The Lamb Family reveals how they manage their show and commercial herds

OAKFIELD, N.Y. — Jonathan and Alicia Lamb of Oakfield Corners Dairy in western New York didn’t set out to have a grand champion in Madison, but of course they were hopeful. Their focus has been on steady, continuous improvement in their 28-cow show herd, housed separately from the 10,000 commercial cows milked across multiple sites.

Even so, their two decades of persistence, teamwork and a balanced cow, Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane (EX-96), delivered the sweet victory, besting a deep 5-year-old class and earning senior and grand champion of the International Holstein Show, as well as reserve supreme at the 2025 World Dairy Expo Oct. 3.

 “When we started out, that goal seemed too lofty,” said Jonathan in a Farmshine interview after it had time to sink in. “Even when we started having success, I wouldn’t let my mind go there. We’ve been humbled many times at Expo. You think you have good animals, and then you get there and see the level of competition jump.”

Although Oakfield Corners previously earned Premier Breeder (Red & White 2018, Holstein 2022) and Best Three Females (Holstein 2024), Kandy Cane marked their first individual open-class win on the colored shavings.

Many expected the 5-year-old class to produce the champion, and eyes were on pre-show ‘favorites,’ Twigs and Sally, with Dawn in the mix.

The mood shifted when Jamie Black led Kandy Cane into the ring.

“I was by the entrance,” Alicia recalled. “Everyone was talking Twigs and Sally. Then people started saying, ‘Who’s that cow?’ They looked in the catalog — ‘Oh, that’s the cow from Oakfield; she looks really good.’ You could feel the shift.”

Moments later, the livestream commentators echoed it: “She’s a crowd pleaser… such a balanced cow.” They began connecting her Lovhill prefix back to Katrysha.

By available records, Lovhill becomes the first prefix to produce two separate World Dairy Expo grand champion Holsteins. Kandy Cane’s dam is a maternal sister to Lovhill Goldwyn Katrysha, who was reserve in 2014 and grand and supreme in 2015 for Milksource.

Judge Aaron Eaton ended the 5-year-old suspense quickly and left no doubt: “This cow in first, she runs away with it. So much balance, dairyness, angularity, and the best udder in the class. She strides out on a beautiful set of feet and legs.”

With lifetime production over 125,000M (2x), Kandy Cane also won the class production award.

When Eaton later named his grand champion among the record 468 Holstein entries, he added: “We’re splitting hairs… but when that 5-year-old came in, it was game over for me.”

“She might have been the underdog, but we knew she was coming on,” Jonathan reflected. “Jamie, who manages our show herd, liked being the dark horse. She was bagging up nice, and she looked great.”

Kandy Cane’s win caps a remarkable run: supreme at the 2024 All-American in Harrisburg and grand at the 2025 Northeast Spring National in Syracuse.

The Lambs first spotted her as a fresh 2-year-old in 2022 in the barn of Mike and Jessica Lovich of Saskatchewan during the Canadian Holstein Convention, when Jonathan was Holstein Association USA president.

“I remember saying, ‘That’s a nice heifer,’” Alicia recalled. “She was young, cute, and had that look about her.”

Two years later, on a bus to the Holstein Canada Gala, they found themselves across from Lovich. “We mentioned her and heard how great she looked,” Jonathan added. “He said he wanted her to go somewhere he trusted and offered her to us. We appreciated that.”

Kandy Cane arrived in New York in the Spring of 2024. Their daughter Kyra, then 10, took one look and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, she’s got the most beautiful head I’ve ever seen on a cow!” Alicia laughs. “She really does.”

 Having calved Jan. 18, she is due in March 2026 to Blakely, a Game Day son noted for high conception and type, and has been flushed with Epiphany and Lambda embryos due this Winter and Spring.

Behind the shine is year-round discipline, Alicia explained: “Our show cows are in a separate facility on a special diet 365 days a year, and they are worked with year-round.”

For the Lambs, Expo is the Super Bowl. “We’re proud of many cows we’ve bred, but Madison’s bar is so high, they only go when we think they have a legitimate shot,” said Jonathan.

This year, they brought their largest and most successful string: six Holstein cows and a heifer; five Red & White cows and a heifer, plus one Jersey cow and heifer. Every animal earned a medal.

Adding to the excitement, their children had success. Son Griffin, 9, showed for the first time with his winter Jersey calf standing 7th out of 40 (5th junior).

Daughter Kyra, 11, showed the senior and grand champion of the International Junior Jersey Show, Kevetta Colton Delilah, who also stood second in the aged cow open class. Oakfield has done well over the years with several Holsteins and Jerseys from the Kevetta prefix of Kevin and Annetta Herrington of Dansville, New York.

Lamb cousins Chloe and Claire also excelled with Oakfield Tatoo Tender (EX-95), reserve senior and reserve grand champion of the International Junior Holstein Show.

“Part of this is assembling a great team,” Jonathan affirmed. “Jamie is among the best at what he does. The fitters and everyone behind the scenes, they’re dedicated and invested.” Alicia agreed: “They all have different talents and worked so well together.”

Two herds, two philosophies

Oakfield Corners is one of New York’s largest and most progressive dairies, milking thousands of cows across multiple sites with two distinct goals.

Their commercial herd is bred for production and durability. Expansion has been steady but deliberate, with more home-raised heifers to ensure health and consistency.

“We put in around 8500 embryos a year with about a 94% index. Most come from our genomic program. With beef prices high, we also do some crosses, and sell those as day-old beef cross calves,” noted Alicia, who heads up the marketing and genetics for Oakfield Corners and Lamb Farms.

The show herd follows its own course, she explained: “When you’re breeding for a show cow, you’re breeding for a show cow. When you’re breeding for a high-index cow, you’re breeding for that. They’re two separate philosophies.”

Both programs share a common purpose, to keep improving and build better cows. That mindset has produced winners like Oakfield Solomon Footloose, bred and developed at Oakfield, then sold as a 4-year-old to Duckett Holsteins, where she went on to be Expo grand (2022, 2024) and supreme (2022).

Among the Red & Whites, Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red (EX-97) is a standout for Jamie. She’s been grand champion of the All-American in Harrisburg three straight years (2023–25). “She’s one of my favorites,” he says. “I’ve got a soft spot for old cows, the cows that have done the work, lasted a long time, had a lot of calves, given a lot of milk.”

Looking ahead, the Lambs purchased two promising 2-year-olds at Expo this year; a red and a black, to diversify pedigrees and push progress forward.

The greatest reward of Expo, however, is the shared experience. “It’s seeing everyone,” Alicia said. “We only see some of these friends once or twice a year. It was special having both kids there all week, watching them make friends with other young people who love cattle too. Those friendships will last a long time.”

“We started from humble beginnings. We’ve grown, learned, and kept trying to get better,” Jonathan, added quietly. “We’re really very fortunate to do this together because our children love it too.”