Dave Thompson, a retired dairy farmer from Starbuck, was inducted into the Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame on March 10 at ceremonies held on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame was established in 1934 and Thompson was the 194th inductee. Members are honored for their lifetime of accomplishments and service to the livestock industry.

Thompson owned a herd of up to 80 registered Holsteins for more than 40 years. He sold more than a dozen bulls to AI (artificial insemination) organizations across the United States in addition to having bulls and frozen embryos go to Europe and Asia. The Thompson herd was among the top 100 type classified herds in the United States four times and was an eight-time recipient of the Progressive Breeders’ Registry Award, the highest herd award given by the Holstein Association. 

Over the past 50 years Thompson served as the official judge at more than 100 county fair dairy shows and judging contests, including being the official judge at the Minnesota State Fair FFA Dairy judging contest for many years. Thompson has participated in the Hoards Dairyman judging contest for more than 50 years. In 1984 Dave and his wife, Dawn, were first and second place in the national contest out of more than 102,000. 

In industry service, Thompson served on the state board of the American Dairy Association for 20 years, including 10 years as state president. During his tenure as president, he initiated the 10-year run of “Dairy Night at the Dome” with the Minnesota Twins where he did on-field pregame ceremonies with Princess Kay. Thompson’s leadership was also instrumental in the construction of the American Dairy Association’s malt stand at the Minnesota State Fair. At the time it was known as the world’s largest malt stand. The malt stand has consistently been one of the top food vendors at the Minnesota State Fair for the past quarter century. Thompson served on the board of Minnesota/North Dakota Select Sires for six years and was president in 2002-2003. He was also a member of the national sire committee for Select Sires in Plain City, Ohio, for six years.

In community service activities Thompson served on the local school board for more than 10 years, local bank board for 20 years, church council and the Pope County Historical Society board. He is currently in his 20th year on the board at Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Benson and is serving his ninth year as board chairman.