Lloyd Receives A.C. “Whitie” Thomson Memorial Award

At this year’s World Dairy Expo, the 2025 A.C. “Whitie” Thomson Memorial Award was proudly presented to Jason Lloyd of Middleburgh, N.Y., in recognition of his exemplary leadership, sportsmanship, and contributions to the dairy industry. This honor is awarded to herdsmen or showmen who embody the same values the award was founded upon.

Lloyd is a partner in Maple-Downs Farms II, which he operates alongside his fiancé, Lexie Payne. Breeding Holsteins under the Maple-Downs prefix, the herd has achieved consistent success in the showring, producing multiple All-Americans and more than 150 Excellent cows. Lloyd has also played an instrumental role in several breeding partnerships, most notably in developing the MD-DELIGHT DURHAM ATLEE-ET cow family and breeding the influential sire MAPLE-DOWNS-I G W ATWOOD-ET.

An accomplished dairy cattle judge, Lloyd has officiated at leading shows throughout the Northeast and Midwest, including the Wisconsin Spring Show, Wisconsin State Fair, Illinois State Holstein Show, Southeastern National Brown Swiss Show, Mid-East Fall Red & White Show, New York Spring Dairy Carousel, and New York State Fair. His judging assignments have also taken him internationally to Brazil, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.

At home, he and Lexie milk 125 Registered Holsteins and care for boarded show cattle, representing six breeds. Their show care program has earned numerous All-American nominations. They cared for 40 head in their 2025 World Dairy Expo string.

In addition to their dairy herd, Lloyd manages 1,000 acres of cropland and provides custom work on another 2,000 acres. He currently serves as President of the New York Holstein Association and is a member of the National Holstein Association Show Committee.

Lloyd joins this distinguished list of A.C. “Whitie” Thomson Award winners: James Armbruster, 1985; Marvin A. Daufeldt, 1986; R. Dale Jones, 1987; Keith King, 1988; Ken Mueller, 1989; John Buckley, 1990; Steve and Stan Blessing, 1991; Clark and Joy Vilter, 1992; Mike and Bobbie Rauch, 1993; Bill and Marion Barlass, 1994; Bryan Voegeli and Martin Roberge, 1995; Eric Dupasquier, 1996; Bill Vanderham, 1997; Douglas Seidel, 1998; Perry Moyer, 1999; Randy and Debbie Frasier, 2000; Callum McKinven, 2001; Ernest Kueffner, Jr. 2002; Tom Dalton, 2003; Mark and Angela Brown, 2004; Tim and Barb Natzke, 2005; Ron Paaske, 2006; Dean Dohle, 2007; Ron Heffner, 2008; Rodney Bohnhoff, 2009; Ron Mikulice, 2010; Larry Kruse, 2011; Andrew Vander Meulen, 2012; Jason Danhof, 2013; Dale Bendig, 2014; Jason Johnson, 2015; John Dalton, 2016; Gord Rendle and Ridley Wikkerink, 2017; Mike Holschbach, 2018; Chris & Jennifer Hill, 2019; Ysabel Jacobs, 2021; Timothy Coon, 2022; Norman C. Magnussen, 2023; and Adam Liddle, 2024.

Serving as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo is the premier forum for the dairy community to learn, share, create commerce and showcase competition. The annual event took place in Madison, Wis. September 30 – October 3, 2025. Dairy producers experienced the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, a world-class dairy cattle show, attended seminars, meetings and presentations highlighting the latest and greatest in the industry and connected with other producers. Download the World Dairy Expo mobile app, visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow WDE on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Spotify, or YouTube for more information.