History

They are still regularly shared with delight, the stories about the early years of Holstein International: Pioneer stories. There are stories about the first subscriptions that were sold, without even being shown a magazine – a task that undoubtedly took a lot of persuasive power and thus deserves a lot of respect. And about visiting shows in various countries, where the money from the first subscriptions sold paid for coffee and lunch. And even stories that did not pan out, including the sale of catalogues (which they had received earlier that day from organizations!): Dutch commercial spirit in the big Holstein world.

However, it is certainly not only that commercial spirit that drove Han Hopman and Jan Bierma to establish an international breeding magazine in various languages. ‘When Han was 10 years old he travelled by train to picture cows at shows. When Jan was 10 years old he delivered his hand-written local newspaper by bicycle. Now we are almost 25 years further down the road and it has happened: Here is the magazine that we have always wanted to create’ we read in the editorial of the very first issue, in January 1994. At the time the magazine was still made in a small room on the farm, by a small group of enthusiasts. With the birth of HI, Han and Jan’s dream came true. ‘With Holstein International we hope to offer a useful and enjoyable monthly magazine for Holstein enthusiasts around the world, a publication in your own language, chock full of international information for the modern Holstein dairy farmer.’

In the meantime, 25 years have passed. The 300 issues are a fact! Over the years, a lot has changed: the number of employees has grown significantly, and the farm has been exchanged for an office. HI has five language editions and is being read each month by more than 38,000 Holstein enthusiasts in dozens of countries. What has stayed the same is the ambition and passion of the entire team of Holstein International.

Mission
Supplying unbiased information – worldwide accessible – to our readers, to enable them to improve their knowledge and the quality of their work within the Holstein industry.