Family, tradition and love for the Ayrshire breed are pillars of Maple-Dell Farm in Woodbine, Md.

The multigenerational farm, owned and operated by David Patrick and his wife, Ann, along with their two sons — Mike and Denny — and a grandson, Derek, was selected by the Klussendorf Association as this year’s recipient of the Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award.

Exceptional dairy cattle breeders are awarded the title and embody attributes associated with the Klussendorf award, including character, ability, endeavor and sportsmanship. The Patrick family is distinguished for their success in breeding excellent Ayrshires and the positive image they’ve established for their family farm.

Blazing an Ayrshire trail

The dairy farm’s beginnings date back to 1928. However, it wasn’t until 1941 that David Patrick’s father bought him two Ayrshire calves, which sparked a passion and love for the breed.

Just 14 years later, the two calves developed into a herd of 45 registered Ayrshires.

The family now farms 1,200 acres, milks 165 cows and raises more than 160 heifers in the same location where it all began. The herd has been production testing for more than 60 years and has been classified for 40 years with the ultimate goal of getting productive cows with solid feet and legs, and high-scoring udder traits.

Maple-Dell Farm earned the title of Ayrshire Association’s Master Breeder in 2010, along with 14 constructive breeder awards for the herd’s outstanding production and type.

The Maple-Dell herd has proven instrumental to the Ayrshire breed, setting a high bar for quality cattle. More than 100 cows in the herd have been classified as Excellent, with one cow scored at 95 points.

Several cows with the Maple-Dell prefix have been awarded prestigious titles, with 17 All-Americans, 18 Reserve All-Americans and multiple cows ranking on the Cow Performance Index with high lifetime milk production.

A distinguished, championship herd

Maple-Dell is widely recognized for producing high-profile cattle, the most recent family line being the “D’s,” leading with Maple-Dell Zorro Dafourth. The iconic cow was selected grand champion at the 2006 All-American Dairy Show and reserve grand champion at World Dairy Expo. Following four generations, cows produced from the family line have ranked high on the CPI cow list.

The breeding line has also produced accomplished bulls. Three bulls from the family — Maple-Dell Modem Drew, Maple-Dell Modem Diego and Maple-Dell O Dixon — have all had active artificial insemination usage.

Other well-known cows include Maple-Dell Hi-Kick Sweet Pea, which represented the Ayrshire breed on the Purina Mills “Dairy Breeds of North America” painting by Bonnie Mohr. The cow won grand champion at the Eastern National Show in 1988 and is the dam of popular AI sire Maple-Dell Soldier.

Success for the family goes far beyond the breeding pen. Showing Ayrshire cattle for more than 75 years, their prefix has traveled as far as international shows, demonstrating the quality and excellence of the family’s herd. 

Maple-Dell Farm has championed many winning cows at various shows, including the All-American Dairy Show for over 50 consecutive years and winning the show’s Obie Snider Award in 2006.

The accolades continued at the Maryland State Fair with 12 grand champions, and at World Dairy Expo with back-to-back grand champions — Maple-Dell Luby in 1981 and Ardrossan Kellogg Soft Eye in 1982. Other awards at Expo include two junior champions, Maple-Dell BBK Shea in 2006 and Maple-Dell Diligent Gift in 2007.

One of Maple-Dell’s cows made Ayrshire breed history with Maple-Dell I.R.S. Sweetnine winning at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Canada. This same cow was a junior champion Ayrshire at World Dairy Expo.

Giving back to community

The Patrick family is familiar with service and leadership, being members of the U.S. Ayrshire Breeders Association for several decades.

The Patrick family has supported a multitude of associations, including the Maryland Purebred Dairy Cattle Association, Wills Fair Association, Maryland/Delaware Ayrshire Association and All-American Dairy Show board.

In 2007, Maple-Dell Farm was inducted into the Maryland Governor’s Agricultural Hall of Fame. And in 2020, National Dairy Shrine awarded Maple-Dell its highest honor for a cattle breeder with its Distinguished Cattle Breeder Award.

Beyond the farm, members of the family are involved in the community, providing opportunities for youth in agriculture. Whether it’s hosting fitting and judging workshops, or leasing over 20 head of dairy cattle each year to 4-H members for show, the Patricks have inspired positive agricultural experiences among younger generations.

Source: World Dairy Expo