Bill and Kathi Orchard incorporated Gurn-Z Meadow in 1971 after acquiring the farm from Curtis and Violet. Bill has spent his life committed to the Guernsey breed. The original home farm was in Waukesha county, which in Bill's time had the largest concentration of Guernseys in the world!

"The Girls"

Julie, Kristi and Jennifer are seventh generation dairy farmers who have a passion for the breed. All have second jobs off the farm, but continue to raise Guernseys for their love of the cows.

Julie is counselor at Morgan&Myers, an integrated marketing communications firm specializing in the agricultural, food and nutrition, and companion animal industries. She recently took on the challenge of farming full time with Bill while working for Morgan&Myers out of her home office in Janesville.  Her main account is Novartis Animal Health US, Inc. 

Kristi is a bovine practitioner in Waterloo, Wis. She is vital at maintaining our herd's health and focusing on preventative medicine. In addition to her DVM degree from UW-Madison, Kristi has a Master’s degree in Public Health.

 Jennifer is currently the vice president of marketing at ReproQuest, a veterinary biotech company specializing in semen preservation.  Jen's love for her Guernseys keeps her active on the home farm as well.
 
Our Extended Family

Team Guernsey Prairie -- The Weisensel families are an integral part of our showing success. Whether it is Kay's unpredictable sense of humor and cooking abilities, Howard's need to be busy at all times, Lindsay's willingness to make sure everything is in place or Scott's tight feeding schedule and clipping abilities, their efforts are over the top.

Without these crew members many of the shows we attend wouldn't run as smoothly as they do. Our appreciation for all of their hard work.