Nigh Brings Passion For Dairying to National Holstein Board

By Crystal McNett - Special to Agri-View
Sunday, October 1, 2006 8:36 PM CDT

A wide variety of experiences make Robert Nigh a great addition to Holstein Association USA's board of directors.

Elected this past June, Robert is excited to bring his farm and past board experiences to the Holstein Association.

Robert began his career as a dairyman at the young age of 8 after his father, Lewis, passed away. Along with his mother Irene, his brother Randy, many neighbors and family, Robert helped keep the family farm alive.

Since his father's death in 1966, Robert and his family have purchased and rented several farms to account for their current 650 acres of tillable land. The Registered Holstein herd consists of 90 cows milked in a double-8 herringbone parlor and housed in tie-stalls.

The Nighs began milking in their parlor on Feb. 12, 2000, after they had built 110 feet onto the barn at twice the width of the current building. Half of the additional length became the parlor and holding area and half was used to add 32 new tie-stalls and several pens. The extended width was built to accommodate the office and milkhouse.

"What needs to be done gets done somehow," laughed Robert.

Robert and his brother Randy share the chore duties along with Robert and his wife Betty's children, Brandon, 17; Ryan, 15; Brady, 9; and Rachel, 7. Typically, Randy handles most of the milking duties while Robert cares for the young stock and handles combining. Randy also does most of the forage chopping. Robert's sons Brandon and Ryan help out with haying and various duties around the farm when they get a break from their school and community activities.

The cows are fed a TMR ration consisting of haylage, corn silage, baled hay, high-moisture corn and roasted soybeans. The tie-stall housing allows the Nighs to feed on an individual basis by top-dressing the higher producing cows. Currently the rolling herd average is at 22,500 pounds of milk on two-times per day milking. The current herd BAA stands at 107.3.

In the past, the Nighs exhibited at World Dairy Expo and had a very successful bull in A.I., Lirr Crestview Jess.

More recently the Nighs have purchased some animals from elite cow families in the Midwest. These animals have contributed to the five bulls they have sent to A.I. in the past year.

Robert refers to his wife, Betty, as the "volunteer extraordinaire" of the family. She is involved with the local church, 4-H, cub scouts and serves as the parish nurse, in addition to her full-time position as a registered nurse with the Vernon County Health Services.

Robert and Betty's children are also extremely involved in their school and community. Brandon, a senior at Viroqua High School is the current FFA Chapter president. He is also involved in football, tennis and hockey. Ryan is also a member of the football and hockey teams. Both sons are on their way to becoming Eagle Scouts. All of the children are active at the Vernon County Fair showing dairy, hogs and even chickens. This year Brady exhibited the Grand Champion Market Chicken and was able to sell it at the livestock auction.

By no means is Betty the only "volunteer extraordinaire" of the family. Agri-View couldn't help but notice the two four-foot stacks of files in the Nigh living room with labels describing the activities they are currently involved in. In addition to the National Holstein board, Robert is a member of the Viroqua School board, the Badgerland Farm Credit Services board and, along with Betty, the Wheatland Township First Responders and Firefighters. Robert also recently completed two terms as a member of the Wisconsin Holstein Association board of directors.

Robert has always been active in organizations throughout his life. In high school he was a member of the Junior Dairymen's Organization and the local FFA chapter where he served a year as president. He earned his State Farmer degree and American FFA degree and also won the Regional Dairy Proficiency Award. He also served as a Wisconsin State FFA officer in 1978.

During his time on the Wisconsin Holstein board, Robert helped the association get back on its feet through a time of financial stress. Once the stability was regained the board focused on implementing new programs and activities including ultrasounding at shows and Top-Performer awards to recognize animals outside of the showring.

Robert's past organizational contributions and dairying experience give a wealth of knowledge to bring to the National Holstein Board.

With 16 members from across the country comprising the board of directors, a wide variety of backgrounds are represented.

"We all have a common interest in breeding good cattle, recognizing good cattle and figuring out what the Holstein Association can do for breeders," said Robert. "Everyone on the board has the same goal, but different ways of getting there."

As the sole board member from Wisconsin, it's Robert's responsibility to represent the views of Wisconsin Holstein breeders on the national level. His past experience on the Wisconsin Holstein board greatly contributes to his ability to convey those messages.

"We had a great group while I was on the board. We all had different personalities, but great respect for each other," said Robert.

The communication lines that Robert developed while on the Wisconsin Holstein board remain open so that he may convey the concerns of the Wisconsin Holstein breeders to the national association. Wisconsin breeders are looking for the national association to stay progressive. Contributing about 20 percent of the total business of the national association, Wisconsin breeders would like the association to stay financially sound and remain the leaders in national animal identification systems.

His unique farm set-up also allows for him to understand the perspectives of both small and large herd sizes.

"I have the smaller herd perspective but, through milking in parlor, understand those challenges, too," Robert explained.

Robert also recognizes the importance of remembering where the association came from and the contributions people have made in the past. He would like to take a "lead by example" attitude that many of the board members share and give the membership a strong group to trust with the decisions of Holstein Association USA.

National Holstein board President, Randy Gross felt that Robert was a natural fit for the audit committee with his experience on the Wisconsin Holstein board during financial troubles and his involvement with the Badgerland Farm Credit Services board.

As a member of the national Holstein board, Robert will commit to traveling to three meetings per year as well as contributing to several conference calls to handle the business of the association.

As the Holstein Association USA's board of directors looks to the future of the dairy industry, they strive to promote quality Holsteins to meet the demands of dairymen across the country and internationally. The association is prepared to address the need for a national animal identification system and already taken steps to begin doing so.

Robert is excited to begin his term with the Holstein Association USA's board of directors. He has known several of the board members for many years and looks forward to working with all of the board and staff at the association to continue the positive progression of the association.

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