Tommy the Brown Swiss has a loyal following
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, stand aside. There’s a new behemoth in town – Tommy the Ox, who has become a legend through the power of social media.
Tommy is a 15-year-old purebred Brown Swiss steer owned by Fred Balawender of Winterpast Farm in Cheshire, MA. “He’s a pretty old boy,” said Balawender.
Updates about Tommy posted by Balawender’s daughter, webmaster and farmer Laurie Cuevas of Thomas Farm and Dairy in Hadley, MA, caught the attention of researchers for Guinness World Records.
A local vet came to measure Tommy and take a video of him for verification of authenticity that was sent to Guinness World Records organizers.
He was measured at 73 inches at the withers and deemed to be the world’s tallest living steer on Dec. 11, 2022, and was entered into the 2024 Guinness World Records book that was released in September 2023.
The 2026 Guinness World Records book lists an eight-year-old Holstein steer named Beef, measuring 77 inches in Valcun County, Alberta, Canada, owned by Jasmine Entz, as the Guinness World Records Tallest Living Steer.
Balawender stands 5’3” in his stocking feet. Tommy reaches almost 8 feet tall at the top of his horns. The two of them together is an impressive and unforgettable sight.
Balawender was “looking for something to raise here at the farm” when his daughter told him about five purebred Brown Swiss calves that hadn’t sold at auction and were nearby her in Hadley.
“I paid $10 apiece and bought all five,” said Balawender. “He was just a day old. He was my friend” from then on.
Balawender said, “Whenever I went into the barn, he stayed with me all the time. He wanted to be petted and scratched. I’d be fixing the fence and he’d be standing there and watching me. He’s seeing what’s going on, day after day. He’s never going to McDonald’s.”
When working in the field, “he wanted to hang with us. He’s a whole different animal, very unusual.”
Tommy was named after Tom Brady, New England Patriots quarterback at the time.
Balawender owns and leases 350 acres to harvest hay for New England Hay Supply, which he operates with his son Mike Balawender. They harvest about 35,000 square bales annually. They also harvest round bales. They deliver their hay widely.
They provide and deliver straw to the Boston Fire Department for training practices. “We deliver four big truckloads a year. They burn it and that’s how they teach their firefighters. The straw burns very clean,” said Balawender.
Fire departments are close to his heart as well, as he has been on the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department for 52 years. Balawender, who will be 82 in June, is on the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) and the EMS captain for the fire department.
Their hay feeds the 40 beef cattle that Balawender raises – 10 Herefords, and the rest Black Angus.
Their hay also feeds Tommy, who eats at least a bale a day. “He eats all the hay and forage he wants. He’s a big old boy. He’s a good guy,” said Balawender.
He loves apples and gets 15 to 20 lbs. of grain a day, and ground corn from Parsons Farm.
How he grew so big remains an unsolved mystery. Brown Swiss tend to be large. At five years old, having reaching a standard size, he just kept growing. He weighs about 3,000 lbs.
He lately has had a little trouble with one of his feet. “Each one is holding up 750 pounds. We had to cut down on his sugar intake,” on the advice of their vet. “He’s doing pretty well,” Balawender said.
“We just love him to death. He is a very special animal around small children. When he sees small children, his eyes just light up. We make him lie down and they pet him,” said Balawender. “He has a gentle temperament like I’ve never seen in an animal his size.”
For more information, access Laurie Balawender Cuevas (@dairygoatmother) on Instagram or thomasfarmstand.com/about-us.
by Laura Rodley
