A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Decamber 31, 1994
More about cows. Note the Oe Laval promotional piece
upper left, and the old true-type Holstein bull and cow, bot
tom shelf.
(Continued from Pago A 1)
and the ‘jokesy’ things just don’t
do that. When I started serious col
lecting in the early 1980’s I could
find more true type cows in the
antique shops than I do now. Cow
figures have become popular since
1 started collecting, but they are
mostly those cute figures that 1
don’t want.”
Bohn was bom into a dairy farm
family in Frederick County, Mary
land, and became acquainted with
Holsteins and a few other kinds
mixed in. He later graduated from
Bridgewater College in Virginia
and got away from the farm. But
those cows were still in his blood.
“At home I always liked the
cows that were different,” Bohn
said. “And I still do. I still have
some cardboard cut-out cows my
grandfather gave me as a boy, but
when my father passed away, 1
decided to buy a model cow as a
memorial to him. And from then on
it was another, and another, and
another.”
Bohn has many elite figurines
and models in his collection. For
example, he has personal contact
with John Harper, the famous
sculptor of limited edition model
cows who lives on the Isle of Man
located between England and Ire
land. One of the more appreciated
pieces in the collection is Harper’s
sculptured model of the official
true-type Jersey cow for the Isle of
Man. Other exclusive names in the
collection include; Royal Dalton,
Andrea, and Beswick. Some of his
exquisite pieces are pricey, but he
limits his buys to a maximum of
$2OO per cow. On the other hand,
many of his cows are quite inex
pensive. Some pieces are of rare
breeds known only in remote parts
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.
Despite less than bullish market
conditions throughout most seg
ments of the beef industry, the
Limousin breed continues to set
new marks.
The North American Limousin
Foundation (NALF) posted the
most registrations in its history for
a single month in November with
10,208 head.
“Given the pressures that exist
in the market place, it’s exciting to
see this'level of commitment from
Limousin breeders,” said Dr. John
Edwards, NALF executive vice-
Industrial Executive Develops Memorial
To Farmer Father With Model Cow Collection
of the world. The exhibit includes
40 to 45 different breeds of cows.
If you want to start a collection,
Bohn has some advice. “Buy what
you like, and don’t worry if it’s a
good investment,” he said. “If you
buy as an investment, it’s probably
not the best investment anyway.
And then you have to sell them. I
don’t want to sell my cows because
I like to look at them.”
What about all these animals sit
ting around the house?
“Actually my wife Joyce finds
pieces she thinks I should add to
my collection,” Bohn said. “In fact,
one of the wall display racks that
looks like a bam with a silo was her
find at the Brethren relief sale. It
Small cow figurines have completely occupied this barn/ that
silo display unit purchased at the Brethren Relief Sale and S?. IJ thl iort?
originally made for Windross trucks. Include exclusive breeds from remote parts of the world.
Limousin Posts Record Month
president.
He said, “As the breed has
grown, so has the dedication to
document the genetics and perfor
mance of the cattle. Obviously that
has a lot to do with the fact that
commercial cattlemen are looking
for that kind of documentation in
making selection decisions.”
Year-end . numbers for the
breed attest to that fact. During the
last fiscal year, NALF transfers of
cattle grew at a record pace for the
seventh consecutive year. Based
on annual registrations', Limousin
is the second largest beef breed in
was made for Windross trucks, but
she thought it should be filled with
cows. So she bought it for me. For
collectors like me, it helps to have
an understanding wife.”
- What about his peers in the
urban business world? What do
they think about his secret love of
cows?
“For a while when I first started
collecting cows, I was
embarrassed,” Bohn said. “But
then I decided that I’m entitled to
my eccentricity as well as anyone
else. So it’s no secret any more.”
From this reporter’s viewpoint,
for those of us who have grown up
on the farm, it’s not eccentricity at
all. It’s just the way we are made.
the United States.
According to Edwards, “The
breed has grown at a phenomenal
rate during a period of seedstock
consolidation. It has grown based
on the breed’s inherent advantages
in calving ease and carcass merit
A model ceramic farm.
compared to other widely used
Continental breeds. •
“With recent reports from the
Meat Animal Research Cpnter
documenting the fact that Limou
sin has the greatest feed efficiency
and retail yield of any widely-used
breed, and the evolution of the
industry toward value-based mar
keting where muscle and retail
yield look to have added advan
tage, Limousin has a tremendous
opportunity'to gain even more
wide-spread acceptance.”