Carrying On the Tradition of Breeding Excellent Cows

Above photo: Members of the Post family are pictured from left: Brett Post, Randy Post (behind), Chad Boest, Rosie Post, Andy Post, Betty Ann Post, Cassie Menendez and Andrew Post

KORTRIGHT – Being recognized by your peers is one of the best honors anyone can receive and for the Post family, it's a source of great pride. Andy and Betty Ann Post and their four children were recently recognized by the New York State Holstein Association with the 2025 Active Master Breeder Award.

It was  great news at the end of a long and difficult year.

An anonymous committee makes the selection from those nominated for the award. "It's quite an honor to be selected," she said. "We were truly honored to receive the award as it is one of the highest awards for a registered Holstein breeder."

Betty Ann made the acceptance speech because Andy admits he gets "tongue tied" in front of a crowd, but he did thank everyone for their support.  He explains his parents Dave and Carolyn Post, received the award in 1993 and his grandfather Fred Lant received the award in 1983. Andy and Betty Ann  and their children are carrying on this proud tradition.

It is the result of a lot of hard work, resulting in an "Excellent" cow family. They have bred for type, longevity and production. They have bred nearly 80 "excellent" cows and up to 200 "very good" cows.

Posthaven Absolute Sasy, now retired from the show ring, is an Excellent 96 cow and her embryos will be used to help carry on the breeding program. She is the cow depicted on their award statue.

She has won several Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion and Junior All American honors over her long and successful tenure in the show ring and is one of several. 

Dave Rama, of the Cattle Exchange, said the family has done a wonderful job. They are very committed to breeding good cattle, he said, and have many show winners, at the county and state level. They have bred junior champions and all Americans. "They have had many excellent and very good cows over the years," said Rama. "They are wonderful people and have really done a fabulous job. They have been immersed in the Delaware County family for years." He said they have bred two 96-point excellent cows which is  "very rare" and they have made a tremendous contribution to the Holstein breed.

The couple started their journey on the Post family farm in Township, where Andy  had 18 bred and owned cows to bring with them to a former Dreamstreet farm, owned by Francis Jenkins Jr.. From there, they expanded their registered Holstein herd to the point they held a reduction sale last spring to sell off some of their premiere Holsteins and get  back to a more manageable number. However, by fall they were told they had to move and there was a scramble to move into their retirement home early and find good homes for the rest of the herd.

They want to be clear that they have not retired from breeding cows and look forward to breeding more excellent Holsteins.

Andy’s passion for breeding excellent cows all started with Pineyvale Citamatt Strawberry, an Excellent-96 Holstein that Andy owned since he was 8-years-old. She was one of the foundation cows for this herd. 

When asked which cow is their favorite, Betty Ann answers that it is Sasy, because she was born and raised and is a family affair for the Posts. She was  born and raised on the farm where her mother and  grandmother were present.

Posthaven Hank Creampuff is another herd favorite. At Excellent-94  points, she holds the milking record at Postahaven Farm for producing 377,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime of 14 years and nine months. Rosie had many good years showing Creampuff, who also took home Grand Champion and Junior All-American honors during her lifetime. She also left a legacy of many excellent and very good daughters.

Betty Ann explains these cows have been very pampered and her reason for getting involved with a farmer, because  she loves animals. Her father, Bill “Wild Bil” Nesbitt was born and raised on the Nesbitt farm in Roses Brook. She was not raised on the farm, but lived in Canastota, NY with her mother before moving to South Kortright as a freshman. The couple met at South Kortright Central School and through a mutual friend.

They have four grown children, Randy Post, Rosie Post, Brett Post and Andrew Post, in that order. All have been involved in the farm. Rosie, now engaged, has moved some of her own and some of the family’s registered Holsteins that will now be a part of Kortright Cattle Dairy.

In addition to Kortright Cattle Dairy, members of the herd are housed at Ridgedale in Richfield Springs, Pineyvale in Township, the Menendez farm in Edmeston. "We still have milking cows," said Betty Ann.  She and Andy are very thankful to family and friends for taking in some of the milking herd. Their reduction sale cows also went to good homes, many going to people they knew. Beth is the only milking cow at their new home, with her milk feeding the calves. They still have young stock to keep the herd going. As Dan Menendez said in his presentation speech, they have not retired from breeding excellent cows. They remain dedicated to breeding a better cow and received nothing but the best comments from the members of the anonymous committee

"We were hopeful the kids would be able to take over the farm, but plans changed and they have persevered,” she said.  Andy and the family have worked hard to renovate the home they had purchased to retire to in the future."We have had the busiest, most challenging year ever," said Betty Ann. "We worked on the house to have a place to live and built a new barn. We are blessed to have a lot of friends and neighbors who helped us.

"We are truly honored," said Betty Ann. "When I got the call in early November, I was momentarily speechless and so very appreciative. I decided I would wait a couple of hours to let Andy know, so the whole family could be together for the announcement.  The Posthaven crew had a very challenging year to say the least, so I thought we could all use some great news.  It was tough holding it in for a few more hours.

In accepting the award, Betty Ann said, "We feel so blessed that our children were involved in this journey with us, for all their hard work and dedication and sharing our commitment to breed quality registered Holsteins. We   couldn’t have done it without them." 

She thanked family, friends and fellow breeders for their support and saying they make it better. "We truly appreciate you."

She gave a  special thank you to the Menendez family for their unwavering friendship, and for always showing up when  an extra helping hand was needed. "I know there are some shows that we would have never made it to without you.   

"Thank you to the NY Holstein Association and the committee, we are extremely grateful to receive  one of the highest honors for Holstein breeders, alongside some very exceptional breeders in New York State."

New York Holstein Association Presentation of the Active Master Breeder Award, which is a statue of the Post family's favorite cow, Posthaven Absolute Sasy-EX 94. Pictured from left, are: Dan Menendez, presenter, Betty Ann Post and Andy Post, recipients,  and Steve vanLieshout, president of the NYS Holstein Association.