she would calve out, we sent Sallie, too,\u201d commented Frank. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know if the girls would ever have a chance to show at Expo again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cows made the 2000 mile trip across country in mid-August, and Sallie calved in early September. \u201cJoe called us and said she looked really nice,\u201d Alex recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was incredibly thankful and appreciative to John, Joe and Amber, and to even be at Expo,\u201d commented Alex, \u201cbut when Keenan went on to not only win the Junior 3-Year-Old class, but be named Intermediate Champion, I was beyond ecstatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sallie also held her own in class, placing third and was named Best Bred & Owned. \u201cTo have both girls have Bred & Owned winners at Expo was really special,\u201d remarked Frank. \u201cAnd both cows are from the original herd, from average cow families!\u201d To cap it off, Keenan was selected as Bred & Owned Champion of the Junior Show. \u201cI talked to my dad right after the show,\u201d Frank recalled, \u201cand he said the best moment for him was watching the show on ExpoTV and seeing Alex and Sammie walk out of the ring together and high-fiving! They got to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime moment together.\u201d<\/p>\n

2017 ended on a high note, with Keenan named Junior All-American Junior 3-Year-Old and Sallie nominated Junior All-American 5-Year-Old. It was during this time that the Gambonini family formed a formed a partnership with RuAnn Dairy and Graisson and Mandy Schmidt and the cows moved to Riverdale, CA.<\/p>\n

Both cows started out 2018 where they left 2017 off, with Sallie named Reserve Grand Champion at BC Spring Show, Reserve Senior Champion at California State Show and Western Spring National. Keenan was the winning 4-Year-Old at Western Spring and CA State Show, and was Grand Champion of the CA Junior Show for Alex in her last year as a Junior.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While Keenan wouldn\u2019t the trip to Madison in 2018, Sallie did at over a year milking. But on this trip, it was her time to shine. Not only did she win the Aged Cow Class, she was selected as Bred & Owned Champion, Senior and Grand Champion and Reserve Supreme Champion of the Junior Show. She classified EX-94 2E a week after Madison and earned Unanimous Junior All-American honors.<\/p>\n

Keenan freshened in January 2019, scored EX-94 in February, and once again wowed judges. She was Grand Champion at both the California State Show and Western Spring National Show. If all goes well, she\u2019ll once again make the trip to Expo. Sallie isn\u2019t due to calve till December, so her eyes are set to 2020.<\/p>\n

With both cows no longer in the organic operation, they have been flushed at RuAnn. Sallie has pregnancies by Artist and Undenied, and Crush and Tatoo daughters. She also has a natural VG-85 RC Polled Addiction. Keenan has a natural Mogul daughter at Gamlake that is VG-85 and milk well, and a Namesake due in June owned by John Cunningham.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so thankful for the care that RuAnn, Graisson and Mandy,\u201d commented Alex. \u201cThey have been awesome to work with and we are excited about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when asked about the future of Gamlake Dairy, Frank responded candidly, \u201cEveryone knows the dairy economy isn\u2019t great right now, so we\u2019re looking at options so that we can keep doing what we love with the cows.\u201d And like so many dairies in California, diversification may be the key, with a proposed vineyard in 2020 being the answer for the Gambonini family.<\/p>\n

So far, all the girls have expressed interested to stay involved in the dairy industry. Frankie is at Grad School at Penn State in Biotechnology and Scientific Communications with a dairy emphasis; Alex starts Grad School at the University of Minnesota this fall in Applied Economics in the Ag Department; and Sammie, is just a Junior in high school, but active in FFA Junior Holstein work and looks forward to continuing her showing career.<\/p>\n

With the support of family, and friends across the country, the Gambonini family has had the opportunity to live out lifelong dreams,. And now, with the taste of victory on a national level, they are ready and excited for the next chapter.<\/p>\n

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Written by Julie L. Ashton<\/p>\n

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Featured in our Summer 2019 written by Julie Ashton, Gamlake Dairy made their mark where and when it counted most! Just two years ago, the Gambonini family exhibited at World […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-459448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=459448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=459448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=459448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsmo.kinsta.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=459448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}