Donor Cows

All donor cows used in the production of SSE embryos are part of the Whispering Hills Farm (WHF) herd. The herd is closed and is certified free of Johne’s Disease and Bovine Leukemia Virus. The standards that SSE donor cows are held to meet or exceed the standards of any cows used in any export facility for embryo production. All donor cows are free of Tibial Hemimelia (TH), Pulmonary Hypoplasia with Anasarca (PHA), Digital Subluxation (DS), and all variants of Myostatin (Myo). We have chosen not to include any Myostatin variants in our herd or embryos to maximize their genetic purity. All donor cows are polled. They have excellent udders including moderate teat size (no balloons). Selection for exemplary temperament has been a hallmark of the WHF herd and all donor cows more than meet WHF temperament standards. All donor cows had their pelvic diameters measured as yearlings and exceeded median standards for this important attribute. WHF cows have always been selected for positive maternal traits. Simply put WHF donor cows bring together all the qualities that are desired in an excellent Shorthorn cow. We believe they are the finest group of Heritage Shorthorns being used as donor cows today and incorporate the genetic diversity that allows anyone to take advantage of their potential offspring.

You can access the pedigree of a donor cows by typing her name into the search box in the HSS Registration Database: https://registry.heritageshorthorn.org

A completely revised list of embryos available, including many new bulls and donor cows, will be posted by 9/15/2023. The list of embryos posted will include many that have the possibility of being both homozygous polled and A2/A2.

Emeraldale Irmas Joesi

Registration #: 4216597

BD: 05/01/2013 Wt: 1770#

Gen: Polled, A1/A2 Frame Score: 6

Joesi is the prototypical Dual-Purpose Heritage Shorthorn cow. She has a perfect udder with exceptional milking ability. Her Heritage Shorthorn genetics are extremely rare. She is a 10 year old cow that has been at the top of our herd. We have several of her daughters in the herd that we have used as donor cows. They include Jenny (Sire: Boa Kae Royal Oak), Jolene (Sire: Kinnaber Leader 9th), June (Sire: Whisper Royal Chief), and Spring (Sire: Spiro). We are adding another daughter to the cow herd this year: Whisper Fiona sired by Eionmor Ultra 8C.

Rosabell 514 “Bessie”

Registration #: 4192486

BD: 03/25/2012 Wt: 1675#

Gen: PP, A1/A1 Frame Score: 5.5

Bessie is a thick, long bodied Dual-Purpose Heritage Shorthorn cow that is now 11 years old. She is an exceptionally good milking cow and has been bred over the years to 9 different bulls. Her daughters are very consistent in their makeup incorporating style, feed efficiency, excellent udders, maternal instinct, and size no matter who she is bred to. Her 2023 bull calf sired by Mandalong Super Elephant been sold to a Canadian Heritage Shorthorn breeder in Alberta, Canada. Her 2024 heifer calf will be sired by Boa Kae Royal Oak.

Maizie (in the back) with her 2021 daughter “Sweet 16”.

Rosabell 515 “Maizie”

Registration #: 4192490

BD: 03/27/2012 Wt: 1730#

Gen: PP, A1/A1 Frame Score: 7.0

Maizie would be considered Dual Purpose with a slight dairy tendency. She is 11 years old and doesn’t look a day over 5. She has maintained her excellent udder structure and continues to produce heifer calves for us despite being being bred AI to 9 different bulls. Her Meadowbrook Prince 16th daughter from 2 years ago, “Sweet 16”, is now one of our donor cows along with Whisper Mandy and Whisper Ellen. Her 2023 daughter, “Snow Bunny” (Sire: Spiro) will be added to the Whisper cow herd. Her 2024 heifer calf will be sired by Clark.

Whisper Beatrice 13J

Registration # 4290090
BD: 3/13/2017 BW: 81# Wt: 1550#
Gen: PP, A1/A2 Frame Score: 5.5

Bea is a daughter of Boa Kae Royal Oak and maintains her body condition even under the harshest winter conditions. Her compact thick body frame is in synch with much of the beef industry. Her ease of fleshing is only matched by her half sister Jenny in the WHF herd. It could be said Bea looks at food and puts on weight. Bea has been recently sold to a Canadian Heritage Shorthorn breeder in Alberta, Canada.

Whisper Bernice 11K

Registration # 428943
BD: 3/7/2018 BW: 88# Wt: 1750#
Gen: PP, A1/A1 Frame Score: 7.0

Bernice puts it all together with excellent depth of body and tremendous length. She is a daughter of Whisper Royal Chief (Meadowbrook Chieftain 9th son). She has been very consistent in producing excellent calves from several different old Heritage Shorthorn bulls. Her calves have consistently rank in the top 5 that we have every year. Bernice has been recently sold to a Heritage Shorthorn breeder in Alabama.

Whisper Ellen 4L

Registration # 4289410
BD: 2/21/2019 BW: 78# Wt: 1350#
Gen: PP, A1/A2 Frame Score: 5.0

Ellen is sired by Kinnaber Leader 9th. She has a tremendous heifer calf at her side that has been sold to Georgia. She has a picture perfect udder and maintains her body condition while raising her daughter—quite an achievement. In addition she was the first cow to cycle back this year. She already has earned a permanent position in the WHF cow herd. It is hard to overstate the quality Ellen brings to our herd. Her 2023 bull calf, “Show Boy”, sired by Four Point Major, will be added to the Whispering Hills Farm breeding program.

Whisper Jenny 16K

Registration # 4290091
BD: 4/18/2018 BW: 93# Wt: 1750#
Gen: P, A2/A2 Frame Score: 5.5

Jenny raised a set of twin bull calves sired by Spiro. It is a testament to her strong maternal abilities that both calves are doing great with one already sold as a herd sire. She is a daughter of Boa Kae Royal Oak and has the same fleshing ability as her half sister Whisper Beatrice. With her A2 status, thickness and length of body she will have offspring that can work in any Shorthorn herd. Jenny has been recently sold to Canadian Heritage Shorthorn breeder in Alberta, Canada.

Whisper Mandy 10I

Registration # 4290088
BD: 3/4/2017 BW: 92# Wt: 1910#
Gen: PP, A1/A1 Frame Score: 7.5

Mandy is a Mandalong Super Flag daughter that exemplifies the phenotype that WHF constantly works toward producing. Two of her daughters are in the WHF herd already.

Her size allows for the use of a variety of older Shorthorn bulls without producing “belt buckle” cattle. Because she is white anytime she is crossed with a solid red bull it is reasonable to expect a roan calf. Her 2023 heifer calf (Whisper Champagne Darling) sired by Acadia Champagne is outstanding. Proof that Mandy has the genetic makeup to be productive when mated to a variety of Heritage Shorthorn bulls.

Mandy will be leaving the Whispering Hills Farm breeding program this fall as she has been sold to Idaho. We have numerous embryos collected from Mandy that have been sired by several different Classic Heritage Shorthorn bulls.

Whisper Mandy Lou 1L

Registration # 4289411
BD: 2/12/2019 BW: 78# Wt: 1425#
Gen: PP, A1/A1 Frame Score: 5.0

Mandy Lou is a daughter of Whisper Mandy and Whisper Royal Chief. She moved to Canada in 2022 where she is now in a Heritage Dairy Shorthorn herd. Her new owners are pleased with her milking ability, maternal instinct, and temperament. To quote them “She is such a sweetheart." Mandy Lou is of another generation in the sense she is what Dual Purpose Shorthorns cows used to be. Her embryos, sired by several different Classic Heritage Shorthorn bulls, are a rare opportunity to utilize her positive genetic traits to build a quality Heritage Shorthorn herd.

Whisper Spiro’s Spring 15N

HSS Registration # 057-HS
BD: 5/6/2021 BW: 83# Expected mature Wt: 1525#
Gen: PP, A1/A2 Expected frame Score: 5.5

Just like her dam, Joesi, she embodies everything a Heritage Shorthorn breeder would want in a cow. Despite being just over 2 years of age she is already the dam of 2 calves. Whisper Robin, a PP A2/A2 daughter of Kenmar President 26A that is being added to the Whisper cow herd, and Whisper Bulldozer, a IVF son of Seabreeze HD Fascination. It is important to point out that Spring calved unassisted at 21 months of age and her daughter Robin weighed 78#. Robin is by far the best 26A female we have ever seen. Spring’s 2024 calves will be a bull calf sired by Kenmar Leader 13B and an IVF calf sired by Pleasant Dawn Seal 2nd. Long term we anticipate that Spring will one of the top 2-3 cows in the Whisper herd and potentially in all Heritage Shorthorn females. We were amazed by her material instincts and milking ability as a first calf heifer. It is hard to overestimate her potential.

Whisper Sweet 16 2N

HSS Registration # 051-HS
BD: 1/28/2021 BW: 77# Expected Mature Wt: 1725#
Genetics: PP, A1A2 Expected Frame Score: 7.0

Sweetie is the only Meadowbrook Prince 16th offspring currently in existence. With Maizie as her dam her pedigree is exceptional when it comes to quality. A writeup on Meadowbrook Prince 16th is available under reference bulls on the Shorthorn Select Genetics website. Sweetie is off to a tremendous start as a cow in the Whisper herd. Her daughter this year is “Flour”, sired by Boa Kae Royal Oak, who is being added to the Whisper cow herd. Sweetie has an excellent udder with good milking ability, and great maternal instincts. She will be a large cow like her dam Maizie with wonderful eye appeal and stature. Sweetie will have a Kenmar Ransom 5Z sired heifer calf in 2024.