Dairy industry remembers Ivan Strickler

Ivan K. Strickler, known locally and recognized worldwide for his leadership in the dairy industry, died Tuesday afternoon at Allen County Hospital in Iola. He was 87.

Strickler was on the first board of directors and named the first chairman of the National Dairy Research and Promotion board. He spent 14 years on the National Milk Producers executive committee, where he served as chairman of the export committee. In the Midwest, he served 27 years on the board of directors of Mid-America Dairymen, Inc., during which time it grew to become the nation’s largest milk marketing cooperative. His last 13 years on the board were as its president.

Locally, Strickler operated Strickler Holstein Farm, a predominantly registered Holstein operation, milking just under 400 cows with around 1,000 animals total. Strickler Holsteins is a world-wide marketer of genetics, having produced bulls, cows, or embryos for virtually every market and country open to U.S. Holsteins. While working mainly with Hosteins, Strickler has judged all breeds of dairy cattle and judged national shows in Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Australia, and Mexico. Strickler served eight years on the National Holstein Association board followed by two years as vice-president and two years as president.

A 1947 graduate of Kansas State University’s dairy science program, Strickler was awarded the school’s Alumni Medallion Award in 2000, the highest honor bestowed by K-State.

Other recognitions include being named: Man of the Year in 1978 at the World Dairy Expo, National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor in 1983, and inducted into the Alpha Gamma Rho Hall of Fame.

In 1996, he wrote the book, “Wholly Cow: We Did It!” which was an autobiographical memoir. More than 3,000 copies of the book were sold here and abroad, raising more than $10,000 for scholarships for youth interested in pursuing careers in the dairy industry.