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Dairy farmer has deep roots in Yolo County agriculture
By ALDRICH TAN/Democrat correspondent

October 14, 2005

Dixon dairy farmer John Stuart Rowe graduated from UC Davis 52 years ago. Tonight, he returns to be recognized as an "Outstanding Alumni" of the university's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences for his lifetime of dedication to raising and breeding cattle on the Innisfail Herd dairy farm.

"I knew I wanted to become a dairy farmer," said Rowe, who was born in Woodland and grew up on the Dixon farm. "I wanted my hobby to become my life occupation."

And his life occupation, which includes training the next generation of dairy farmers in the art of cattle breeding and judging, has helped win his cows accolades and awards.

"The physical prizes are ribbons and trophies," he said, "but the real prize is our national recognition of our herd so we can merchandise the cows. I've sold cattle to 40 different states and various countries."

Rowe will receive his award at the university's College Celebration event, said Rich Engel, CA&ES director of college relations.

"He has been a tremendous contributor to the dairy industry in Northern California," Engel said. "He is also a great supporter of the college through his willingness to open his farm to the faculty and staff for educational purposes."

Other award recipients include rice geneticist J. Neil Rutger, who resides in both Davis and Arkansas and has family in Yolo County; Michael Campbell, UC Merced's associate vice chancellor; former House of Representatives member Calvin Dooley; and lifelong cotton farmer Jack Stone.

"I'm honored to be part of a pantheon of successful college alumni," Rowe said. "It has been a truly humbling experience."

Rowe grew up on the family farm raising livestock with his father and grandfather. He said he enjoyed taking care of the farm's cattle herd, which the family first bought on Grizzly Island.

While pursuing a degree in animal husbandry at UCD, Rowe said he also played basketball, ran track, wrote for the newspaper and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

"Just being around such a caliber of hardworking people made me see what was possible for my own life," he said.

After college, he started working on the family farm. Rowe recalls waking up at 3:30 a.m. daily to milk the cows and then do a second round of milking in the afternoon.

Rowe is still dedicated to his award-winning cattle. He made an evening trip back to his farm to check on a recently injured cow that he brought back from the UCD's veterinary hospital early Monday afternoon.

"I just want to make sure she's all right," he said after looking over his livestock. "If you treat your cows well, they will be easy to work with and they will give you a lot of milk."

He also spent 40 years as an international dairy judge. Rowe judged his first dairy competition at the American Milking Shorthorn Society show in Minneapolis in the early 1960s.

Dairy judging allowed him to travel worldwide, Rowe said. Most recently he went to a dairy conference in South Africa in June. But Rowe's favorite country to revisit is Australia.

"I always learn something from my travels," he said. "It's a great opportunity to see different kinds of cattle from different parts of the world."

Rowe's cattle also benefit from his international travels. His cattle have won awards from the National Dairy Shrine and the World Dairy Expo, Rowe said.

"I have been able to bring in outside breeders which enables us to have a more competitive dairy breed," he said.

Rowe now works with UCD to educate interested students about dairy farming. He invites student groups to the farm to learn more about the craft and to train for cattle judging competitions.

Rowe makes his cattle available for sale at reasonable prices so other dairy farmers can start their own cattle herds, such as at Tilden Park in Berkeley.

"I want cattle breeding to continue its important role in the dairy industry," he said. "The craft will die out if we don't educate the young. I'm not going to be here forever so I enjoy passing down my knowledge to people who value it as much as I do."

Rowe said he voluntarily retired from dairy judging at age 70 but he doesn't see himself retiring from his farm yet.

"I know that I'm sliding down the other side of the hill," he said, "but I'm still in very good health. I've taken the time to pace myself so I can continue to enjoy what I'm doing."