OUR STORY
7th Generation Family-Owned Business
Yeazel's Dairy is owned and operated by Mark and Joy Yeazel. Our family dairy farm was brought to Eaton, Ohio by Mark's parents, Bob and Jane Yeazel and grandparents Tom and Esther Yeazel in 1970. The farming tradition runs deep in our family, with Mark being a seventh generation farmer over the past 100 years in Western Ohio.
When they got married, Mark and Joy made plans to run the dairy farm together. But you know what they say... When you make plans, God laughs! When she was pregnant with their second child, Joy developed an allergy to cow dander and could no longer help out on the farm. Mark was on his own.
Mark and Joy made the decision to keep their herd size small to concentrate on providing top-tier genetics to the world. His ingenuity and use of modern technology keeps the daily work simple. Along with selling milk, he has developed an internationally renowned herd with his genetics, impacting 47 countries worldwide. You can read more about the farm and his breeding program below.
Seventeen years ago, Mark started a ministry called Junk for Jesus. He collects scrap metal and recycles it, using the proceeds to support ministry and missionaries, as well as building houses for orphans in Romania, Thailand, and Tanzania. Please visit the Contact Us tab if you'd like to get involved!
Since 1971, Yeazel's Dairy has given an annual tour to Kindergarten students at National Trail Elementary School. We love teaching young, curious minds about farms and agriculture, which is one of the reasons that we decided to open our farm for family tours as well.
ABOUT YEAZEL'S DAIRY
Yeazel's Dairy is a 103-acre plot located outside of Eaton, Ohio. For 50 years, we have served the community as one of the few remaining family dairy farms. We use robotic milkers for our 120 milking cows, producing over 1,000 gallons of milk a day! Our cows are milked voluntarily and on their own schedule each day, allowing them to naturally decide when they want to eat, sleep, and be milked.
Until this year, our dairy farm has been just that: a farm that produces milk. In 2020, we have decided to open Yeazel's Dairy to the public! We are now offering farm tours, cow sponsorship, and a farm store as a way to educate and unite our community. Family farms need your support now more than ever, so let's embark on this journey together!
WORLD RENOWNED BREEDING
Our herd is based on the genetics of Sky-Hi Mars Helen-ET RC EX 92, with over 100 bulls in AI that trace to her maternal female lines and hundreds more that trace maternally through the male side. Helen has over 250 known "Excellent" maternal female descendants in ten countries around the world, including USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Switzerland. She has over 1000 maternal female descendants that scored "Very Good" in sixteen different countries.
We are known as Ja-Bob Holsteins throughout the world, and the influence of our breeding program has touched at least 47 different countries. For many years, we focused on red genetics. About 25 years ago we started breeding for polled. By introducing the polled gene, we are able to produce cattle that naturally do not have horns. We also include selecting for A2 Beta Casein protein for our milk, which is considered easier to digest by many consumers.
Our current breeding program is focused on producing cattle with slick hair. The "slick" gene produces shorter hair. Shorter hair is important for heat tolerance, and is not a trait typically associated with Holsteins. We want to make red Holstein genetics that help cattle in the tropics produce more milk and keep cooler by being heat tolerant. Producing environmentally responsible milk has always been a priority of Yeazel's Dairy.
For more information on our breeding program, please visit Ja-BobHolsteins.com.