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Illini Nellie[edit]

Illini Nellie (November 16th, 1927 to November 20th, 1940) was a brown swiss cow that lived on the University of Illinois dairy farm. In her time, she broke the world record for most milk and butterfat produced in a year, clocking in at 29,569.5 pounds and 1,200.4 pounds respectively. Within her lifetime, she is recorded to have produced around 194,676.5 pounds of milk and 7,498 pounds of butterfat.[1]

Life[edit]

Illini Nellie was bred by Ira Inman, a farmer from Beloit, Wisconsin. Her mother, Mc John’s Nellie, was purchased in 1927 by William Yapp, a professor and chief of dairy at the time, on behalf of the university for $500. Illini Nellie was born later that year on November 16th, 1927,[2] being the first brown swiss cow ever born on university grounds.[1] Nellie was the 14th generation relative of one of the first 8 brown swiss cows in the US.[3] Throughout her life, Illini Nellie held 7 world records[4] and won a range of awards, one being the Reserve Grand Champion at the National Dairy Show in 1935[2]. In 1937, her record was rivaled on the campus farm by a holstein cow, Illini Bess but, Bess' milk and butterfat production was unable to outweigh Nellie's.[5] In the peak of Nellie's career, her milk was used to create many dairy products such as butter and ice cream. Notably, her popularity and the school's increased dairy production allowed the school to offer more dairy courses, one of which being a 4 day ice cream course where students could create and test ice cream.[6]

Within the farm, Nellie was known to have an attitude and lead the other cows. Yapp reported that she was often times the cow to lead the herd back to the stables. She also tended to eat her stall-mate's hay, causing her caretaker to have to remove the other cow and allow Nellie to continue eating.[7]

Nellie nearly died in an accident where she fell upon an iron support, slicing open a vein that is crucial in transporting blood to the heart. A truck driver who happened to be nearby tried to slow the bleeding with his hand, saving Nellie's life and allowing veterinary services to arrive.[3]

She was first milked on April 25th, 1930 and had her last milking on November 9th, 1940.[7] During her years of production, her average daily milk production was around 93.5 pints of milk. [8] Illini Nellie gave birth to 8 calves[1] and her 16th generation grand-daughter, also named Nellie, resides on the farm today. Illini Nellie passed away of a malignancy on November 20th, 1940. [9]

Care[edit]

Illini Nellie was cared for by Jim Barnes. Farm workers on the campus were usually dedicated to certain areas of the farm but, Barnes grew a special bond with Nellie and became her primary caretaker.[3] During the year of 1937, the year she broke the milk and butterfat record, she was reported to have eaten 12 tons of food during production, averaging around 65 pounds of hay, grain and beet pulp mix per day.[4]

Public reception[edit]

Illini Nellie rose to prominence during a time where agricultural and dairy fairs and competitions were popular. The National Dairy Show in St. Louis was an event in which students and staff would attend yearly as judges.[10] Nellie would later win this competition for her 1935 milk production, also winning second place as the best cow in show.[9]

Throughout her life, Illini Nellie was seen as a hallmark of the University of Illinois campus. Illini Nellie was able to garner great fame and attention towards the University of Illinois' agricultural department. Throughout her life, many would stop to meet and take photos with her. She was revered by many students to the point that she was nearly voted "May Queen" by the student body Most notably, writer and daughter of Marie Curie, Eve Curie stopped by in 1940 to meet Illini Nellie and commented “She is a beautiful cow. I saw her children, her father-in-law, her whole family”. In response, Nellie was reported to have simply yawned and swished her tail. [11] Not only did Nellie gain the favor of celebrity visitors but, she also appealed to politicians. In 1935, Illini Nellie was brought to the quad where she was shown to state legislators and politicians visiting the campus. [11]One legislator claimed “This is great advertising. You know, this is worth $100,000 [in funding] to the University of Illinois.”[7]

Legacy[edit]

After Illini Nellie’s death, she was buried on the south campus dairy farm. Her grave was marked by a simple stone. To this day, she is one of two university employees buried on campus, the first being John Gregory, the first president of the university. Shortly after her death, Donald L. Carroll, a member of the Illinois Geological Survey wrote a 30 line poem about Nellie's passing titled, "The Queen is Dead". In 2003, a plaque adorned with her image was dedicated to her grave by the University of Illinois and partially funded by the Brown Swiss Cow Association. In 2003, Gene McCoy, the previous head of the University of Illinois Dairy Barns stated that the dairy farm would no longer raise Brown Swiss cows and that the school would turn its sights towards holsteins and jersey cows.[9]




References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Daily Illini 20 November 1940 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  2. ^ a b "Brown Swiss Association > Breed > History > History Highlights > BSCBA - USA 1930-1939". www.brownswissusa.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  3. ^ a b c Department of Dairy Sciences, "The Illini Nellie Story", (1961), Record 8/8/801, University of Illinois Archives
  4. ^ a b "Daily Illini 19 March 1937 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  5. ^ "Daily Illini 4 November 1937 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  6. ^ "Daily Illini 21 February 1937 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  7. ^ a b c Pavia, Beatrice (2013-06-13). "University of Illinois Alumni". University of Illinois Alumni. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  8. ^ "Illini Nellie – University of Illinois Archives". archives.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  9. ^ a b c Cook, Anne. "Lasting tribute to a bovine wonder". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  10. ^ "Daily Illini 1 October 1930 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  11. ^ a b "Daily Illini 10 February 1940 — Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections". idnc.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-05.

Annotated Bibliography[edit]

I don't think I did the annotated bibliography the right way but, I didn't have any sentences written out yet so I was a little unsure how to cite it without any body copy.


https://dailyillini.com/uncategorized/2014/04/21/dairy-farm-cow-continues-the-tradition-of-illini-nellie-family/

  1. Annabeth Carlson, “Dairy farm cow continues the tradition of Illini Nellie family”, 04/21/2014, Daily Illini
  2. This article doesn’t touch too much on Illini Nellie herself but, it does mention a lot about her familial lineage and where it is today. The article also provides the year that Illini Nellie was born, fun fact: Illini Nellie is one of two university employees buried on campus
  3. This article aligns with Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources since it is written by a published newspaper that is fairly reputable regarding campus-wide information.
  4. I don’t think any additional evidence is necessary but, I would like to know how they got facts such as when she was born.

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19401120.2.10&srpos=4&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--img-txIN-Illini+nellie---------

  1. Ken Herron, “Champion Cow, Illini Nellie, is Dead”, 11/20/1940, Daily Illini
  2. Although quite the tragic article, this article has a lot of information on the life and accolades of Illini Nellie. It also fills in information such as when she was last milked and the children she had. It suggests that her birthday was November 19th, 1937 but this seems to contradict the first source.
  3. This article aligns with Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources since it is written by a published newspaper that is fairly reputable regarding campus-wide information.
  4. I don’t think any additional evidence is necessary since it’s reporting that is quite close to the source.

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19400210.2.10&srpos=9&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--img-txIN-Illini+nellie---------

  1. Mary Alice Burgett, “Nellie Just Wags Her Bushy Tail for Eve Curie”, 2/10/1940, Daily Illini
  2. This article doesn’t give a whole lot of information on Nellie herself but, it does bring up a moment in Nellie’s life where she met Eve Curie so I guess that’s pretty neat.
  3. This article aligns with Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources since it is written by a published newspaper that is fairly reputable regarding campus-wide information. The article is quite old but, it’s discussing a historical event and figure, not a concept or idea that evolves over time so, it should be reliable.
  4. I don’t think any additional evidence is necessary.

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19370319.2.58&srpos=10&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--img-txIN-Illini+nellie---------

  1. No Author, “Illini Nellie Still Queen of Herd ; Holds 6 Marks”, 03/19/1937, Daily Illini
  2. This article doesn’t contain a lot of new information on Illini Nellie but, it does mention what she was fed and how much she ate in that specific year.
  3. This one’s hard- to me, it is reputable since it is by the Daily Illini which is a published newspaper with reputable sources around campus however, I am a little put off by the lack of author.
  4. I don’t think any additional evidence is needed.

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19371014.2.57&srpos=8&e=-------en-20-DIL-1--img-txIN-Illini+nellie---------

  1. No Author, “Illini Nellie’s Tot Finally Named”, 10/14/1937, Daily Illini
  2. Incredibly short article, not much except for the fact that there was a contest held to name Nellie’s child and they named the baby “Illini Nellie’s Fame Defender” which makes me glad that my name is Jasmine and not “Mike Lin’s Fame Defender”.
  3. This one’s hard- to me, it is reputable since it is by the Daily Illini which is a published newspaper with reputable sources around campus however, I am a little put off by the lack of author.
  4. I don’t think any additional evidence is needed.

https://uiaa.org/2013/06/13/the-land-of-milk-and-nellie/


https://www.brownswissusa.com/Breed/History/HistoryHighlights/BSCBAUSA19301939/tabid/205/Default.aspx

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