SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. — When we first told the story of Kings-Ransom Farm and King Brothers Dairy, it was about honoring a legacy that is building on the foundation Jeff and Jan King’s parents started as they carry it forward with purpose and progress for future generations. This story keeps writing itself, shaped by the cows that work, the new generations of the King families that stay involved, and the routines that remain faithful to the fundamentals, even as the farm’s scale has increased to a Registered Holstein herd milking 1700 cows today.
The Kings have been Udder Comfort customers for more than a decade, using the white lotion at shows and the blue spray for fresh animals at home.
The 2024 World Dairy Expo marked a milestone year for the Kings. While they have over 25 years of history showing at the big dance, 2025 was the first time they brought their own full string to Madison. The results reflected generations of breeding focus and cow care coming together on the world stage.
Kings-Ransom Doc Drizzlin EX92 (below, left), owned by Jeff’s daughter Lauren, proved to be a standout Jr. 3-year-old in 2024, claiming first place in her class in both the WDE Junior and Open International Holstein Shows. She went on to be Reserve Intermediate Champion of the Junior Show, and anchored a first-place Best Three Females group. Drizzlin earned 2024 All-American Jr. 3-year-old honors that year.
Two years earlier, Jan’s son Nate won the Jr. 3-year-old class with Dazzling from the same maternal line, and she went on to be 2022 Junior All-American Jr. 3-year-old.
These are just some of the recognitions that validate the longer story that starts at home, where Jeff sayus it is the best three female and produce of dam groups that mean so much because they show continuity.
Back in eastern New York, where the Kings milk 1700 cows, production is right at 90 pounds per cow per day, with more than a 1400-pound average butterfat and a bulk tank running right at 4.9%F. The program balances scale with a strong genetic focus.
In addition to marketing genetics and embryos, the Kings sell around 300 fresh cows annually as well as genomically tested service bulls. In fact, every calf here gets genomically tested.
It’s a breeding program that values cows with strength, udder quality, feet and legs, and the ability to perform day after day.
“We really enjoy cows with good type as well as really good production,” says Jeff King in an Udder Comfort interview with fellow Holstein breeder Chuck Worden at the 2025 World Dairy Expo. When asked about the herd’s BAA, he admits he doesn’t focus on that so much, but “we’ve got over 140 Excellent cows in the herd, and 15 or 16 that are 94-point cows.”
(As of their most recent classification in January 2026, the Kings now have 166 EX in the herd, with four more to add to the EX94 ranks too.)
Looking back and ahead, the international fan favorites have been the two homebred 95-point Mogul daughters Cleavage and Cleo that first established Kings-Ransom as a name recognized around the world.
Kings-Ransom Mg Cleavage-ET EX95 97MS (replica pictured above) and Kings-Ransom Mogul Cleo-ET EX95 set the tone for a breeding program that values strength, udders, and cows that hold up under pressure in the barn and in the ring.
Another cow with great impact is Kings-Ransom Dorcy Dextra-ET EX94 2E DOM (below). A New York Cow of the Century, Dextra traced back to embryos purchased from Pen-Col Farm in the early 1990s and became the foundation of one of Kings-Ransom’s most influential GTPI families.
Sired by the New York-bred bull Coyne-Farms Dorcy-ET, Dextra posted a best record of 4-08 3x 365d 40,270M, 3.7% 1,492F, 3.3% 1,312P, with a lifetime total of 138,360 pounds of milk, 5,515 pounds of fat, and 4,614 pounds of protein. Dextra was a 2018 nominee for Holstein International’s Global Cow of the Year.
Her influence continues today through daughters and granddaughters that dominate both the classification sheet and the show string as well as producing even higher milking records. Several now sit in the EX94 and EX95 ranks, like Daze EX95 2E (below) and Desire EX94, while roughly two dozen male progeny — names like Dropbox, Dreamy, Detective, Dylan, Destiny, DreamBig, Destination, and Driven — have entered A.I. programs.
In fact, the Kings have calves hitting the ground in early 2026 they are pretty proud of from their bull Cocoa at United Sires. Cocoa is sired by Dropbox out of Daze from the Dextra/Destiny line on the paternal side, with the Cleavage line on Cocoa’s maternal side.
While genetics set the ceiling, Jeff is quick to point out that daily management determines how close cows come to reaching it.
Udder Comfort has long been part of that routine, not just for show cows, but across the herd.
“We use Udder Comfort on our fresh cows. It works tremendously on fresh 2-year-olds. It softens udders quickly, reducing pressure and increasing comfort for better performance,” Jeff relates.
“We also use it at the shows and really find a lot of benefit when we’re bagging cows, and even post-show, bringing back quality to the udders,” he explains. “Probably as important as anything is how we use back at the home farm. Mostly it’s on fresh heifers, to take that swelling out in the first week, two weeks. We really like what it does for us.”
That approach isn’t new.
“We’ve used Udder Comfort for over 10 years,” he adds. “Blue spray in the parlor, white lotion at shows, where we see a real benefit from the start of bagging to milking out after.”
For the King family, the goal isn’t just show-ring polish. It’s freestall cows that walk comfortably into the parlor, milk hard, with quality udders that hold their structure over time.
“It’s easy to love the great ones,” Jan says. “But when you have cows walk in the freestall barn with good feet and legs and udders full of milk — cows the kids enjoy showing and do well with and learn from — that’s what it’s all about.”
From cows to consumers
That same philosophy extends beyond the barn at King Brothers Dairy, where the family bottles milk and produces ice cream under the slogan “Drink Like a King.” The brand connects Registered Holsteins, careful cow management, and family farming directly to the consumer.
Award-winning King Brothers milk and dairy products start the same place everything else does.
“Quality udders make quality milk,” says Jeff.
When Chuck Worden caught up with Jeff and his son Jonathan at the 2025 World Dairy Expo, the continuity stood out.
“I knew Jeff’s dad years ago,” Chuck says. “Seeing where this herd is today is beyond amazing.”
“We do like cows that work,” Jeff responds. “Cows that are comfortable, productive, and built to last.”
From Cleavage and Cleo, to Dextra to Desire, Daze, Drizzlin, and more, and from Madison to the milk bottle, Kings-Ransom Farm and King Brothers Dairy continue to let the cows, the consistency behind them, and their award winning milk and chocolate milk (along with fan-favorite ice cream) tell the story.
Profiles in comfort and quality 