WINDSOR, Wis. – A Wisconsin dairy farmer is making it his life’s work to conserve a rare breed of cattle.

What You Need To Know

  • The Kerry cow comes from Ireland, and there are only a few hundred left there

  • There are only about 45 in North America

  • J.T. Price is working to grow the population at his farm in Windsor

  • Milk from most Kerry cows has A2 proteins, which are safe for people with milk protein allergies
 

“There’s Bill Nye the Science Guy, then there’s J.T. Price the cow nerd,” J.T. Price said.

Price grew up on a farm, and went to college to be a veterinarian. That eventually brought him to Wisconsin, where he worked in animal genetics.

Then one day, he had the opportunity to buy a farm on Windsor Road in Windsor, Wis., which he named Grace Acres Farms.

He has turkeys, horses and even peacocks. However, his prize possessions are his cattle.

With his background in genetics, Price decided he wanted to help conserve a rare breed of cattle, called Kerry cattle.

“There’s about 45 registered [Kerry] cows remaining in the North American continent,” Price said. “Canada has about four or five cows, then the rest are in Wisconsin here, Massachusetts, and Ohio.”

Of those 45 registered cows, Price has about 20 of them. They’re all grass-fed.

“I became very passionate on preserving such an endangered breed. I thought it was kind of too late for them, just because there were so few of ‘em,” he said.

Because of his previous experience, he’s breeding more Kerrys. He’s got a few calves on the farm this summer.

Kerry cows are more "efficient" than other dairy cows, according to Price. They don’t need as much feed to produce the same amount of milk.

Plus, Kerry cows produce milk with an A2 protein instead of A1. Some people, including Price and his close family members, are allergic to the A1 protein found in most milk.

Price got his first Kerry in the summer of 2020. Many of them, he said, are rescued from people who were not prepared to care for such a rare breed.

“A lot of these people just weren’t really geared toward long-term preservation,” Price said. “And I was. They just found their home here at the farm.”

Price is working on producing cheeses from the Kerry cows’ A1-free milk.

He’s also looking for young people who want to learn more about food agriculture or need a summer activity who could come to the farm. Learn more here.

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