Lonnie Weatherly
Lonnie Weatherly must surely rank as one of the most successful dairy breeders in Missouri history. His Weathervue Holsteins won numerous state and national titles because of Weatherly’s tremendous eye for cattle.
Weatherly grew up in Arnold, Nebraska before moving to Fair Play, Missouri in 1955. He then established a dairy farm and breeding business in Halfway, Missouri, in the Pleasant Hope school district. He graduated from Fair Play High School in 1958 and married his wife of 52 years, Lyla Snodgrass Weatherly. Lyla Weatherly has been described as the driving force behind the operation.
Weatherly started dairying in 1964, buying more than thirty head of heifers. Later, he sold his young animals and bought more cows. In 1968, Lonnie and Lyla Weatherly bought the first acres of their farm, three miles north of Pleasant Hope. They drove the cows by horseback across the river, six miles to the new farm.
Weatherly was influenced by LeRoy Seiner, for whom he worked after high school. Seiner taught him about the sacrifice it took to make it in farming. He learned a great deal as well, from his good friend Ron Entlicher. Weatherly considered Entlicher one of the very top cowmen and they frequently traveled out of state together to purchase cows.
The Weatherlys had two children, Duane and Linda. Linda Weatherly taught school in Springfield for 26 years and is married Andrew Tasset, a marketing director. Duane Weatherly stayed on the farm and became an equal partner with his father. At that time, they changed their prefix from Weathervue to Weatherview.
The Weatherlys expanded the farm in 1972, joining the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, DHIA. They built a 100 cow free-stall barn. They farmed 160 acres of alfalfa hay and purchased all the grain. They also started a beef herd of about 70 cows and calves.
Lonnie Weatherly began adding Registered Holsteins to his herd in the mid-1970s with the goal of having an all registered herd. He used the best bulls he could afford and started showing, building the Weatherview name. He constantly worked to improve herd quality. Soon he was making waves with high type and high producing Holsteins and won a number of DHIA awards for his milking cows.
Weatherly believed in milking cows that could live a long life and produce milk at a high level. He studied bloodlines and pedigrees and went to a lot of sales. He bought a small herd in Ohio in 1975. They had good pedigrees and were affordable. Of the 15 head, 13 eventually classified Excellent. Two cows even scored as high as 95 points, and another 93 points.
Perhaps his most significant animal was Lu-Cen Bob-Lo Astronaut Diane, an EX-95-3E GMD-DOM cow, and a member of that Ohio purchase. When she was HM All-American, she stood behind the great Shadowcliff Rag Apple Gina and Pinehurst Precious—fast company. Her full sister, Weathervue Astro Lilly, placed 5th at World Dairy Expo before selling to South America. Lonnie Weatherly was not afraid to sell a good cow, knowing he would develop others.
Working and partnering with top cowmen such as Ron Entlicher and the Boyd brothers, Noel and Lloyd “Tub” Boyd, he purchased many great cows from other states. With Tub Boyd, Lonnie and Duane Weatherly purchased Prices Melwood Betsy EX for $13,000. She turned out to be the number one cow in the world and stayed on top for 2 ½ years. That partnership also invested in a bull, Dixie-Lee Ivanhoe Henry, who became the number one bull and eventually topped $1,000,000 in semen sales.
Ron Shaver had the honor classifying the Weatherview Holsteins and attests to their breeding excellent Holsteins that ranked among the best in Missouri and other states. “In the 1980s,” he said, “the herd had 16 Excellent cows, 48 Very Good, 17 Good Plus with BAA of 107.8, which was an outstanding dairy herd accomplishment.”
In 1989 they won a 1st place with Weatherview Marquis Jet Judith who was home bred and eventually won All-American. Weatherview won more than twenty-five All Missouri awards. Having made quite a name for themselves, the Weatherlys decided to quit showing. They continued to be a farm that people came to looking for good cattle.
Due to Weatherly’s progressive loss of vision, low milk prices and higher expenses, Duane and Lonnie decided to sell. In 2007 they had a complete dispersal of the dairy herd. Weatherly continued to run 75 beef cows until his death in 2011.
Weatherly was an officer of the southwest Missouri Holstein district, and served on many Holstein boards and committees, making significant contributions to the dairy industry. He was a board member of the Pleasant Hope school district for many years. Those who remember the glory days of Missouri Holsteins will never forget Lonnie and his son Duane Weatherly, setting high standards of excellence in Holstein breeding and management.
In the book, Celebrating 100 Years of Missouri Holsteins, Duane Weatherly paid tribute to his father, writing, “Lonnie started with very little and achieved so much. He was well liked, and so modest that many times his accomplishments were overlooked. By hard work and perseverance he was able to become truly successful.”
Noel Boyd, now retired from Boyd Brothers Holstein Cattle, supported Lonnie Weatherly’s nomination. He wrote, “Lonnie was a great and hard-working person. His farm was next to ours in Pleasant Hope, and we spent a lot of time together. He is extremely deserving of the MODHH Foundation Pioneer Award.”
Ron Shaver of Shaverside Farms in Norwood, Missouri, knew Lonnie Weatherly and his family since the early 1970s. “They made an outstanding contribution to the Holstein industry throughout Missouri and the Midwest,” he wrote. “He had great enthusiasm and passion for the Registered Holstein breed. Most importantly, Lonnie and his family have always exhibited honestly and integrity. Lonnie was a pioneer in the breeding of outstanding type and production through the genetics of the Holsteins in his herd.”