Babydoll Holsteins Jefferson County

Denise Riddle sells high quality Holstein cattle through her company, Babydoll Holsteins.From the beginning, owner Denise Riddle understood what was needed in order to be successful in her business. Formed seven years ago, her company Babydoll Holsteins has always had a mission to provide sales of the highest quality Holstein cattle, their progeny, embryos and semen.

Denise's experience can be summed up with a total of 22 years involved with Holsteins. She also owned and operated a farm for seven years with her two brothers. Clearly, experience is the greatest teacher, and in this instance, it has prevailed. Of late, all seems to be going according to plan.

Although Ms. Riddle has been successful thus far, she has future goals to expand and increase the profits of her operation. Two specific goals are to grow the business to 100 head of cattle within five years, and to triple the national and international sales of cattle, their progeny and their embryos within the first five years.

With the assistance from the Clarion University Small Business Development Center, Ms. Riddle was able to identify some key points to success in order to make her goals a reality. They consist of purchasing at least 15 cattle in one year to increase sales of their off-spring and their embryos, creating visibility to generate new business leads, and developing a loyal base of repeat customers.

Currently, the cattle that Ms. Riddle owns, along with those that will be purchased in the future, are placed at various boarding farms located within Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Maryland, Ontario, and Quebec. These locations are considered specialized facilities capable of hosting the Holstein breeds, and thus are an important part of the breeding process. At these boarding farms, the cattle are fed, and receive veterinary care and general daily upkeep until they are sold through public auctions and private sales.

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Once a cow is placed at the host facility, Babydoll Holsteins makes the arrangements for whatever services need to be provided, such as flushing the animal, extraction of the embryos for sale, impregnation of the animal for its progeny, and sale of the semen. The actual services are performed by a veterinarian, at which time Babydoll Holsteins sells the embryos, semen, etc.

Recently, Ms. Riddle also sold calendars featuring her cattle which have provided her with a significant amount of additional income. With the implementation of her plans, Ms. Riddle is positioned to achieve her business’s goals.