Torsten Arthur (T.A.) Burgeson

Born in Sweden in 1905, Torsten Arthur Burgeson, known as T. A., immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. T.A. became a top breeder of Holstein dairy cattle and a leader among Missouri dairymen. After settling near Grandview, Missouri, while working on a dairy farm, he became a boxer with the South Kansas City Athletic Association. In 1934 he purchased a 320 acre farm south of Kansas City and established a retail milk route. He milked up to 100 cows until he decided to reduce the herd size and travel to Ontario, Canada to purchase registered Holstein cattle with Rag Apple bloodlines. He used Tabur as the prefix of the names of his bred cattle.

By 1948, T. A. had become well known among Holstein breeders who chose him to serve on the committee for the National Holstein Convention in Kansas City. He became president of the Missouri Holstein Association in 1950 and a director of the National Holstein Association, serving 1956-64. He also served as chair of the State Holstein Sale for eighteen years. The Missouri Holstein Association presented T. A. the Distinguished Service Award in 1967.

T.A. was an outstanding judge and classifier of Holstein cattle. He judged internationally at shows in Venezuela, Ecuador, Columbia, and Australia as well as at shows in Iowa, Illinois and Kentucky. He served five terms on the Holstein World All-American panel of dairy judges.

Recognition of Burgeson cattle is evidenced by his breeding of forty All­Missouri winners during the 1948-59 period. In 1950, T. A. dispersed his herd, recording the highest sale average in Missouri up to that time. The herd sire, Abbey Sovereign, sold for $1,375 while Tabur Soverign Man-O-War, a 2-day old bull calf, sold for $235. This calf proved to be a great transmitting sire and ultimately entered the Nebraska Artificial Breeders Association stud. He was the double great-grandsire of Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief whose accomplishments were internationally acclaimed.

Five Burgeson bulls were awarded gold metals by the Holstein Association. From 1954 to 1961, T. A.’s animals won six Grand Championships at the Ozark Empire Fair and five at the Missouri State Fair. Twin Holstein cows sold by Burgeson to Ivan Strickler set the North American record for milk fat production in 1966, while another cow he produced and sold set a record in Kansas by producing more than 1,000 pounds of fat in four consecutive years. During the 1950s, Burgeson had full or part ownership of bulls chosen for the M. F. A. stud in Springfield, Missouri.

After again dispersing his herd in 1959, Burgeson became a consultant to a large commercial dairy in Kansas.

T.A. and wife, Josephine, had a son, T. A., Jr., known as Pete, and two daughters, Ruth and Karen. Josephine died in 1981 and T. A. in 2001 at the age of 96.