DIXIE FAMILY

Every great cow family has a beginning—a cow whose influence extends far beyond her own lifetime. For the Ocean View Dixie family, that cow was Fleetridge Mona Dixie who remains a memory of what once was buried under the old oak tree in the farm yard that is now surrounded by vineyards where the cows once grazed.

The story begins in the mid-1970s when Marvin Nunes was searching for a special kind of cow. He had become increasingly impressed with the daughters of the bull Monitor and believed he had overlooked a bloodline that could help shape the future of the Ocean View herd. During a visit from cattleman Pete Heffering, Marvin mentioned that if anyone came across an outstanding Monitor daughter, he would be interested.

Just weeks later, a phone call came from the legendary cattleman Dave Younger. Dave had heard Marvin was looking for a Monitor daughter and believed he had found exactly the cow he needed. Though Marvin barely knew Dave at the time, he trusted his instincts. After a few hours of consideration, he called back and agreed to purchase the cow.

That decision would prove to be one of the most important in Ocean View history.

Fleetridge Mona Dixie

When Mona Dixie arrived at Ocean View, she immediately impressed everyone who saw her. Marvin later described her as one of the most well-balanced cows he had ever encountered.

She wasn't an extreme show cow. She was something far more valuable—a cow ahead of her time.

Mona Dixie was slightly wider than she was tall, possessed tremendous dairy strength, and carried the kind of structural balance that allowed her to produce large volumes of milk with ease. She represented the kind of functional, profitable cow breeders were only beginning to realize they should be striving to create.

More importantly, she became the foundation of a family whose influence would span generations.

Building a Dynasty

Mona Dixie was carrying a Bootmaker calf when she was purchased, resulting in Fleetridge Bootmaker Dixie, who retained the Fleetridge prefix despite being born at Ocean View. Before long this special dam and daughter duo would make history in the breed as the first duo scored EX with over 40,000 of milk.

The family quickly began to branch and expand.

One daughter, Ocean View Elevation Debbie, was sold through a promotional sale and eventually found her way to Hilltop-Hanover Farm. There she became the foundation of the famed Debra branch of the Dixie family—a family that would become world-renowned for its extraordinary production records, including an incredible string of seven consecutive generations exceeding 40,000 pounds of milk.

Back at Ocean View, the family continued to flourish.

A son of Bootmaker Dixie, Ocean View Dixiecrat, became one of the rare bulls in the breed to score EX-97. He was used extensively within the Ocean View herd and by breeders around the world, spreading the family's trademark balance, strength, and production.

The Ocean View Influence

The true measure of a foundation cow is not what she accomplishes herself, but what she leaves behind. Today the Dixies in this herd are 9 generations strong with EX & VG dams who average 90pts and over 200,000 lifetime. We challenge another cow family to match those stats!