News Release
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Indiana dairyman wins the Klussendorf-MacKenzie Award
MADISON, WIS. – Jeff Stookey of Milford, Ind., was presented the 30th Klussendorf-MacKenzie Award during World Dairy Expo® 2021, in memory of Duncan MacKenzie, the 1961 Klussendorf winner. While this year’s Klussendorf-MacKenzie award winner has an impressive dairy résumé, it is most important to note that Stookey exemplifies the standards that made Duncan MacKenzie the forbearer of this award.
This seventh-generation dairyman’s passion for the dairy industry and desire to help others began at a very young age, working side-by-side with his father, John, on the family’s dairy. While working on the farm, Stookey also spent time fitting cattle from 1977 to 1993. With a true eye for “the good ones,” he bought animals while working on the road and developed them into show winners at home, furthering the farm’s genetic base. After his father suffered a heart attack in the early 1990s, Stookey returned to work full-time on the family farm and continued developing his Registered Holstein and Jersey herd.
During his career, this year’s MacKenzie award winner has exhibited 47 All Indiana and 24 Reserve All Indiana winners. On the national stage, he exhibited the Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show at the 1999 World Dairy Expo and the Junior Champion at the 2008 All American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This Indiana dairyman has sold numerous animals to Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, as well as many animals to fellow U.S. breeders.
As Stookey made his way to the colored shavings on Friday, October 1 at World Dairy Expo to receive his award, he most certainly would have wanted to recognize that it takes a team to run a dairy. With that in mind, Jeff would be quick to thank his wife, Marla, and their children and their spouses, Maranda and Camron, and Mallarie and Micah, for their work on the dairy.
Serving as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo brings together the latest in dairy innovation and the best cattle in North America. The dairy industry will return to Madison, Wis. for the 54th event, September 28 – October 2, 2021, when the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, dairy and forage seminars, world-class dairy cattle show and more will be on display. Download the World Dairy Expo mobile event app, visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow WDE on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify, Instagram or YouTube for more information.
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