Boyd Brothers, Bolivar, MO
Boyd Brothers, Bolivar, Missouri are nationally and internationally known for quality Holstein cattle. Theirs is a story of hard work, vision and good judgement in building an outstanding herd from a small start.
There are three Boyd brothers: Noel, born in 1940; Lloyd in 1942 and Lawrence in 1949. Their parents are Lawrence and June Boyd. Lawrence, Sr. is deceased but was a dairy farmer at Bolivar. The three boys all graduated from the Pleasant Hope High School and all three served in Missouri National Guard. A sister, Barbara Austin, lives at Ozark, Missouri.
Boyd Brothers started their partnership herd in 1958 under the guidance of W.H. Hood their Vocational Agriculture teacher. All three boys were FFA officers and all three were on the state champion dairy cattle judging team and Noel and Lloyd were on the National Championship Team in 1958. The first registered herd, established in 1958 was disposed of in a complete dispersal sale with 46 herd selling in November 1962. Then along with their father in 1964 they purchased a farm and began stocking it with top quality Holsteins that would give rise to the present herd. The Boyds chose the prefix “Dixie-Lee” for their herd.
The long range objectives of the Boyds is to have a fairly small seed stock herd of exceptional quality that enables the sale of breeding stock at premium prices. This objective was realized in part in 1981 when the herd was officially classified for type with 19 animals “Excellent” and 16 “Very Good”. This gave the herd of 35 head a BAA average of 116-the highest in the United States for type. The herd excels in production with an average of 21,860 pounds milk, 916 pounds butterfat and 723 pounds of protein.
In the July 1989 USDA Sire Summary Dixie-Lee Ivanhoe Henry-Et, a Boyd bred bull, is listed as the second highest TPI (total production) sire in the nation and Boyd Bros. had owned the dams of the top two bulls in the list. One of their cows Dixie-Lee Elevation Hannah “E” (93) is the 10th highest dam for number of offspring in the nation. Another cows from the Boyd herd, Lar-Lin Glendale Waite, “E” (93) with 43,140 milk, 1,560 fat is the highest selling cow in Missouri history and she has more sons in A.I. use than any other cow.
Dixie-Lee Farms has sold over 100 bulls to A.I. organizations. Eight of these are in the top 400 bulls listed in the USDA Index with a TPI of over 800 pounds. Twelve bulls have been sold to overseas countries.
The Boyd Brother are active in state and community affairs. All three have served on the local DHIA board and Noel on the state board. Noel was co-chairman of the National Convention Sale in 1984. Lloyd has been a delegate to the National Holstein Convention and has judged many dairy shows. Noel has served as Superintendent of Dairy Cattle at the Missouri State Fair for three years. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Ozark Empire Fair. Lawrence is active in the Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club. Lloyd worked as a Holstein Classifier for eight years before returning to the farm fulltime in 1980.
In 1985 the brothers purchased the Pleasant Hope Bank and have a branch facility at Fair Grove. Lloyd is in charge of the 360 acre farm and the Dixie-Lee herd. However, the interest of the Boyd Brothers in the herd and its progress has never waned.