Walter C. Farner (1901-1979), Bismarck, Missouri

Walter C. Farner was the longtime manager and later part-owner of Sunnymede Farm, Bismarck, Missouri. Walt, as he was commonly known, was active in Guernsey affairs in Missouri and the Midwest for nearly 40 years.

Born in 1901 a Gilmanton, Wisconsin, he graduated with a dairy major from the University of Wisconsin in 1925. He was a member of the University’ s 1924 Dairy Cattle Judging team. In 1927 he received a MS degree from Kansas State University. Following graduation he served as the Washington County, Kansas, Dairy Specialist for five year.

On December 29, 1934 Walt married Alma Harz of Linn, Kansas. The couple moved to Sunnymede Farm, where Walt had accepted the position of farm supervisor for the Missouri Improvement Company, a subsidiary corporation of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. “Sunnymede” was the home of Alma and Walt for the next 37 years. The Guernsey herd was steadily improved by a program of AR and DHIR testing and the use of high production sires.

In 1953, Walt, Harry Herman, Columbia, and J. E . McGeorge, Bismarck, formed a corporation and purchased Sunnymede Farm intact from the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The creamery was enlarged and Golden Guernsey milk sold to local stores and schools. The herd was increased to 200 head. On DHIR and DHIA test and officially classified at regular intervals, the herd developed several Excellent cows and sold a number of bulls to breeders and AI organizations . In 1972, the farm, herd and equipment were sold to Dr. E.L. Eyerman, Jr., St. Louis, MO., who continues the operation.

Walter Farner served as a Missouri GBA director and sales committee member; was active in the Farm Bureau and local civic enterprises; became a member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church, Bismarck, in 1939 and served for years as either president, vice-president or elder.