The Hiawatha in 1980 at Dreamstreet and Prudence and Hiawatha

Some cow families become exceptionally dominant within dairy farms — and even across entire countries. The Hiawatha family is one of those rare bloodlines, tracing back to the renowned American brood cow Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence, scored EX-95.

Some cow families develop into exceptionally dominant bloodlines within dairy herds and even across entire countries. This is certainly true of the Hiawatha family, which traces back to the renowned American brood cow Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence, classified EX-95.

De maternal line
The foundation of the Dutch (European) branch of this family was established with Mayerlane Rudolph Hiawatha, a daughter of Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence. In 1999, she was purchased by Adolf Langhout. Shortly after her arrival, Hiawatha was flushed six consecutive times to the then-leading sire Regancrest Elton Durham.
All embryos from this mating were imported to the Netherlands.

This highly successful cross produced several outstanding descendants, including Sunday ALH Durham Prudence, who became a key link in the continued development of the family.

Ten generations of dams behind Sunday ALH Durham Prudence:
1st Sunday ALH Durham Prudence 2y VG-88
2nd Mayerlane Rudolph Hiawatha EX-90
3rd Golden Oaks Mark Prudence EX-95 Lifetime: > 160.000kg milk
4th Ogden Hanover Sex Prudence EX-91
5th Dreamstreet Rorae Pcohontis EX-93
6th Sher Mar Highmark Hiawatha EX-94 Lifetime:  71.108kg
7th Sher Mar Lee Mitz EX-91  Lifetime: 90.924kg
8th Sher Mar Mingo Mimi EX-90 Lifetime: 73.478kg
9th Sher Mar Misty Jo VG-85
10th Maroy Roburke Sue VG-86

International Influence
Today, descendants of the Prudence/Hiawatha family can be found on dozens of dairy farms across the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Ireland. Many of these cows rank among the highest-producing and most valuable animals within their respective herds.

One well-known example is G.N. Hiawatha 1012 from the Gijmink family in Nieuwlande.

The lifestory of Hiawatha
She carries the name of a famous Walt Disney character, and her story reads almost like an adventure. But the life story of G.N. Hiawatha 1012 is certainly no fairytale.

The daughter of the sire Kian has already produced nearly 140,000 kg of milk during her lifetime, with 4.35% fat and 3.50% protein. At 15 years of age, she was classified with 88 points for overall conformation, including 87 for udder and 91 for feet and legs, earning the prestigious Sterkoe 3 designation.

Forgiven her mistakes at young age
“Actually, as a young cow Hiawatha did not seem particularly durable at all,” says Harold Gijmink, who together with his wife Sandra and their sons Thom and Finn manages a growing dairy farm with 250 cows in Nieuwlande.

“As a heifer she scored no higher than 80 points, occasionally had udder health problems, and was not always easy to get pregnant. But we already had a growth strategy at that time and therefore were not quick to cull cows.” As a result, Hiawatha was given extra opportunities — and she used them well.
“To become a star cow, sometimes you also need a little luck,” Harold says with a smile.

Today, her youthful shortcomings have long been forgotten. In recent years, Hiawatha has produced trouble-free and continues to hold her place easily within the herd, even after it was merged with another group of cows. “Her last calf was sired by a bull weighing over 60 kilos at birth,” Harold explains. “But she recovered remarkably quickly from that difficult calving. It took a few extra inseminations, but we managed to get her pregnant again.”

Descendant of EX 95 Prudence
Hiawatha is the result of a carefully planned mating. “Her dam was an extremely tall, somewhat awkward and rangy cow that produced a lot of milk, but with low components,” Harold recalls. “She seemed perfectly suited for a corrective mating with Kian. And that mating worked out exceptionally well.”

Hiawatha 1012 traces back to a famous American cow family. Her grandmother was imported as an embryo from the United States and descends from Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence, the legendary Chief Mark daughter who achieved a lifetime production exceeding 160,000 kg of milk during the 1990s. From the same embryo import, three full sisters were also born, each becoming the foundation of highly successful cow families on other Dutch dairy farms.

Last one in the milking parlour
While many star cows are praised for always being first in line, Hiawatha preferred to stay quietly in the background. “She would calmly remain lying down until we came to fetch her for the final round in the milking parlour,” Sandra explains. “We once had an employee who tried to move her earlier, but she simply turned around and lay back down again.

” When the family moved into a new barn with milking robots last autumn, they wondered whether the old cow would adapt to robotic milking. “We had to fetch her during the first few weeks,” Sandra says. “But now she walks to the robot completely on her own and we no longer have to worry about her.”
SourceVeeteelt / CRV 9 May 2026

G.N. Hiawatha 1012 with >138.000 kg milk lifetime at family Gijmink.

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