Innovation Meets Tradition: Bomaz Farms Becomes a Key Stop on Dairy Rally 2025

Could you tell us about your farm — what makes it unique?
Bomaz Farms has a long tradition of combining a passion for dairy cattle and elite genetics with building a sustainable and profitable family dairy business. The farm traces its roots back to my grandparents — the name “Bomaz” comes fr om Bob (BO), Mary (MA), and Zwald (Z). The next generation — my parents Bob & Kay — carried on their vision, and today the farm is run on a daily basis by Bob’s & Kay along with their two children, Annette and Tom, together with their spouses Steve and Ashley. I continue to drive the genetic program at the farm along with running a separate beef genetics business called Progenco.

What will participants experience when visiting your farm during the Dairy Rally?
They will see a thriving family operation that balances tradition with innovation. Visitors will get a close look at how our family works together, how the feed enterprise integrates with the dairy side, and how genetics shape the farm’s performance & future.

They will also see recent expansions and technology upgrades, including a 40-cow rotary parlor that is run by a single operator. It’s highly labor-efficient and allowed us to modernize without becoming excessively large, while still incorporating some of the best technologies to drive efficiency available worldwide.

We are proud of the progress we’ve made. Today’s cow performance in terms of milk volume (100 lbs/cow/day), component levels (8.3 lbs combined fat & protein/cow/day), and overall health — is outstanding. Looking back over the past 20 years, advances in both technology and genetics have transformed the farm. We are proud to own some of the best genetic animals in the industry, and proud of how they are managed and cared for.

Nate Zwald" src="/upload/medialibrary/ea9/zx1e1gc53xw72yrubq7jjv01313iets1/WhatsApp-Image-2025_09_19-at-08.27.48.jpeg" height="512" title="Nate Zwald">

photo: Nate Zwald

Does your farm specialize in any particular area or approach?
Our philosophy is straightforward: to raise the most productive cows possible. We believe that if cows are cared for properly, they will, in turn, take care of us. Happy cows are productive cows, and we like to say that the cows love living here at Bomaz.

Genetics play a central role. For many years, we have focused on making the best genetic progress we could. About five years ago, we upgraded to the rotary parlor and built new barns with stalls designed for cow comfort and sand bedding. The combination of sand bedding and the rotary system significantly improved cow comfort and health, enabling animals to reach their full genetic potential.

Our herd has produced elite genetics that have been marketed globally by leading companies, and we are proud of that impact. But more importantly, we’ve seen how genetics improve our own farm: genetically stronger cows produce more milk, live longer, conceive faster, deliver higher components, and ultimately generate greater profitability.

How do you measure your genetic results, and what genetic highlights can you share?

The best way to measure genetic progress is through cow performance, and we are especially thrilled with the component levels combined with the overall milk production we are achieving. We have an extensive genetic program wh ere our top 50 animals at any given time are on an intensive embryo production program, with about 5000 embryos produced each year. These are implanted at Bomaz and a couple other partner herds to drive genetic progress for both our farm, our partners farms, and the industry. The most elite males from that program enter AI, and the most elite females are the next generation of donors for Bomaz. Our genetics program is three-pronged:

• Traditional elite genetics for TPI and NM

• An elite line of Red Holsteins

• Polled and Homozygous polled

We are always excited by new genomic results that come every week on newborn calves and are proud to have some of the most elite genetics in all three categories.

Why, in your view, is the Dairy Rally an important event for the industry and for the next generation of farmers?
Over my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with Alta Genetics for 15 years and ABS Global for nearly eight, which has allowed me to visit farms in more than 25 countries. Each experience reinforced an important lesson: while dairy is always about cows, it is equally about people. Learning how producers in different countries think, manage, and innovate is incredibly valuable.

Events like the Dairy Rally create those opportunities. They foster international exchange, fresh ideas, and dialogue across borders. These experiences stay with you throughout your career, and often both sides come away having learned something new. Beyond genetics or technology, it’s about building relationships that can lead to collaboration and better ways of working.

That is why I’m excited to host the group at Bomaz Farms. It’s an opportunity not only to showcase what we’ve built — our genetics, our technology, and our family business — but also to learn from the producers and participants who will be here. In the end, the dairy business is about continuous learning, and the Dairy Rally embodies that spirit.

You can register for the Dairy Rally via the link.

You can see more about Bomaz and Nate at:

https://youtu.be/0lluXJJJHTQ

Recent podcast: Fire in the belly with Nate Zwald - Jacoby

(2) Memories, Mentors, and Milk Records! | LinkedIn

(2) Questions lead to Curiosity, and when that leads to Intrigue - then we Learn! | LinkedIn

Red Impact Competition 2024: Bomaz Rubels 9524 Wins in a Split Decision from Rubellia

Bomaz Pizza: 30 Years of Hard Work An Experiment that Paid Off

SPONSORED: Celebrate June Dairy Month with Wisconsin’s Own Bomaz Farms | kare11.com