Jersey Focus - Spring 2022

Every generation. Better.

Our farms and our futures depend on us farming smarter. We have reached peak cow numbers and the nation is calling for better cows. Cows that can generate more milk, more efficiently. Cows that can produce more milks solids with less liveweight. Cows that can better utilize nutrients with lower nitrogen and methane outputs.

Our Premier Sires ® teams have been expertly chosen to help you accelerate your rates of genetic gain. While our Sexed team provides a 90% chance of generating heifer replacements from your best cows. And every gain you make, filters through the national database, building herd insights and empowers other farmers to make better decisions for the next generation.

Talk to your Agri Manager today about farming for the next generation. Farm smarter with Premier Sires.

President’s Perspective

General Manager’s Comment

Strategic Plan 2022

Dates To Remember

Committees

Mersey Jerseys

Once a day Jersey Cows for Butter

International Dairy Week Youth Challenge 2023

Elephants in the Room

Regional Ambassadors

International News

Positive Industry Developments that will help the Jersey Breed Office News

Brampton Dreaming Sam

Registrations

2023 Jersey Female Hall of Fame

Ian McKenzie Jordan MNZM

Breed Records by age over time

Jersey Advantage

Jersey Annual Conference 2023

Waiokura Jerseys

Jerseyland Farms Update

Calf ClubNZ 2022 Results

Obituaries

JerseyGenomeTM In My Opinion

Jersey FutureTM

Matriarch Genetics Update

290 Tristram Street, Hamilton 3240 PO BOX 1132, Hamilton 3240

Telephone: 07 856 0731

Email: info@jersey.org.nz Website: jersey.org.nz Facebook: Jersey NZ

2537-9232.

RAS List Update

Ian Harris Memorial Heifer Competiton

NZAEL Update

Link Livestock Update

Club Contacts

New Members

Scholarship Fund Roll of Honour

Te Awamutu Jersey Club Report

President’s Perspective

I don’t think I’m the only one that suddenly finds it’s November! It feels like only a short time ago that I was writing the Presidents Perspective for the last Jersey Focus.

News reports and social media posts have shown a difficult period over calving for many parts of New Zealand. Not only have many been affected by weather events, there has been the added pressure of many farms being under staffed.

There is a continued interest in technology to help improve productivity. While it is exciting, dealing with nature and relying on technology is a whole new world. It is helping to make farming attractive to the next generation of farmers, and re-energising the older generation.

I have an exciting time coming up – now that pressure is off on our farm – I’m looking forward to working with Pam to support our Jersey Breeding community. There are a few events coming up to celebrate Jersey which I’m looking forward to being involved with.

I am also involved with an Inspiring Futures event – funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries – held on Donald’s Farm in Manurewa. We will have 800 12- to 14-year-old students from Papakura and Manurewa come to the farm to learn about careers in Agriculture and to experience a dairy farm for a day – and of course they’ll be seeing Jersey cows!

It is encouraging to see funding going to programmes like this – even if we don’t end up with 800 new dairy farmers, we will be giving the majority of these students their first opportunity to see a farm.

Jersey NZ Board

Julie Pirie

President

Ngatea jpirie@jersey.org.nz 027 608 2171

Tony Landers

Vice President Hawera tlanders@jersey.org.nz 027 458 4465

Barry Montgomery

Dargaville bmontgomery@jersey.org.nz 021 034 0068

Now that the days are getting longer and restrictions on gathering and events have been lifted, I’m sure we are all looking forward to some great social occasions.

Enjoy the summer everyone, and all the best for a great Christmas and may 2023 bring some new challenges and rewards.

Julie Pirie | President

Peter Gilbert

Ashburton

pgilbert@jersey.org.nz 027 435 6334

Glenys Ellison

Hamilton

gellison@jersey.org.nz 021 147 4490

Alison Gibb

Taupiri

agibb@jersey.org.nz 027 481 0820

Our Strategic Purpose

Supporting our membership and wider Jersey community by promoting and driving the Jersey breed and Jersey products

Animal Evaluation Data

Unless otherwise stated, all BW, PW and LW ratings shown throughout this issue are as at the Animal Evaluation run of 11 Nov 2022.

Unless otherwise stated, all NZMI figures quoted throughout this issue are as at the NZMI run of 11 Nov 2022.

Julie Pirie

General Manager’s Comment

As another year comes towards a close we look forward to a regenerated Semex On Farm Challenge quickly approaching as the final major activity for the Jersey year, having been cancelled due to Covid last year. It is a year that has not been without its challenges. Earlier in the year Covid lockdowns were still affecting activities, although we are now free of all restrictions. In the office, Robyn’s period of maternity leave followed by her resignation impacted on the support required in the Member Services Administrator role which flowed into the TOP season where we had expected to have two people on the job. Young Jersey Future bulls not performing added additional workload. We are a strong and resilient team though, and supported each other throughout the year. Karen Maxwell has agreed to take up the role of Member Services Administrator on a permanent basis, and the recent return of Jackie Kennedy to the Jersey NZ team in a new role is already having an impact as she has effortlessly eased back and proactively taken up her responsibilities.

Members will be aware that the dates for Annual Conference in 2023 have changed due to accommodation availability. Hosted at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill, Conference will now take place from 29 – 31 March 2023. The flagship Jersey Pride sale will take place on Thursday 30 March. The Awards Night will change to a cocktail function prior to the final dinner, freeing up the opening night for more time for socialising. We know that is what you as members want for our first night. Conference will also be a great opportunity for members to find out more about Jerseyland Farms, meet the people involved on a day-to-day basis, and visit the farm. We encourage members to take up this opportunity and visit a wonderful region.

The change in timing for the Jersey Focus this year to June and November was necessary to even out workload through the course of the year following the decision to move to an autumn Conference. What this means for the Focus is that the bulk of our activities and results will be reported in June. This issue will therefore focus on preparation for 2023, keeping the benefits of our programmes and competitions in front of members. If you are not already taking part, please consider getting involved.

Jersey NZ Team

Pam Goodin General Manager pgoodin@jersey.org.nz

Michelle Calcott Business Administrator mcalcott@jersey.org.nz

• Take photos now through summer for the Worldwide Sires Photo Competition

• Get your heifers registered by the mid-February deadline for consideration for the JerseyGenome programme

• Encourage your kids to take part in our youth competitions

• Consider the fantastic success of Jersey Future and take a really good look at the 2023 team to support the breed and Association. Later in the year get your bull calf nominations in for consideration.

• Come along to the Annual Conference to meet more like-minded Jersey breeders

• Check out the website to see what else we offer!

Jersey NZ is YOUR Association. There are a myriad of ways for you and your family to enjoy the benefits of your membership. Make the most of them.

Pam Goodin | General Manager

The Jersey FOCUS

The Jersey FOCUS is the official publication of Jersey NZ published bi-annually in June (Winter) and November (Spring) respectively.

Jersey NZ is the official trade name of the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders’ Association Inc.

Sean Bresnahan Digital Design Coordinator sbresnahan@jersey.org.nz

Karen Maxwell Member Services Administrator info@jersey.org.nz

Jackie Kennedy Communications & Marketing Coordinator jkennedy@jersey.org.nz

Pam Goodin

Jersey NZ’s Strategic Plan 2022

CORE PURPOSE:

Supporting our membership and wider Jersey community by promoting and driving the Jersey breed and Jersey products

BHAG:

Jersey #1 Breed

Adding integrity and value to your farming business

VISION:

Recognised for leading in

• Profitability and efficiency

• Membership and engagement

• Genetic gain

• Reduced environmental footprint

• Consumer preference

• Animal welfare

CORE VALUES:

Integrity | Sustainability | Quality | Collaboration

3

YEAR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

PEOPLE & CULTURE

• An organisation that is up to the task

• Membership focussed

• Youth engagement

• Stakeholder engagement

• Enhance relationships between management & governance

FINANCE

• Increase members participation and use of core services

• Continue & increase diversity of income streams

• Incentivise DNA & genomic testing

• Refinance Jerseyland Farms investment loan

MARKETING & SALES

• Consumer awareness of the Jersey benefits

• Collaborate with Jersey Advantage for consistent messaging

• Sustainable bobby calf solutions available for dairy farmers

• Actively positioning Jersey NZ

TECHNOLOGY

• Modernisation of administration programmes utilising BreedIT

• Provide scientific research to validate vision

• Genetic diversity

1 YEAR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

PEOPLE & CULTURE

• Ensure appropriate team numbers and resourcing to achieve goals

• Increase our numbers of TOP Inspectors

• Survey member feedback and develop multiple channels for member & club engagement

• Empower our Ambassadors

• Youth Council engagement

• Maintain and continue to form collaborative partnerships with industry leaders

FINANCE

• Budget & forecast profit – planned debt reduction

• Explore collaborative relationship around genomic testing

• Explore diversity of income streams

MARKETING & SALES

• Maintain awareness of consumer trends and animal welfare issues

• Keep driving membership numbers – National Fieldays

• Refine and promote our value proposition –breed & organisation

TECHNOLOGY

• BreedIT fully operational – bespoke opportunities explored

• Member Focus groups

Reviewed in 2022 the full Strategic Plan includes One and Three Year Strategic Priorities along with 90 day Action Priorities. The full Strategic Plan can be viewed at www.jersey.org.nz/governance/

DATES TO REMEMBER

Jersey NZ | Get all of the Jersey NZ updates, reminders and general Jersey business on our Facebook

Office Reopens

Royal Dairy EventHorowhenua

NZ Dairy EventFeilding

Auckland Anniversary Day - Office closed

COMMITTEES

COMMITTEES, PANELS AND WORKING GROUPS 2022/23

INDUSTRY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Roger Ellison, Julie Pirie, Glenys Ellison, Cameron Townshend, Pam Goodin

AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE

Glenys Ellison, Alison Gibb

JUDGING & CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE

Barry Montgomery, Peter Gilbert, Ross Riddell, Richard Adam, James Wallace, Graeme Collins, Robert Hall, Warren Ferguson, Maurice Pedley

GENETICS COMMITTEE

Steve Ireland, Tony Landers, Ross Riddell, Aaron Courage, Barry Montgomery

YOUTH COMMITTEE

Julie Pirie, Peter Gilbert, James Wallace, Ruth Jeyes, Nick Browning

ANNUAL CONFERENCE ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Pam Goodin, Alison Gibb, Ross Riddell, Maurice Pedley, Rodney Dobson

LINK LIVESTOCK LTD - DIRECTOR

Alison Gibb

Waitangi Day - Office Closed

Jersey Genome registration cutoff Board Meeting

Annual Conference registrations close Judging School, Waikato Judging School, Taranaki

DIRECTORS APPOINTMENT COMMITTEE

Ross Riddell, Robert Hall, Trent Paterson

JERSEYGENOME WORKING GROUP

Tony Landers, Glenys Ellison, Glenn Wilson, Josh Sneddon

DIRECTOR EXPENSES REVIEW PANEL

Steve Ireland, Colin Hickey

DAIRY BREEDS FEDERATION

Alison Gibb, Barry Montgomery, Peter Gilbert, Julie Pirie with Pam Goodin as reserve

Mersey Jerseys

by Pam Goodin

Rick and Claire Jones of Mersey Jerseys are born and bred Liverpudlian city slickers, hence the reference to the river Mersey which runs through the city of Liverpool in the UK. Twenty-five years ago, they ‘accidentally’ ended up in New Zealand while on an OE. They had followed friends to Australia for work on banana plantations in Queensland. As their friends headed home to the UK at the end of the season an opportunity arose to come on to New Zealand to work on a dairy farm and the couple spent a few months in New Zealand working on farms at Taupo, Paeroa and mid Canterbury. From that visit a dream was born.

Returning to the UK, Rick and Claire found that their perspectives on their future had changed. For a bit of breathing room they went apple picking in Holland for a while, before returning to the UK to take up careers in dairy. At that time, the urban/rural divide was so great that it was almost unheard of for people brought up in the city to go farming. For much of that time they worked on different farms in different counties, with Rick commuting from Claires farm to his own job. Over time and different jobs including managing a pedigree Holstein-Friesian herd, they progressed to a contract milker role on the Dorset estate of Crichel, a 1500 ha estate with four villages, a stately home, church and a pub that was built 80 years before Captain Cook reached New Zealand. The estate was owned by the Queen’s godmother and was the setting for the film ‘Emma’ starring Gwyneth Paltrow. When Rick & Claire first arrived on the estate there were 36 staff, 36 tractors, two organic dairy herds, the largest pig herd in Europe, stables and a gamekeeper. By the time they left seven years later the estate had been sold and there were no

animals left, the shoots had stopped and there were just five staff and five tractors.

Then in their mid-40’s, the couple found themselves at a crossroads and revisited their plan to emigrate to New Zealand to farm. Almost nine years ago, with six weeks travelling in Asia and Australia on the way, Rick and Claire landed in New Zealand with children Daisy (now 18) and Gryff (now 15) coming to a 2IC job in the Matamata area.

Rick and Claire are currently in their third season sharemilking on Tower Rd, Matamata, at the base of the Kaimai mountain range. It was a job that they picked up late in the season just as Covid hit in 2020. The farm had been on the market and the herd had been sold. The farm went back onto the market in the second year of their contract, with the proviso that their contract was honoured. So they now have a new Papamoa-based owner and are hoping that their contract will be renewed for another term to allow Gryff to finish High School locally.

They first milked Jerseys in New Zealand, but had only a few in their first couple of jobs here. Keen on crossbreeds they were growing ‘a herd that was anything but Jerseys’ when their first 50/50 job stipulated a Jersey herd. Taking the job, they then needed to find a herd. Already friends with Upland Park Jersey’s Andy Walford, they contacted him to learn more about the breed. Their farm owner purchased 20 cows from the Stradone herd of Keith and Leigh Hawes at Walton, plus a group of heifers from elsewhere. The Stradone cows were walked from Walton to Waharoa, retracing the steps the herd

had previously taken as the Hawes family had moved from Waharoa to Walton years earlier. These animals were all leased by Rick & Claire, then purchased at the end of the contract. They are very grateful for the Farm Owner as this allowed them to progress into sharemilking at that level.

Last year Claire decided to pursue another dream of working in the conservation field and after completing her qualification is about to take up a role as a Biodiversity Officer with the Department of Conservation. Daughter Daisy had left school and was working on another farm when that decision was made. She jumped at the chance to work alongside her father and is now in her first full season on the farm. With Rick and Daisy working on-farm, Claire and Griff help out at weekends and some of Daisy’s friends are also available as relief milkers.

Now milking 330 cows, the breed makeup of the herd is 70% Jersey (with anything J12 & over registered) and 30% crossbreed. The 100 ha farm straddles Tower Rd, with the 36 aside herringbone shed on one side with 30 ha, the two houses on the other side of 70 ha and an underpass in between.

This season Daisy is rearing 85 replacement calves. While contacted for 75, the farm owner wanted them to also rear 10 bull calves for an extra 10 heifers of their own. Calves remain on the farm. Other replacement stock includes 80 R2 heifers which are with graziers on two farms from 1 May to 1 May. Cows are wintered on farm, but this year 150 were wintered on annual grass on maize ground and for the last couple of seasons they have also grazed for about 6 weeks total over two mobs at the neighbour’s chicken farm. The chicken farm also provides litter every 7 weeks as the sheds are cleared out. Used on all except effluent paddocks, the litter really gives the grass a boost.

No crop is grown on the farm, but approx. 1 tonne meal per cow is fed through the shed. Up until Christmas this will include palm kernel, maize kibble and tapioca, then changing to a protein base. Over the last couple of seasons, they have purchased about 150 bales of silage and made another 300 bales on farm. They also buy in a couple of units of hay per season. Working to get through to end of the season maintaining good production, in their first season they went to 3 in 2 milkings from December. With good growing seasons since they have not needed to do that again, but cow condition will be a key factor. Due to the farm sale and the

need to maintain cover last season, they went to once-a-day milkings in March to ensure the balance was right at changeover. While there was more production to be had, this was the right decision for the new owner and vendor.

Production in the 2021/22 season was approx. 450 kg milksolids per cow, 142,000 kg milksolids to the factory. This was a farm record for Rick & Claire, up 11,000 kg milksolids on the previous season. They are currently about 10% behind last season, and 4% behind for the month. Grass growth has been held back by a very wet winter, and an additional 300 bales has been purchased to compensate for the lack on bales made on farm. The winter also saw a couple of pretty major storms affect the farm, which is prone to the infamous ‘Kaimai buster’ winds of up to 150 kph coming down the ranges once every couple of years. This year it hit during calving, and while calves were picked up in the night they were still finding scattered calves a couple of days later. These are challenging conditions to farm – no power; too windy to use farm bikes; a truck was blown over at their gate; the neighbour’s herd home and Daisy’s garage were both destroyed.

Up to this season Rick & Claire have leased cows throughout their sharemilking career to keep debt low, and have bred animals to build the herd up. With herd numbers built up to where he wants them to be, Rick is now targeting his top 90 cows with sexed semen, balanced with Jersey Future heifers for the first five weeks of AI. He purchases 10 bulls annually from the Williams stud in Northland. Six will go off to the heifers (split between the two graziers) and after six weeks one come back from each group to join the four they have kept on farm. These are utilized as two teams of three for weeks 7 – 9 of mating with the cows. A further three weeks of short gestation AB completes mating. He is very happy to keep progeny from natural matings as long as the heifers prove themselves. Last season the top three 3 year olds on production were all naturally mated, and they also classified well. The short gestation programme includes Belgian Blue as they have good markets for the calves.

There are still a few crossbreds in the herd – more recently Rick has been using Montbeliarde, Speckle

Rick is delighted to have a progeny test bull with CRV this year – Mersey LFG Super Styler. Two cows also have contracts on for the season.

Park and even Highlander. Purchases from other breeders include Upland Park and Densondale, not always elite cows but good, solid cows that are performing well for him.

From a couple who a few years ago were breeding anything but Jerseys, Rick and Claire have come a long way and are now firm fans of the Jersey cow. Rick comments that just from a health & safety perspective they are safer to handle due to their size, but he also loves that he can really get in to work with them, they have great temperaments and are very placid animals to work with. While he will always retain a few crossbreds, the Jersey percentage will continue to increase and Rick really enjoys getting a cow to J16 and developing new families.

He is learning the kiwi way, ensuring that he maximises grass growth and utilization. He is careful not to get caught between having a high index herd and his use of overseas genetics. He is keenly aware that as sharemilkers they need to ensure that they have a saleable herd for the future. He is looking for good conformation in his cows – a wide rear end, good capacity and udders.

Rick and Claire have really made great use of their Jersey NZ membership too. Rick is currently President of the Te Aroha Jersey Club, having not realised that in New Zealand there is a natural progression from Vice-President to President. A bit daunted at first, he is now really enjoying the role. Rick and Claire use Jersey NZ’s core services of registrations, in fact getting the herd registered up was his 50th birthday present! They classify their two year olds, purchase Jersey Future semen and take part in the JerseyGenome programme. Rick has previously attended Annual Conference and is planning on travelling to Invercargill for Conference 2023. Having just been involved in local Club on farm competitions to date, surely the next step will be the Semex On Farm Challenge.

Daisy’s goal is to work alongside her Dad at least until the end of next season, and then maybe head back to the UK for a while to try out farming there. Looking further ahead she wants to continue farming and build up her own herd. She is learning a lot from Rick, taking on more responsibility which makes her feel more involved and she relishes that challenge. When he finishes high school, Gryff would like to join the British navy.

Rick intends to farm for at least another 10 years, and hopes to complete at least another three year contracts as a sharemilker. Their goal is to increase herd size in their next sharemilking opportunity, also investing off farm with the long-term goal of possible farm ownership. Sharemilking is all about timing and making the correct choices to progress. Rick & Claire believe in getting themselves to the right place so that they are ready when opportunity arises.

Have an opinion on the current movement?industry

Jersey NZ invite members to share their thoughts in the “In My Opinion” segment.

Discuss relevant thoughts regarding the Dairy Industry, Breeding and Genetics, Life as a Farmer or anything else that pops into mind.

Send at any time to: info@jersey.org.nz

Opinions expressed by editorial contributors or claims made in advertisements are not necessarily those of The Jersey FOCUS, General Manager and Board of Jersey NZ.

ELLISON JERSEYS

Herd Minda BW/PW 314/311, October 15, 2022

Once a day Jersey Cows for butter

Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos Massey Dairy 1

PhD student:

Inthujaa Sanjayaranj

School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North

Supervisors:

Nicolás López-Villalobos and Hugh T. Blair

School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North

Patrick W. M. Janssen

School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University

Stephen E. Holroyd and Alastair K. H. MacGibbon Fonterra Research and Development Centre, Palmerston North.

Correspondence: N.Lopez-Villalobos@massey.ac.nz

New Zealand dairy cows are milked twice a day (TAD), but about 8% of New Zealand dairy farmers have adopted once-a-day (OAD) milking for the entire lactation. Our study aimed to explore the fatty acid composition of Holstein Friesian, Jersey and Holstein Friesian × Jersey cows milked OAD and TAD.

The study was conducted on Massey University No.1 Dairy farm (OAD milking) and No.4 Dairy farm (TAD milking) in the 2020-2021 production season. The levels of fatty acids in milk samples were obtained using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

The proportions of individual fatty acids in milk affect product quality, especially butter. Fatty acids have different lengths of carbon chains and different levels of saturation. For example, palmitic acid is written as C16:0, which means that its carbon chain is sixteen carbons long and it does not have any double bonds between the carbons, meaning it is saturated. Fatty acids C16:0, C18:0 (stearic acid) and C18:1 cis-9 (oleic acid) are important in butter making as they influence the solid fat content of the milk. The solid fat content of milk is the ratio of solid fat to liquid fat at a specific temperature. Generally, solid fat content is studied at 10°C as it is more like the typical refrigeration temperature in food businesses. Higher proportions of C16:0 and C18:0 and lower proportion of C18:1 cis-9 can lead to higher solid fat content at 10°C. When the solid fat content at 10°C is higher, the butter is less spreadable. Butter is an excellent ingredient for cooking, baking and spreading, with consumer preference being for an easily spreadable butter at the refrigeration temperature.

The results of this study showed that Jersey cows produced milk with a significantly higher proportion of C18:0 compared to Holstein-Friesian cows in the OAD milking farm (see Table 1). Holstein-Friesian × Jersey cows produced a significantly

higher proportion of C18:0 compared to Holstein-Friesian cows in the TAD milking farm. Other fatty acids, C16:0 and C18:1 cis-9 were not different between breeds within milking frequencies.

Table 1: Fatty acid composition of milk from Holstein-Friesian (F), Jersey (J) and Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbred (F×J) cows milked once-a-day and twice-a-day milking frequencies.

Fatty acid (% of the total FA)

C16:0 (Palmitic acid)

C18:0 (Stearic acid)

C18:1 cis-9 (Oleic acid)

Figure 1. a) Solid fat content at 10°C of milk from all cows milked OAD and TAD; b) Solid fat content at 10°C of milk from Holstein-Friesian (F), Jersey (J) and Holstein-Friesian × Jersey crossbred (F×J) cows milked once-a-day (OAD) and twice-a-day (TAD) milking frequencies.

Milk from a OAD herd would produce softer butter compared with butter produced from a TAD milking herd due to relatively lower solid fat content at 10°C (Figure 1). Jersey cows milked once a day would produce harder butter compared to Holstein Friesian cows milked once a day. Similarly, when looking at the trend of the figure, Jersey cows milked twice a day would also produce harder butter compared to Holstein Friesian cows milked twice a day. Despite Jersey cows being more suitable for once-a-day milking compared to Holstein Friesian, this study suggests that Jersey milk would lead to harder butter.

The results of this study pave the way for researchers, farmers and processing companies to think of a possible way to produce a more easily spread butter with once-a-day milking. This is also a piece of encouraging news for once-a-day farmers, as they have been producing softer milkfat which could obtain a premium if milk fatty acid composition becomes more valuable to consumers in the future.

1ST PLACE - 2019 JNZ TEAM

With international borders now open again post-Covid, JerseyNZ is sending a team of keen youth to compete once again in the Youth Challenge Event at International Dairy Week. This will take place in Tatura, Victoria, Australia from 14 – 19 January 2023.

Open to youth from all breeds the 2023 team is Emma Williamson, Jacoba Gread, Margaret Russell, Bella Booth, Briar Booth, Riley Taylor, Zara Williams, Holly Williams, Ella Pirie, Angel Somerville, Kimberley Simmons and Odyssey Travers. They will be led by Julie Pirie and Susanna Booth. This team is a good mixture of youth who have taken part before, and those who are new to the experience. Some of the older youth will also be helping out on show teams during the week.

No pressure, but they have a reputation to keep up. In 2019 the Jersey NZ team won this event against 13 Australian teams, and placed second in 2020. JerseyNZ wishes every success to the 2023 IDW Youth Challenge team!

2ND PLACE - 2020 JNZ TEAM

Elephants in the room?

Contributed by Dr. Joe McGrath

Technical Manager Ruminants, DSM

Senior Lecturer - Ruminant Nutrition, University of New England, Australia

A letter to the Dairy Exporter Editor, in response to the editorial by Jackie Harrigan on October 7th, 2022.

Dear Ed,

I read your editorial on the environmental sustainability issues highlighted by Mike Joy and your assessment as “one step forward and two steps backwards”. That the only way forward is a stocking rate of 1 cow per hectare or, in some cases no cows at all, is a fait accompli – something we can do nothing about. And you are correct.

No amount of riparian planting, cow genetic efficiency, pasture species changes or effluent irrigation spray technology will change the stream health readings. The industry is doomed unless the elephants in the room are acknowledged and shown the door. I’d like to shine a light on those elephants here. I am an Australian, living in Australia. But one who works in the NZ dairy industry and thinks it is amazing with a bright future. I just want to get that out there early. As a cow nutritionist with a history in mineral nutrition research and a stint in beef feedlots I see a lot of minerals (like N, P, K and Na), where they are going and what damage they can do. I also know that no industry, animal or industrial, intensive or extensive, can freely continue to pollute their surrounding environment at the expense of the community.

My first work trip to NZ was a conference at Lincoln where our academic team from Australia learned a couple of things, to our horror.

1) How much Nitrogen Lincoln Dairy Unit was happily putting on their milking platform and winter run offs, while extolling its virtues to the industry.

2) How much milk was being taken off the platform. One was very high the other was very low. But not the way round you would hope.

The Nitrogen excess was extreme. But Nitrogen not going out in milk is either going up (think global warming) or going down (think aquifer and stream damage).

Since then, LDU has gone on to reduce N inputs. But they are still excessive per unit of milk produced. And they always will be while the mantra of grass only is blindly followed, especially if the grass is ryegrass.

Why is this?

Firstly, because it’s not matched to the cow’s requirements. She just doesn’t need all that N. When ryegrass is at its peak

energy production it can range in N content from about 3.8% N to 5.1% N, the cow’s requirement is approximately 2.6% N. The rest is excess, excreted in the form of urea in urine.

Secondly because pasture (especially with climate variability increasing) is an unreliable and far from balanced diet, resulting in sub optimal milk production. Farmers that follow the grass only Dairy NZ mantra average approximately 350 MS/cow per year. Farmers that don’t, average more like 480 MS/cow year.

In terms of nutrient efficiency both outputs require the same nutrients level for maintenance, but after that the high production cow is much more efficient overall. Typically, a high production cow converts feed DM at approximately 10:1 while a low production cow is at 14:1.

These are the elephants in the room. Nitrogen based pastures and pasture only cows. To keep these, Kiwi farmers will need to do what Mike Joy says and run 1 cow to the hectare. That makes it pretty hard to cover fixed costs and return a profit.

However, a nitrogen fuelled, low output, pasture fed dairy cow is not the only way to produce milk in NZ. A fact that many Kiwi farmers have already picked up on. So, what are the alternatives? It’s important to state up front that there is no one size fits all prescription and that most farms will need to incorporate a blend of solutions to suit their specific circumstances. But generally, farms that are moving to sustainably profitable production are focusing on some, if not all, of the following:

1) Produce a lot more milk per cow. Reduces waste per unit of milk. Means you can run less cows.

2) Have healthy cows. Unhealthy cows are the most wasteful.

3) Have pasture as a balanced part of the diet. Probably no more than 50%.

4) Minimise N fertiliser as much as possible (I know of many farms not using any).

5) Capture as much effluent and manure as possible and redeploy as fertiliser.

6) Precision nutrition. Target the nutrients in the diet to be adequate and not excessive.

7) Grow high yielding crops to utilise excess nutrients.

8) Harvest a lot of silage on your own dairy platform to balance fibre intake over the season, minimising drought induced feed shortages.

9) Keep your young stock and dry cows at home. They are looked after better, and then go onto produce more milk

Joe McGrath

To achieve the above most farms move to some sort of feed pad, and/or cow shelter arrangement.

I’m lucky to work with many innovative Kiwi farmers who have achieved or are on their way to the above. Grass is just one part of a balanced diet and N fertiliser is seen as a cost they no longer incur. Their results are in, their overseer numbers are down. Their profits are up. They are not at the mercy of the weather (well, not to the same degree anyway).

Regional Ambassadors

In 2018, Jersey NZ developed a new volunteer role known as the Jersey Regional Ambassador. Many of the Ambassadors have been active in their local areas, however Covid has meant that the Ambassadors haven’t been able to fully carry out this initiative up until now. We will soon be having regular virtual meetings once again to allow the Ambassadors the chance to share ideas and work with Jersey NZ to assist in association participation across the country.

We are currently seeking an Ambassador in the Bay of Plenty, West Coast and Southland regions who may be interested in taking on this role. It’s an exciting time to join this initiative, and Ambassadors are well supported by the other Ambassadors and the Jersey NZ office.

Purpose:

• To be the face of Jersey NZ on farm and in the field

• To support members and potential members of Jersey NZ

• To represent and advocate for the work of Jersey NZ and hold to the highest standard the purpose and values of the organisation

General Guidelines: Provide a two-way communication between the Jersey NZ Board of Directors, Jersey NZ Membership and Jersey Clubs in their respective region

• Provide a presence representing Jersey NZ at regional industry events and Jersey Club events

• Promote breed relevance within the industry while representing Jersey NZ

• Approach prospective new members in their respective regions

• Where the position is filled by a qualified TOP classifier; include the promotion and additional service of TOP & Classification

Clubs and members alike are encouraged to use this valuable resource to increase participation with Jersey NZ.

In summary, there is no reason that the NZ dairy industry needs to shrink in terms of milk production. In fact, I have always maintained there is room for growth. Peak cow numbers have probably been reached. But the industry can continue to grow and stop polluting… If it gets rid of the elephants.

Kind Regards, A concerned Dairy Nutritionist.

Jersey NZ Regional Ambassadors 2023

Convenor:

Northland:

Graeme Collins 027 426 1172 / 09 423 7058 waiteitei243@gmail.com

Team: Waikato: Des Hickey 027 450 9346 / 07 828 5902 2deshickey@gmail.com

Waikato: Don Shaw 021 069 1236 / 07 870 1482 donandlynne@xtra.co.nz

Taranaki: Tony Luckin 027 540 0130 / 06 752 4192 leithlea@xtra.co.nz

Lower North Island: Karen Fitzgerald 027 408 0098 / 06 329 3224 karenfitz@xtra.co.nz

Upper South Island: Brian Nesbit 027 225 9969 / 03 525 9969 chardonnay.nz@gmail.com

Upper South Island Ted Ford 027 444 2805 / 03 544 2805 westbourne@xtra.co.nz

Canterbury: Robert Hall 027 431 8610 / 03 348 8406 8raro8@gmail.com

Show Season Championship Dates

North Island: South Island: Jersey Classic - 17 November On-Farm Challenge

International News

Another Clean Sweep for Vierra Dairy Farms in International Jersey ShowWorld Dairy Expo

MADISON, WIS. – Vierra Dairy Farms of Hilmar, California had a historic day at the International Jersey Show, exhibiting the Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion, and Honorable Mention Grand Champion. This is the third consecutive year Vierra Dairy Farms has won Grand Champion Female and Reserve Grand Champion Female at World Dairy Expo.

The winning Junior Three-Year-Old Cow and Intermediate Champion Female, Rivendale VIP Eloise, finished on top as the Grand Champion Female and earned the $1,000 Udder Comfort Grand Champion Cash Award and the Allen Hetts Grand Champion Trophy. Stoney Point Impression Blenda, the first-place Lifetime Cheese Production Cow, followed Eloise as Reserve Grand Champion Female and was Senior Champion Female. To round out the Triple-Crown win for Vierra Dairy Farms, River Valley Colton Juliette-ET topped the Five-Year-Old Cow Class and went on the be named Honorable Mention Grand Champion Female and Reserve Senior Champion Female.

Carly & Rebecca Shaw and Kash-In Jerseys of Tulare, California, found success in the International Jersey Show as they exhibited Budjon-Vail Jordan C Shaneese-ET. Shaneese was named the Reserve Intermediate Champion Female and won the Senior Three-Year-Old Cow Class.

The first and second place Fall Heifer Calf pair found success in the Junior Champion drive. Junior Champion Female honors went to Rivendale Venue Colby Jack-ET, shown by Trace Johnson and Sarah Fitzgerald of Poplar Grove, Illinois.

Full article available online at: https://worlddairyexpo. com/pages/News-Release---2022---Another-CleanSweep-for-Vierra-Dairy-Farms-in-International-JerseyShow.php

The Davis Family Hit The High Notes at The British Farming Awards - US Jersey Journal

Congratulations to The Davis Family of RIVERMEAD who took home two fantastic accolades from The British Farming Awards: Gold in the Dairy Farmer of the Year and Silver in the Farming Family of the Year categories.

The Davis’ have had a wonderful year on the show circuit and have held a highly successful on farm open day and select sale.

The following is borrowed from the British Farming Awards website:

Westcott Farm is a tenanted farm owned by Devon County Council, with the Davis Family farming the 101 hectares (250 acres) on a farm business tenancy. A further 18 hectares (45 acres) are rented from the same landlord on a short-term tenancy and a further 22ha (55 acres) rented from a private landlord on a five-year FBT.

The wider family are involved in the business but the main family members looking after the day-to-day running are Gordon, his sons Mark and Kevin alongside Richard Saxby. The farm is home to a herd of 280 Jersey cows and their followers with the milking portion producing about two million litres of high constituent milk each year.

Rivermead Dairy also buys in an additional 4-5 m litres from Jersey milk producers across the south of England. Using their own fleet of tankers, this milk is then distributed to processors of high-end and speciality cheeses and desserts, alongside more traditional products such as Devonshire clotted cream, ice cream and yoghurts.

Gordon says the setting up of this second dairy business has allowed the family to be in control of their own destiny. He says “diversifying has allowed us to purchase new equipment and invest in facilities and staff”. Noted for its success on the show circuit, the Rivermead herd is fully housed and Richard Saxby explains there is an emphasis on cow health and welfare.

Full article available online at: https://jerseycattlesociety.uk/ the-davis-family-hit-the-high-notes-at-the-british-farmingawards/

Intermediate Champion of the International Jersey Show Champion: Rivendale VIP Eloise, Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA Reserve: Budjon-Vail Jordan C Shaneese-ET, Carly & Rebecca Shaw and Kash-In Jerseys, Tulare, CA

FUTURE FOCUSED Ngatea Jerseys

Supporting JerseyNZ through the use of JerseyFuture Sires.

Encouraging Youth & Supporting the next generation.

Brian, Julie, Celine and Ella

Ngatea Jerseys

Brian - 027 2919533

Julie - 027 6082171

Welcome visitors to their home and farm near Ngatea, Hauraki Plains.

Seeing Other Breeders succed with Polled Genetics we have developed is the ultimate reward

Oaks Overlord Avenger PP Owned by Josh & Kareena Sneedon off to Sustainable Genetics USA

Golden One PP 88VG

Positive Industry Developments that will help the Jersey Breed (and

industry in general).

Roger Ellison | Industry Affairs Convenor Member of Future Proofing Committee, Jersey Advantage.

Work to improve the Fertility Breeding Value (BV)

Currently, genetic gain in fertility is handicapped by the low (approx. 5%) heritability of re-calving and submission rate to estimate fertility BV. In addition, the measurement of these fertility traits is belated meaning sires often have large numbers of daughters before accurate fertility BVs are known.

To try and address these shortcomings, DairyNZ undertook a comparative study of lines of high and low fertility BV animals to identify key phenotypic differences, especially those emerging early in the animal’s life. Age at puberty (high fert BV animals reached puberty earlier and at lighter liveweight than low BV animals) and the distance between anus and top of vulva (anogenital distance; the greater the distance, the less fertile) showed the most promise.

To get robust estimates of heritabilities of these traits and their genetic correlations with actual fertility outcomes in lactation, this study was expanded to 5000 heifers. The heritabilities for age at puberty and anogenital distance were found to be relatively strong at 35% and 25% respectively. Both traits were also genetically correlated with a bull’s ability to sire daughters that become pregnant within first 6 weeks of mating.

These findings were very positive and led to the decision to pursue these early indicators of fertility further in the hope to ultimately include them in the fertility BV.

Holstein Friesians were used in these two studies, and, if these early fertility traits are to be used in our multibreed BW system, this work needs repeating in other breeds, especially Jersey to see if the same results apply. To this end, DairyNZ is planning on repeating the larger 5000 HF study in R1 Jersey heifers this coming autumn. This would mean approximately 100 Jersey farmers will be needed in the study (average 50 heifers/farm), concentrating on the Waikato and Taranaki areas.

So this is a heads up that some JerseyNZ members may receive a DairyNZ letter in the new year inviting them to participate in the study which will be followed up with a phone call. Here is our opportunity as Jersey farmers to make a difference for the breed and dairy industry in general.

Including genomics in NZAEL genetic evaluations

It is several years since Jeremy Bryant, NZAEL manager at the time, talked to Industry Affairs about work to include genomic information in BVs and BWs reported from DIGAD. JerseyNZ has always supported this happening but for a number of reasons, progress has been slow. It is therefore very promising to hear of significant recent developments in this area. NZAEL has procured funding to sample 40,000 cattle for genomic testing and weighing. This will contribute to the reference population that is required to set up the genomic

platform. This sampling and weighing is happening on selected farms now and one of the key criteria to be selected is that the farm has good phenotypic information – herd tests, good fertility data, accurate calving data, reporting reasons for culling etc. It is the relationship between the genotype and phenotype that is critical for reliable genomic evaluations, hence this requirement. IF your herd has been selected, congratulations. JerseyNZ would encourage those farmers contacted to participate in this study if at all possible.

Including genomic information in genetic evaluations improves the reliability of breeding values, and hence BW. This is particularly so for young sires but also is important for daughter proven sires with traits like fertility and functional survival where phenotypic information is slow to accumulate.

The ultimate benefit of this development is increased genetic gain. Overseas, the introduction and widespread use of genomic information has led to a 30-50% lift in genetic gain relative to the period before genomics was widely used. NZAEL hasn’t seen this extra lift in NZ even though some AB companies have included genomics in their evaluations for a number of years. This probably reflects NZ farmers slow uptake of young genomic sires relative to overseas farmers as most of the lift in genetic gain is from a shortened generation interval from using young sires. Some of this slow uptake may stem from the confidence slashing false start we had with genomics. Thankfully the science of genomics has advanced considerably since then.

Introduction of Udder Overall (U0) in BW

Farmers made it clear in the farmer survey that NZAEL commissioned last year that udder conformation traits needed to be included in BW. This was the strongest request from this survey. NZAEL listened and Udder Overall is now in BW. The economic value used for assessing the weighting of UO in BW is based on animals with poor udder conformation having:

• Increased risk of developing mastitis

• Increased cost of wintering cows whose udders deteriorate early in season

• Increased cost of rearing a heifer to replace a cow whose udder has failed.

This results in a weighting of 7% for UO in BW, which is predicted to lift UO by 0.2 over 10 years. Clearly this isn’t dramatic. If improvement of udder traits is a priority in your herd, then don’t rely on BW alone to achieve this. You will need to put extra weight on udder traits when selecting sires for your herd.

Office News

JERSEY FOCUS TIMING

2022 has seen changes in the timing of the Jersey Focus to allow the Annual Conference to take place earlier. A bumper June issue followed a nine-month hiatus between issues, and this November issue follows again after only five months. Much of the reporting that we would usually do in our earlier Spring issue was able to be included in June, which is great for you as members but also means that this issue will be a bit lighter in content. We encourage members to make use of the advertising opportunities available moving forward with the new timing, a few extra weeks to plan an ad outside of the spring calving period is definitely a bonus!

TRAITS OTHER THAN PRODUCTION SEASON

By the time this magazine hits your mailbox, the TOP season will be coming to a close. Numbers-wise we are expecting to be a little down on last years total of 8,400 from 125 member inspections. The 2021 season had been our best season for members for many years. Sire Proving Scheme numbers have increased approx. 25% from 2021 numbers.

Look out for a full review of the season in the June 2023 Jersey Focus.

Are you interested in becoming a TOP Inspector? We could really use a few more inspectors. This would really take the pressure off existing inspectors – as the old saying goes ‘’Many hands make light work’’. Inspectors receive a daily allowance, and all expenses are covered including travel, accommodation, and meals. If you are interested in finding out more information, or tagging along with an inspector for a ride-along to see what its like or how to get certified, please contact Karen info@jersey.org.nz or 07 856 0731.

HERD BOOK & PRODUCTION REGISTER

The Jersey NZ Herd Book for the 2021/22 season should be available prior to Christmas. Due to changes with BreedIT and the increase in characters available for naming registered animals, this publication will now be published in landscape format. The Herd Book is available by pre-order, if you would like to receive start receiving the annual Herd Book at a cost of $40.00 incl GST please contact the Jersey NZ office.

The Jersey NZ Production Register is usually issued by the end of November annually. However the Production Suite programme in BreedIT is not yet completed as access is not yet available to some of the data. The programming is unable to be completed until the full set of data is available. As a result the Production Register will be delayed, and at this stage we will not be able to include production tables in this Jersey Focus. We will issue the Production Register as soon as we are able to.

JERSEY NZ TEAM

Jackie Kennedy re-joined the Jersey NZ team in October in the newly created part-time role of Communications and Marketing Coordinator. Jackie is already making a difference to the team supporting the Jersey Focus and Annual Conference planning. Robyn Gordon resigned from Jersey NZ on her return from maternity leave. Karen Maxwell who was originally employed as her maternity leave cover has agreed to stay on, and will take on the Member Services Administrator role permanently from the conclusion of her fixed term contract. This role will change to 30 hours per week from January 2023.

MEMBER CONTACT

We ask members to consider their sustainability footprint when receiving newsletters and updates from Jersey NZ. Electronic notification is now the simplest, quickest and more cost-efficient way for us to remain in contact with you, highlighted by longer mail delivery times and increased postage costs. All our newsletters, forms and activities are also downloadable from the website, and online forms are also available for most activities. Where your newsletter is printed, we will not print and include attachments, but these will still be available on request from the office.

We urge members to choose electronic delivery as their preferred option to receive notifications from us. To do so, just email us at info@jersey.org.nz.

CONTACT US:

290 Tristram Street, Hamilton 3240 PO Box 1132, New Zealand

07 856 0816

@JerseyNZ f

info@jersey.org.nz www.jersey.org.nz

Brampton Dreaming Sam

Cliff Shearer

On the 2nd April 1927 on the Island of Jersey a bull calf was born. There was nothing special about that. It happened most days of the year. A quick Google search through the pages of history indicates that nothing else momentous happened that day anywhere in the world. No one famous was born or died. It is enough that one little Jersey bull calf was born on this day in history.

This calf was destined for greatness. Unheralded on the Island he would travel half way around the world on a ship and then travel further again a year later to his final home in the farthest outpost of the Jersey breed in New Zealand. His name would be changed, as many were in those days. Registered as Vinchelez Boy on the Island, when he reached Canadian shores his name was changed to Brampton Dreaming Sam. Two long sea voyages at a time when most people never went 50 miles from their birthplace in their entire lives, he would help put the Jersey breed on the map as the greatest dairy breed for solids production on the planet. His influence even after 90 years is still immense.

Although he only sired five crops of progeny in New Zealand and a few other animals in Canada, their incredible production and breeding ability has cemented Sam as one of the all time greats.

His breeding was of top class, as one would expect from a sire that had so much influence for good. His sire - Dreaming Sam (whose name was changed upon importation to the US

in September 1926 to Volunteer’s Dreaming Sam) - was sold for $10,000 at a time when that was equal to many hundreds of thousands of today’s dollars. Dreaming Sam was sired by the immortal You’ll Do’s Volunteer and out of Day Dream 10th. Thus he was a maternal brother to the great Dreaming Sultan. The Day Dream cow family is probably one of the greatest in the history of the breed and was regarded along with the Oxfords as the best of the best.

The dam of Brampton Dreaming Sam was the wonderful uddered Island cow, Daisy Farm Girl who produced over 500 lbs. fat and was sired by Bowlina’s Oxford Sultan, out of Daisy Farm Princess. Brampton Dreaming Sam was registered in the 1930 edition of the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders Herd Book with bull number 42346. Bred by J.H.N. Roberts of Jersey and imported by E. Griffiths of New Plymouth, Taranaki. Mr. Griffiths imported many bulls to NZ and then resold them to other breeders. It was a fortunate day for the Jersey breed in Taranaki when Sam arrived there. It is no coincidence that Taranaki has been the home of most of the best breeding bulls since that time to be proven in NZ. Sam only sired 59 registered daughters and 34 registered sons in his five years of service.

Whenever breeders gather together to discuss who was the best bull ever bred on the Island, Sam must end up in their top ten list and maybe even in the top five of

all time. It may seem strange to be comparing him to Jersey Volunteer, Flying Fox, Sybil’s Gamboge, Golden Fern’s Noble, Noble of Oaklands, General Cowslip, You’ll Do’s Volunteer and the like. Or even to compare him with modern day greats such as Highland Magic Duncan, Glanton Red Dante, Maori Bestman, Fyn Tved, Fyn Haug, A-Nine Top Brass, Valleystream Silver Beacon, Meadow Lawn Bright Spot, Judds Admiral and Yarravale Danny Boy, etc. The truth is they have had the benefit of semen being available worldwide and the opportunity to breed with thousands of cows whereas ‘Sam’ was only used naturally, in one herd, for five years.

But for two quirks of fate, ‘Sam’ too may not have had quite the influence he did have. First of all ‘Sam’ was rejected by the breeder he had been intended for. ‘Sam’ was regarded as an ugly bull and that was fortunate for the future of the breed. History has not recorded the name of the breeder who turned down the best breeding bull ever to arrive on Kiwi shores and that is probably for the best. It was always thought in this country that no photo had been taken of Sam. The attached photo of Sam taken in Canada turned up just two years ago in the US.

Second, after those five years of use, the Meonstoke herd of Colonel Weston where he spent his Kiwi life was dispersed. This was the middle of the Great Depression and on the 28th of May 1935 in the home of Jerseys away from home, Taranaki, the opportunity for breeders to purchase daughters and sons of ‘Sam’ happened. The average price for the sale was a minuscule amount of twenty-one and a half guineas. That stock of this quality was offered for unreserved sale and that breeders all bought one or two each is what made ‘Sam’. As the ‘Sam’ daughters went into many different herds and all became the best animal in those herds the resale value of ‘Sam’ bloodlines soared. As daughters of his sons started their lactations, everyone was talking about ‘Sam’ bloodlines and suddenly his value was appreciated and widespread.

Above all else, Sam’s progeny produced to a great age. Meon Metalline lived and produced over 70001b fat up to 25 years of age. Most of his daughters lived into their teens and kept breeding and producing all that time.

Meon Nehutai, the dam of Oddicombe Dreaming Sam produced 888 lb. fat and was “Sam”s highest tested daughter. They also looked good. He had 37 daughters classified under the system introduced in NZ in 1928. They scored 20 VHC and 17 HC, nothing lower. Many herds were delighted to even get one VHC in those days and ‘Sam’ was so far ahead of every other bull in this regard that his type alone might have been enough to gain him greatness.

Judging School Dates

Southland: 13 December 2022

Waikato: 27 February 2023

‘Sam’ also received the title of CBB or Champion Butterfat Bull. If the Meon herd had continued on for another decade or two ‘Sam’s’ progeny would not have had the opportunity to spread far and wide and influence so many herds in such a short space of time. Colonel Weston’s sale, although sad for him, was beneficial for the future of the breed. Many of the breeders who were farsighted enough to purchase ‘Sam’ bloodlines at the Meon dispersal went on to greatness because of that ‘Sam’ influence. Of course one would be remiss if mention wasn’t made of the quality of stock ‘Sam’ was bred over in the Meon herd. Colonel Weston was a great breeder who selected the best sires he could find to breed his herd and also added top cows when he could purchase them.

But ‘Sam’s’ daughters’ production is what made him one of the all-time greats. He put butterfat into the Jersey breed. His 25 tested daughters averaged 613 lb fat with a 5.97 % fat test when this was nearly unheard of. That production gene that he carried has continued for 80 years to influence the Jersey breed around the world. Bulls like Fyn Tved, Fyn Haug, Fyn Index, Fyn Lemvig, Jas Artist and Q Impuls from Denmark are all descendants of Brampton Dreaming Sam. These bulls have influenced the Jersey breed worldwide and especially in the USA in the last two decades. It would be impossible to find a Jersey animal in the whole of New Zealand that doesn’t have ‘Sam’ somewhere in its background. In fact it would be extremely hard to find NZ Jerseys that don’t have him many times in their pedigree.

A whole book would be required to detail and record the achievements of ‘Sam’ descendants in New Zealand. Every great show cow and every great producer has ‘Sam’ behind her. Brampton Dreaming Sam, CBB, changed the future of the Jersey breed in New Zealand. His influence allowed the Jersey to become the breed of choice and to change the way farmers in New Zealand breed their cows. ‘Sam’s’ influence is still working today to improve and extend the Jersey breed worldwide. It would be a shame if his name was ever forgotten, but there is no danger of that happening.

If there is a meadow somewhere in heaven where the great bulls still stand and roar, one hopes ‘Sam’ is in the paddock at the front because by his deeds he certainly has been proven.

Bulk of this article first appeared in “The Dairy Queen “

Taranaki: 28 February 2023

All current judges and Clubs in these regions will receive invitations. All other members are asked to contact info@jersey.org.nz to express interest in attending. The Judging Guidelines are available on request.

Registrations

Registrations for 2022 born calves are now well underway, and many members have already completed this process for the season.

What benefits does registering have?

• Registered cattle give more options for how they can be marketed. A registered pedigree herd has a profile through your studname that offers many quality added value opportunities, including brand development.

• Registered cattle give more options for how they can be marketed, on average a registered herd sells $200-$800 per cow above similar herds.

• Registered animals are eligible for programmes administered by Jersey NZ including automatic access to the JerseyGenome™ programme.

• Industry good. Your registrations increase the subset of Jersey animals whose data can contribute to the national herd, increasing reliability for education and advocacy purposes.

• Registration is a prerequisite for successful bulls in the genetics industry, most AB companies require young Jersey bulls to be registered in the Jersey Herd Book.

• Higher genetics bulls sold as service sires often attract a premium when registered.

Why are registrations important to us?

Not only can registering your animals add value to your own herd there are two main benefits to wider industry, advocacy and operations:

• The primary reason is information. As part of our data access arrangements we can readily access information on the subset of registered Jerseys within the national herd. The more information we can access (i.e. the greater number of registered Jerseys), the more reliable that data is.

• Registrations generate income for Jersey NZ. It is that income that provides the resource for Jersey NZ to advocate to and work alongside industry partners on your behalf; educate Jersey and dairy farmers, and the industry, about the benefits of the Jersey breed; driving the growth of the Jersey breed.

Along with registration numbers increasing we are also increasing the number of members taking part in our registration standing order process. Increased member participation by 68% in one year has made predicting workloads and allocating time accordingly much more efficient.

If you register year to year, but struggle to remember to get your information in, fill out a standing order form and leave the rest of the work to Karen.

Call (07) 856 0731 or e-mail kmaxwell@jersey.org.nz - Karen Maxwell

New Member? Jersey Plus Registrations! Are you a new member looking to get your herd registered? Then consider registering your herd through our Jersey Plus programme. The offer is available to all new members who register their herd before 31 August of the year they join (i.e. for the next Herd Book). This programme applies to you if you:

• Are a new member with or without a registered Studname/Prefix

• Use the automated ‘Turn Your Herd On’ option to register all current females J12 & over in your herd

• Use either the MINDA naming system or the default naming system and sign up to the annual standing order programme.

Prices will be as follows:

First 100 females $8.00 + GST

Next Over 100 females $4.00 + GST

With additional discounts for larger groups as follows: (discount to apply to total account)

200 – 300 females registered additional 10% discount

301 – 400 females registered additional 15% discount

401 – 500 females registered additional 20% discount

501 + females registered additional 25% discount

That is a saving of AT LEAST $10.00 PER ANIMAL on any female animal over one year of age.

Offer does not apply to bull registrations, these must be processed individually. Call the office now to see if this could work for you.

For more on registrations including bulls ane the full registration policy, head to www.jersey.org.nz/registration

FINALISTS

CONDITIONS FOR APPLYING FOR THE HALL OF FAME

• Each member may nominate one cow to be considered for the Jersey NZ Female Hall of Fame annually

• Any cow that has been registered with Jersey NZ is eligible for nomination (current or historic)

• Jersey NZ will appoint three Judges annually to consider nominations, these judges will be selected from a cross-section of Jersey NZ membership

• Finalists will be announced via e-mail, website and Facebook prior to Annual Conference

• Up to 10 cows will be inducted annually into the Jersey NZ Female Hall of Fame at the Annual Conference Awards Night. This presentation will highlight the inductees and their accomplishments

• Nomination reasons may include (but are not restricted to) high index; outstanding progeny; on farm results; show results; great cow family; any other accomplishment worthy of consideration.

Entry has been extended to the 1st of February for presentation at the Annual Conference 2023. The Hall of Fame will be maintained on the website with photos and brief citations for each inductee. Get your thinking cap on now and get your nomination in!

Entry Form can be found at: https://www.jersey.org.nz/jersey-hall-of-fame/

Ian McKenzie Jordan MNZM

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: For services to the livestock industry

Mr Ian Jordan has contributed to sheep and cattle breeding in Marlborough, nationally and internationally.

Mr Jordan established his Willowhaugh Southdown Stud flock in 1956 and Jersey Stud was taken over from his father in 1964. His Southdowns were awarded the grand champion all breed meat sheep at the NZ Agricultural Show and judged Supreme Animal of the Show in both 2017 and 2019. He is currently Honorary Judge for the Southdown breed. His Jersey cattle and Southdown sheep are regular exhibitors at Agricultural and Pastoral Shows, including the Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury. His Willowhaugh cows have won numerous championships including Royal Show Supreme Champion Jersey, South Island World Conference Champion, and five-time winner of South Island Champion Cow. He was a committee member of the New Zealand Ploughing matches. Competing and encouraging younger competitors. He was made an Honorary Life Member in 1998 for his services to the Association. He has been a committee member of Graham Veterinary Club, for over 50 years, was President from 1981 to 1987, and remains Patron. He has been a judge at agricultural days, pet days and herd replacement competitions, and encourages the younger generation into the industry. Mr Jordan received the New Zealand Jersey Cattle Breeders Association Distinguished Members Award in 2004.

Nominated by Mr Murray Bishell of Caythorpe.

NZ Jersey Cattle Breeding Association

Thank you to all the people that have acklowledged my recent NZ Honours achievement. It has been a truly humbling experience and I will treasure it for the rest of my days. The Governor General and her staff were so kind and helpful and they made the Investiture Ceremony a special day for all. This has been an extremely proud time for my family and myself. I could not have achieved this award without their contribution and support, especially in the later years.

In appreciation for providing detail for my citation. These details have greatly featured in the final results.

Kind Regards Ian Jordan

Breed Records by age over time

Contributed by Cliff Shearer

The following tables list the top 10 milksolids cows by age group over time, and have been compiled by Cliff Shearer. Cliff has kindly provided these to Jersey NZ as a basis for ongoing collation of this data. Moving forward, Jersey NZ will now update these tables annually and make them available to members on our website.

All animals are registered with either JerseyNZ or Purebred Jersey New Zealand and are a minimum of S3J

Appropriate data from the 2021/22 season will be added once the Production Suite is available in BreedIT and the Production Register has been issued. At that point the tables will be shared to the website for the first time.

We acknowledge with thanks the work that Cliff has put into collating this data. As it has been compiled manually, we ask that if members are aware of any missed records that they contact the Jersey NZ office.

2016-17 2010-11 2002-03 2016-17 2012-13 2008-09 2019-20 2015-16 2019-20 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2003-04 1999-00 2019-20 2020-21 2009-10 2015-16 2017-18 2019-20 2004-05 1995-96 2018-19 2011-12 2014-15 1998-99 1995-96 2015-16 2017-18 2019-20

CARTREF BRUNO IRENE

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

GLENBROOK HANS CADENZA

LUCKVILLE BS VERONICA

PATARANGI MANS IMPISH

CARTREF VANDER DOLLY S3J

CARTREF ALHEM VALERIE

GLENBROOK EMPEROR CASINO

ROMA MURMUR PARADE

CARRONDALE MAY NESTA

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

MADELEY PARK PRINCE LILA

ROMA KINGPIN FAYE

GLENBROOK EMPREOR CASINO

GRANTHAM REB MOOLOO

GLENBROOK CAMBOGE CHRISSI

GLENBROOK HANS CADENZA

CARTREF DAVIDS IRENE

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

GLENBROOK HANS CADNEZA

ROMA MANHATTEN KATE 2 S3J

ROMA MAUNGA KATALEE S3J

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

MADELEY PARK SANDYS LILY

GLENBROOK MAXIMUS CARON

CARTREF ASTAR TINAKA S3J

ROMA DEGREE DELWYN S3J

8,513

7,891 8,010 7,203 7,123 7,905 10,823* 10,285 8,366 7,339 9,156 8,333 9,558 8,601 9,048 9,033 9,503 8,931 9,768 10,134* 9,114 7,032 8,391

2 Year Old - High MS Cows

3 Year Old - High MS Cows

4 Year Old - High MS Cows

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

KUKU COUNTRY NATELLE

ROMA MANHATTEN KATE 2 S3J

ROMA DEGREE BRIDEY

GLENBROOK FINAL COSMA

ROMA DEGREE SUE

6 Year Old - High MS Cows 7 Year Old - High MS Cows

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

ROMA MANHATTEN KATE 2 S3J MADELEY PARK FYNS NGAIRE

VIRGIL GWEN MADELEY PARK FAIR DREAM

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

WINDVILLE GROE NIKKI

MADELY PARK FAMOUS BETT

MADELEY PARK FYNS NGAIRE

GLENBROOK CHIEF CYBIL ROMA MANHATTEN HEIDY ROMA MANHATTEN BRIDEY

LOUIE BEVERLEY CARTREF AHLAM SONICH BRUNCHCILLI STORM GIRL

8 Year Old - High MS Cows

2011-12 2000-01 2017-18 2005-06 2016-17 2018-19 2010-11 2015-16 2012-13 2009-10

MADELEY PARK PRINCE BEAUT

WINDVILEL GROVE NIKEL

FERDON COMERICA VIYELLA

FERDON SAMBOS BRIGHT EYES

ROMA MANHATTEN KATE 2 S3J

ROMA MAUNGA BOBBIE

LUCKVILLE SAMBOS DELSEY

CARTREF DANUBE VALERIE

ROMA LADS BELL

CARTREF MERRI KATHLEEN S3J

2012-13 2010-11 2019-20 2012-13 2010-11 1991-92 2014-15 1991-92 2010-11 2014-15 1992-93 2013-14 2011-12 2019-20 2002-03 2003-04 2013-14 2013-14 1996-97 2006-07 2010-11 2015-16 1993-94 2019-20 2012-13 2014-15 1999-00 2010-11 1996-97 2014-15

MADELEY PARK PRINCE BEAUT

GLENBROOK NORMAN CRUISE

CARRONDALE SULTAN DESIRAE

MADELEY PARK PRINCE GAZE

ROMA CASPER BLOSSOM

MADELEY PARK LEX LILAC

ROMA SPADES KATALYN S3J

LINMORE BRAVOS BRIBERRY

CARRONDALE FABS BESSIE

GLENBROOK COMMANDO CHARO

MADELEY PARK LEXS LILAC

MADELEY PARK PRINCE GAZE

ROMA ELMO TOPSY

ROMA NEVY DUCHESS

GREENBELT GEMS FANTASY

GLENBROOK COMET COTTON

LAURIDALE JADE PENNY

GLENBROOK CRY CALIBRE

RYE VALLEY J SANDRA 10

ASHDOWN JUDDS ELM S3J

HOMEVIEW TANS PENE

LAURIDALE JADE PENNY

MADELEY PARK LEXS LILAC

ROMA MANHATTEN RUBY

ROMA CASPER BLOSSOM

LAURIDALE JADE PENNY

MADELEY PARK ROYAL ROSE GLENBROOK CHAMPION CREAMY

MADELEY PARK ROYAL ROSE

LUCKVILE SAMBOS DELSEY

GLENBROOK

CARTREF

GLENBROOK

GLENBROOK

GLENBROOK

GLENBROOK

CARTREF CARTREF

Top Milk Litres records in New Zealand history

GLENBROOK FINAL COSMA

ROMA MANHATTEN KATE 2 S3J

GLENBROOK FINAL COSMA

LAURIEDALE JADE PENNY

STARVIEW VIRGIL GWEN

STARVIEW VIRGIL GWEN

ASHDOWN ADDS BRITTANY GR

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

CARRONDALE MAY NESTA

11,006

Top 10 Milk Fat records in New Zealand History - over 400 Kg’s Protein

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

MADELEY

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

MADELEY PARK FYNS NGAIRE

ASHDOWN ADDS BRITTANY GR

Top 10 Protein Kg records in New Zealand History - over 400 Kg’s Protein

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

ASHDOWN ADDS BRITTANY GR

WINDVILLE GROVE NIKKI

MADELEY PARK BW BEAUT

CARRONDALE MAY NESTA

STARVIEW VIRGIL GWEN

MADELEY PARK ROYAL LADY

STARVIEW VIRGIL GWEN

GLENBROOK FINAL COSMA

MADELEY PARK LOYAL SUGAR

WHY JERSEYS?

per KG Liveweight

per KG Liveweight at Converting Feed

The Jersey cow returns a better per kilo liveweight comparison over all other breeds in milk fat, protein and milk solids. She also delivers greater breeding values than other dairy breeds. Jerseys are faster to milk and have greater calving ease, with the highest fertility breeding value. When stocked at optimal rates, Jerseys produce approx 8% more profit than its closest competitor, making it the sustainable choice of breed

to carry 24 hours of milk production

Jersey Advantage

Rachel Haskew

The profitability of Jersey and Jersey-cross cows is still a mystery for many farmers. Breed promotion that reaches the wider farming population is necessary. There are many examples of Sharemilkers and Contract Milkers who have owned and managed Holstein Friesian or Crossbred herds, and by circumstance, end up managing a Jersey herd. It is only at that point they understand the economic advantage of Jersey animals. Here lies a missed opportunity!

Jersey Advantage has recently appointed Rachel Haskew to the role of General Manager. This, in combination with organising an on-going financial structure means the activities of Jersey Advantage can be “rebooted”.

The most basic of financial model for Jersey herds is they produce +8% MS per unit of feed, they lose 25% of this advantage from lower meat returns, and they lose a further 25% because of higher stocking rate required and subsequently more fixed per cow costs. Therefore, the adjusted net revenue advantage from Jerseys is +4%. However, if farm working costs are 60% of farm revenue, a 4% net revenue advantage equates to a 10% Jersey advantage operating surplus. Depending on individual farmers bank debt and interest costs, the +10% operating surplus margin for Jersey herds extends to approximately +15% net profit before tax. Jersey farmers, on average, have considerably more funds available for business growth or personal spending than those milking other breeds.

Environment Matters

Farmers need to, and are, taking an increasing interest in the protection of our planet. If there was some new gimmick delivering a 12% reduction in carbon emissions, everyone would be excited! But 12% is the carbon efficiency advantage Jerseys have over Holstein Friesians.

The make-up of this 12% is threefold:

• 8% from the well documented Jersey advantage in terms of milk solids from grass conversion efficiency.

• 2% carbon efficiency comes from a significantly lower required replacement rate for Jerseys (higher pregnancy rates, less calving casualties, less feet problems, less mastitis and collapsed udders).

• 2% carbon efficiency comes from lower milk transport and milk drying cost associated with more concentrated milk. The 12% Jersey carbon efficiency is significant and real!

Bobby Calves

Bobby calves is an emotive issue in the eyes of the consumer and wider public. No farmer likes sending any animal to slaughter but the reality is if we make two key assumptions, firstly NZ has a finite amount of land available and secondly NZ has a carbon emission cap. Then if all bobby calves were reared through to 18-24 months, the NZ Dairy Industry would need to shrink to 70% of its current size to fit with land availability and carbon emission caps. Really the only option to remove bobby calves would be to use synthetic hormones

Welcome Rachel Haskew

Rachel is looking forward to embracing the challenge of General Manager for Jersey Advantage and working alongside the Board and JA team. We are excited to reenergize the work programs, continue to promote and advocate for the Jersey Breed and further develop a sustainable financial model for the business.

Rachel has held a number of off farm roles with DairyNZ and Dairy Women’s Network. She has a background in science and business with a Masters degree in Science and Technology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management. Rachel is a Trustee of Dairy Women’s Network.

Rachel, and husband David, were dairy farming for 20 years in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Nelson regions. Recently they purchased a Poultry Broiler Unit and moved back to the Waikato. They are enjoying a new farming focus and the change in lifestyle. They have 2 children, Taylor (10 years) and Eden (5 years) who love living on farm and riding motorbikes.

Rachel Haskew

rachel@jerseyadvantage.co.nz 021 242 2883

to induce lactation i.e. mate just enough cows with sexed semen each year to produce required replacements only. This is an issue the Dairy Industry needs to discuss with the wider public and consumers. Would consumers prefer hormone induced milk or a controlled and monitored bobby calf system? Instincts suggest the latter, but the question should still be asked. Sometimes bobby calves are seen as a Jersey issue, this is simply not the case. It is a key issue for all Crossbred farmers and increasingly for Holstein Friesian farmers where R2s are mated to Jersey bulls for ease of calving. It is also becoming more common for Holstein Friesian farmers to run Jersey bulls to tail off herds after AB to avoid a big calf/fat late calving cows/tired farm labour trifecta.

Jersey Milk and Volume Charges

Increasingly Jersey Advantage gets enquiry about the qualities of Jersey milk and milk branding opportunities. Such options could never succeed without the right business model, financial capital and most importantly human capital. NZ Dairy farmers in most cases have more than one processor they can supply, and all NZ Dairy Farmers can supply one of the three cooperatives. There is one Fonterra matter that Jersey Advantage has been in contact over. Tatua has a volume charge of 4.2c/L. Westland recognising a wider milk collection area is at 4.8c/L. Since Fonterra dropped their seasonal capacity charge which carried the replacement cost of vats, tankers and milk plants to the point of milk standardisation, the Fonterra volume charge has covered only the operating cost of volume related costs. Therefore, the current Fonterra volume charge is set at only 2.9c/L. But vats, tankers and factories do need to be replaced and 2.9c is not the true cost for Fonterra of handling volume and it is neither fair nor equitable. Proprietary Dairy Companies are free to price milk and conditions as they choose and the market then decides. A cooperative has the obligation to treat all members fairly. The current volume charge Fonterra is applying is wrong in terms of fairness and equity.

Breeding Worth and other Animal Value Indices

Jersey Advantage monitors these to confirm indices are reflective of the economic realities prevailing within the Dairy Industry. One matter of concern is PW, managed by LIC, is now an outdated index. While BW, under NZ Animal Evaluation Limited (Industry Good and a subsidiary of DairyNZ), from time to time introduces new and relevant traits into BW and update economic values annually, PW does not have the same industry good drivers under LIC commercial ownership. PW used to include all traits in BW. Today PW does not include four of nine economic traits in BW, most notably the Fertility Economic Trait. Far more cows in NZ are culled for non-pregnancy than any other trait.

Jersey Advantage Trustees

We have one retirement coming up and we are seeking a replacement Trustee. Anyone interested in discussing what is involved please contact our Administrator Louise Berry on 0274 782 007 or louise@jerseyadvantage.co.nz. Meetings will occur 4-6 times per year, generally by Zoom and less than one hour. We would be pleased to talk to people interested in the interface between the commercial aspects of Jersey farming and the wider NZ Dairy Industry.

Jersey Advantage Funding Model

For Jersey Advantage to carry out its activities and be able to deal on the same level as Dairy NZ, MPI, Fonterra, LIC etc, a reliable source of funding is necessary. We operate at a subpar level without appropriate funding.

Jerseyland Farms Limited

This project has been a huge success. It provides a financial life-blood for Jersey Advantage. It has been a new and valuable income source for Jersey NZ. The five private investors (Bailey, Bocock, Colebrook, Dobson and Gibson families) have procured good investments themselves, but

it should also be noted each family made a generous donation to Jersey Advantage to allow the project to proceed.

The next stage for Jerseyland Farms to consider is whether the 240,000 kg MS farm model is replicated to a 500,000 kg MS model. Such a project should deliver $1m annually for stakeholder and distribution and/ or bank amortisation. Jersey Advantage viewpoint on growing the Jerseyland Farms model is likely to be positive.

Donations and Bequeaths

We are grateful for the extreme generosity of Rob and Alison Thwaites in donating the proceeds of the high ranking Glanton heifer sold for a record price at the Jersey Pride sale. The older Trustees of Jersey Advantage can reflect back on earlier times when Jim Thwaites and David Bay covered some of the matters now under the Jersey Advantage umbrella. Thank you, Rob and Alison.

For those lifelong Jersey farmers who have enjoyed the Jersey experience, and banked the financial benefits of Jerseys, next time you update your Wills and Expression of Intent in how you would like Estate managed, please consider whether a bequeath to Jersey Advantage has merit. You may stipulate to Jersey Advantage Trustees the funds are gifted for Jersey Advantage farm investment, research or for scholarships for human development.

In summary, we welcome Rachel and wish her every enjoyment in her new role as GM of Jersey Advantage. There is so much more we can do to advance the cause of Jerseydom in NZ for the benefit of Jersey farmers, the Dairy Industry, NZ economy, and our environment.

Trustees of Jersey Advantage – John Bailey, Rodney Dobson, Glenys Ellison, Richard Gibson, Evan Smeath, Mark Townshend - 1/11/22

Support Jersey Advantage

Jersey Advantage is a not-for-profit organisation, founded and funded by farmers to promote the economic, environmental and animal welfare benefits of the Jersey breed.

To support us through the donation of a cull cow or cash donation please email louise@ jerseyadvantage.co.nz or click the Contact Us link on our website – jerseyadvantage.co.nz

Annual Conference 2023

Ascot Hotel, Invercargill 29-31 March 2023

Planning is well underway for the 2023 Annual Conference, being held in Invercargill. The Conference will include a much-anticipated visit to JerseyLand Farms Ltd, this is a great opportunity for members to hear a presentation and visit the farm in person.

Members can look forward to a fun filled opening night, followed by some exciting guest speakers, including Dr Steve Little joining us virtually from Australia on his research undertaken on ‘Jersey – the Most Profitable and Sustainable Cow Project’.

We aim to take members out to some local notable locations, as well as a farm visit to Ashvale Jerseys. Attend the Jersey

Pride sale amongst glitz and glamour. We will finish up the Conference with a visit to JerseyLand farms and our member awards evening to celebrate our member achievements.

Keep an eye out for more details through our website, social media and email newsletters. Registrations will be opening early next year, be sure to secure flights and accommodation early.

We look forward to visiting the Southland region, for what is sure to be a successful Conference celebrating the Golden Breed!

GOLDEN GIRLS

The Theme for this years Jersey Conference is inspired by the one and only James Bond. If you havent heard of The Man with the Golden Cow some of his movies include: - License to Milk - The Sire Who Loved Me - From Invercargill with Love

Make sure to dust off your favourite spy attire, straighten that bow-tie and ready your classic bar order. We look forward to seeing you all in Invercargill.

Stewart Island Trip

The Jersey NZ organising committee are looking to hold a post-conference tour to Stewart Island for a day trip, on Saturday 1st of April. We are requesting an expression of interest in this post-conference tour, please email your name and how many people attending to Jackie at jkennedy@jersey.org.nz

James Bond inspired Golden Girls Theme

Waiokura Jerseys

by Pam Goodin

Dairy Glenn Farms Ltd at Hawera have been members of Jersey NZ for just 18 months, but Hamish Mead (24) and his family are serious about breeding Jerseys and have already taken up many of the opportunities offered by the Association.

As a new member, Hamish was able to use the Jersey Plus programme to register his herd with the new Waiokura prefix. The name Waiokura comes from the stream that runs through the farm. His two year olds have been classified over the past two TOP seasons, and he has had 11 heifers accepted into the current JerseyGenome programme in the first year that the herd was available for automatic screening. Jersey Future semen is used, although Hamish was disappointed that his selection this year had to be withdrawn from the team.

Hamish farms alongside his parents Murray and Kathy and co-manages the farm with his father. He has one sister, Natalie, a nurse in Oamaru. Hamish lives in Hawera with his partner Petra, who is not involved on-farm. He went to Boarding School in Wanganui and then completed an Agri-Commerce degree at Massey University. He has been full-time on the farm for four years, it just felt right to come home to the farm when the opportunity arose.

The family have always farmed Jerseys and are in their seventh season on this farm. They still own their previous farm too, and contract milkers are in place there with some family supervision. A support block in close proximity completes the package. On farm, Hamish and Murray have developed their own roles, with Hamish responsible for the cows and Murray the crops. They have one other full-time worker who

milks alongside Hamish, and Murray concentrates on overall management and projects. Local Jersey NZ Director Tony Landers has been a great sounding board for Hamish, and has been instrumental in his involvement with the Association.

With half a dozen contract cows in the herd across both LIC and CRV, Murray believes that they have a ‘pretty decent’ herd. Both Hamish and Murray are keen to get a bull into the industry, and obviously see the value that using Jersey NZ core services will bring to the herd and that goal.

Dairy Glenn Farms has always been a Jersey farm, currently milking 350 cows. Start calving date was 10 July and when visited there were just a handful of cows left to calve, with enough heifer replacements being reared in the shed. Kathy also rears 25 Jersey bull calves annually that are sold to the grazing service that they use. AB is targeted to Jersey replacements so there are not usually surplus females to sell, another 10 bull calves will be raised for beef and the rest bobbied.

Hitting the ground this season were calves sired by Gallivant, Popeye,Nucleus and Tenor alongside Jersey Future bulls Linden, Oganeev and Duntroon. Semen is sourced from both LIC and CRV, and they have started to use some North American genetics from STgenetics in search of more diversity.

Calves go the support block from 1 December. Heifers are sent to grazing with a commercial grazier with the exception of the higher genetic merit and contract heifers which stay

on the home block for AB mating. Bulls are supplied to run with the heifers at grazing. No bulls are kept on the farm, and Hamish & Murray are both AB techs so are able to take care of all the mating. Mating is all AB including a little sexed semen early on with the better cows, finishing off with short gestation bulls. They will keep just enough beef and bull calves for their markets.

Young stock are all weighed monthly (except through the calving period), with all data entered into MINDA. This helps them plan supplementary feed accordingly. The second farm is mainly crossbred (there are only 10 crossbreds on the home farm). The bottom 10% from the second farm will come to the home farm for some extra attention for a few weeks, and they will interchange young stock between the two farms to get the right numbers for each.

This season a few more animals have gone to the grazier to free up space for growing more maize, hay and silage. Maize is also grown on the home block, and silage is purchased for the second farm. With an in-shed feeding system they feed Seales Winslow dairy pellet through the milking season, and supplement with maize from September through most of the season.

Hamish has recently ordered a sprayer, but delivery has been delayed due to Covid. Previously using a fert tuck, his plan is to start using nBoost as an additive to urea. NBoost is marketed as being twice as effective which means he will not need to apply as much nitrogen. He will also spray for facial eczema.

Production last season was 160,000 kg milksolids, and the farm record of 170,000 kg milksolids was achieved the year prior. This year they are targeting 175,000 kg milksolids off the back of the extra maize production. It is a reasonably wet farm, but they usually get a good weather balance and there have been no drought issues for a few years now. Allflex collars allow them to be more proactive, tracking health, rumination and eating and are ideal for tracking heats.

Having joined Jersey NZ last year, Hamish’s first activity was getting the cows registered. He started with the younger age groups and select top genetic cows, and with a standing order in place he will continue with registering each cohort of calves annually. This will lead to a fully registered herd within a few years. He enjoys the registration process and naming some of the cows himself, but many will also get the default name. The aim of the game is to have the herd ready for industry bulls.

Aside from the vital industry good function of TOP inspection on the two year olds, Hamish uses the TOP data when making breeding decisions and it may also be factored into culling decisions. The most common reason for culling is production, followed by udders. Temperament plays a large part in his bull selection decisions, and he also looks for production, udder conformation, fertility, liveweight and overall conformation.

With about a third of the calves genomically tested this season, Hamish is seriously considering genomically testing the cows also particularly the outcross animals, those out of genomic bulls and high genetic merit cows. He does not chase A2A2 as there is no incentive to do so locally. He is watching

polled bulls closely and will consider using these when BWs top 200. The breeding decisions are now made by Hamish, and while BW is a significant factor he is also looking for balance with the other traits he values. He will be actively developing a more diverse breeding plan, including polled, more diverse bulls and udder improvement. Looking to improve overall production, he hopes to hit 200,000 kg milksolids in the future by increasing feed through maize production.

With the cows currently producing more than their own liveweight with an average of 460 kg milksolids per cow, Hamish has been looking to breed a larger cow more recently. While this has yet to flow into the milking herd he believes the ideal weight for his herd is around 450 kg. He comments that some bulls don’t necessarily transmit weight well as he would expect which became apparent in the heifers selected for JerseyGenome where liveweight genomic BVs are less than he would have anticipated given their sires.

Hamish was delighted make his heifers available for JerseyGenome selection this year, having several genomically tested and 11 accepted into the programme. The heifers selected are sired by a variety of bulls and he will watch their progress throughout the season with interest. The data provided by genomic testing will be used for breeding decisions looking at BVs right across the board. Hamish is also hoping for some good results from his first ET programme being undertaken this year.

Off-farm Hamish plays competitive tennis for Taranaki and enjoys brewing beer and travelling in New Zealand. He & Petra intend to head to Europe for a few months next year. Still finding his feet within Jersey NZ, he has only just attended his first Hawera Jersey Club events, the AGM and more recently he attended their heifer day where he enjoyed seeing other breeder’s stock.

Long-term, his goal is to one day own the farm. The bones of the succession plan are in place, and he hopes this will come to fruition eventually.

Jerseyland Farms Update

by Julie Pirie

Our new contract milkers have settled in. Dyllan and Rachel, along with their staff have been working closely with Pete Atkin, our farm supervisor. There have been a few successes and a few ‘learnings’.

Rodney Dobson has provided valuable input – offering advice when needed, and helping with securing stock and machinery. Mark Townshend has been able to visit the farm and provide feedback to Dyllan, Rachel and Pete.

I was able to visit in mid-September – traditionally the crunch time, feed-wise on farm, and helped with milking in the morning. I was impressed with the amount of feed on farm, and with the mature cows. Dyllan had previously farmed in a harsher environment, and held the cows a bit tight on the first rotation – which is why I’d seen lots of grass, and the heifers were lighter in condition than they should have been. The visit prompted a splitting of the herd – with a noticeable improvement.

The last week of October saw an issue with power and consequently spoilt milk – we have insurance to cover this.

The situation in early November is looking good – with an average cover of 2320 kgDM/ha, a round length of 25 days, and a slight surplus of feed. An earlier surplus resulted in 383 bales being made. Bales being the preference due to wet soils.

Milk production has been lower than last year for several reasons – this year we have 150 2 year olds, last season we had

none, the cows were held too tight initially and there have been higher stock losses than normal. The stock losses have been investigated by Pete, and the board will get a report on this, and how this will be improved on for next season.

With pasture quality and management of feed improving the production is now matching last years on a daily basis. Mating has now started with all cows mated to Jersey Future and Premier Sires Daughter proven jersey.

The farm has been able to pay off some debt in the past two months. We have a fixed milk price contract in place for some milk. Focus from now will be to provide Dyllan and Rachel more support to help focus on pasture quality and feeding cows, to get cows in calf and get winter crops sown. Pete is finding pasture management skills on many farms needs to improve with staff not having being taught the importance of growing quality grass and allocating feed. Dyllan and Rachel are very keen to learn, and have heeded Pete’s advice – which is now being rewarded with a better level of production.

The JerseyNZ Board will visit the farm in mid December, and with the conference in late March, the farm will be of keen interest to members travelling to Invercargill.

I have not been able to update membership on the farm as I would have liked – I will work on a process to do this, with the aim being to provide a weekly update of production, pasture cover and any significant decisions made.

-Jerseyland Farms Investors

The following members have supported the Jersey NZ investment in Jerseyland Farms through a donation and/or the provision of an interest free loan to Jersey NZ.

Pirie Farms Ltd

Fyvie Meadows Ltd

Lower Waikato Jersey Club

R & G Ellison

Lynbrook Farm Ltd

Goreland Partnership

Te Awamutu Jersey Club

R & E Riddell

E & S Smeath

R H & J Potts

P & S Ingram

Ede Investments Ltd

Nelson & Golden Bay Jersey Club

Jersey NZ 2023 Calendar

The 2023 JerseyNZ Calendar is now available to be ordered now!! To order please visit https://www.jersey.org.nz/calendars/ or email info@jersey.org.nz

Calendar Pricing:

1 Calendar = $25.00

2 Calendars = $50.00

3 Calendars = $75.00

5 Calendars = $100.00

10 Calendars =$200.00

THE FUTURE IS IN THE EAR

Precision heat detection is what you get with CowManager’s leading fertility module. By monitoring three stages of activity, CowManager is able to detect even silent heats within your herd.

Combine heat intensity, heat stage and each individual cow's data to auto-dra t and mate the right cows at the right time.

CowManager’s simple app makes your mating stress free, improves mating results and reduces consumable costs such as tailpaint, scratchies and semen.

Download the Demo App

Calf ClubNZ 2022 Results

Congratulations to all the kids who competed in the 2022 Calf ClubNZ Competition!

To see all entrants and their photos, stories, and results go to www.calfclubnz.co.nz

Primary & Intermediate Results:

Didn’t make the results? We would love to include you if you are the children of Jersey NZ members or showing a Jersey calf. So next year, become a JerseyNZ junior member, or contact info@jersey.org.nz and we’ll record you in our system to make sure we can publish your results!

Upper Northland Lower Northland East Waikato

Leading: 2nd: Ruby Williams

3rd: Charlie Williams

Rearing: 2nd: Ruby Williams

3rd: Charlie Williams

Dairy Conformation: 1st: Ruby Williams

2nd: Charlie Williams

High School Results:

Leading: 1st: Sam Browning 3rd: Evan Browning

Rearing: 1st: Evan Browning 2nd: Sam Browning

Dairy Conformation: 1st: Sam Browning 2nd: Jane Browning

Leading: 1st: Summer Olding

Dairy Conformation: 2nd: Summer Olding

Morrinsville

Leading: 1st: Henry Scherer

Upper Northland North Waikato East Southland

Leading:

1st: Jack Williams

2nd: George Williams

Rearing: 1st: Jack Williams

2nd: George Williams

Dairy Conformation: 1st: Jack Williams

2nd: George Williams

Leading: 3rd: Jacoba Gread

Rearing: 1st: Jacoba Gread

Dairy Conformation: 2nd: Jacoba Gread

Hauraki

Leading: 4th: Adele Johnson

Dairy Conformation: 4th: Adele Johnson

Dairy Conformation: 1st: Henry Scherer

Leading: 1st: Kimberley Simmons

Rearing: 1st: Kimberley Simmons

Dairy Conformation: 1st: Kimberley Simmons

Obituaries

It is with deep regret and profound sadness we record the passing of the following members, previous members and friends of Jersey NZ.

Rob McMillan - Bay Of Plenty

Kevin Hart - former Field Consultant with Jersey NZ - passed away November 2022

JerseyGenomeTM

Elite heifer programme to identify potential bull mothers

What is JerseyGenome™?

JerseyGenome is a joint venture between Jersey NZ and CRV to identify potential bull mothers. The scheme generates sires that will enhance the future of the Jersey breed and marries two technologies - breeding and science

How does JerseyGenome work?

Jersey New Zealand identify young females within the registered Jersey population:

• Registered heifers are scanned via BreedIT reporting

• Breeders are also invited to nominate elite females for consideration

• Candidate group is selected for Genomic testing

• JerseyGenome participants are selected

• No host farm – females remain on the owner’s farm

• Minimum of four herd tests required

• Participants will TOP and classify two-year-olds

• Animals are weighed at least once during the season

• Mating recommendations from CRV

• Resulting bulls advance to CRV

• If selected, royalties will apply to those bulls graduating from the scheme

• Young bulls will be considered for CRV Insire Teams

• Graduates’ income shared (Jersey NZ, Bull breeder, CRV and JerseyGenome participants)

Take advantage of Jersey Plus

Jersey NZ have made the process of registering your herd even easier with Jersey Plus. You can save up to $10 per animal on registrations by using Jersey Plus!

• Use the automated ‘Turn your herd on’ option to register all current females J12 and over. Members receive discounts depending on how many animals in their herd.

• To be eligible for Jersey Plus pricing members must also set up an annual standing order which is prompted by the office and will see all eligible heifers in your herd listed in a report. Simply name your animals and your registrations will be processed and completed.

• Further discounts may be available based on numbers registered.

Contact the office on info@jersey.org.nz, phone 07 856 0731 or head to our website www.jersey.org.nz/ Registration for more information about registering your herd.

Registering your herd

By registering your herd with Jersey NZ by mid-February annually, your registered heifers are automatically screened as part of the initial selection process for JerseyGenome.

“Since registering our Lynrich Jersey herd we have been able to put forward a selection of heifers into the JerseyGenome™ programme. Over the past 4 years we have had 10 – 15 heifers selected each year for JerseyGenome™ mating’s. They are contract mated for 2 years. 161 is the dam of our JG progeny, FMHM-20-420 (Lynrich Omnibus Yahoo). She is an exceptional producer with a current PW of 395 and LW of 430 for the 2020/21 season.

She is in calf to Quiz for next season and her dam was one of our best producers but unfortunately we lost her after she broke her hip after calving in 2019. 161 comes from a line of very good looking, good producing cows and we are very keen to continue her family lines. They all have great capacity and strong udders. We are hoping for a replacement heifer next year as she has given us 2 bulls so far!

We are very excited to see how Lynrich Omnibus Yahoo progresses through the JG programme and hope to have another in team in the future.”

Richard & Christine Lansdaal (Lynrich Jerseys)

Criteria for graduation:

Graduate:

• Recorded in calf on national database and confirmed by owner

• Heifers completing a minimum of four herd tests

• Minimum score of 6 for udder overall

• Minimum score of 6 for dairy conformation

Merit Graduate:

• Recorded in calf on national database and confirmed by owner

• Heifers completing a minimum of four herd tests

• Minimum score of 6 for udder overall

• Minimum score of 7 for dairy conformation

• NZMI in the top 25% of the JG graduate contemporaries

Elite Graduate:

• Recorded in calf on national database and confirmed by owner

• Heifers completing a minimum of four herd tests

• Minimum score of 7 for udder overall

• Minimum score of 7 for dairy conformation

• In the top 1% for both NZMI and BW for all Jersey 2 year olds milked in NZ

• Minimum of J16

Keep up to date with JerseyGenome™ at: www.jersey.org.nz/jersey-genome

In My Opinion

John & Jean Ellison - Monowai Jerseys

Jersey Type Classification - Udder Support.

Following a lifetime of breeding pedigree Jersey cows I have observed the emphasis on traits change over the years.

The emphasis on udder support in particular, central ligament strength is a vital aspect of the cow’s longevity or not. Has emphasis on this aspect changed over the years?

I am observing up to 10% of our 4yr olds failing in this aspect when as 2 yr olds receiving a 7 or 8 TOP score for this trait. The udder drops, rear teats spread & a flat bottom udder is accentuated, all resulting from a weak central ligament.

Milking for us is twice daily but for once daily herds the strength of this udder aspect is vital, the difference between her making 5 or 10 years.

My thoughts are a heifer with udder traits of 7-8-8 should not get an udder overall score of 8.

This brings me to the age old argument of when is the best age to asses an animal for optimum accuracy. I know for bull generation interval 2 yr old assessment is important.

In conclusion I suggest that this trait requires more attention & emphasis.

The photos are of a 3 yr old scoring a 7 at 2 years. A 5 yr old an 8 at 2 yrs. A 4 yr old an 8 at 2 yrs & a 10 yr old with strong support.

One off Award:

An award to one heifer. This heifer must meet the graduate criteria and have the largest lift from her ancestry NZMI to NZMI post four herd tests. This award is to acknowledge the heifer who performs well above her expectations, this may not be the highest indexing heifer and gives the heifers with low ancestral (parent averages) starting points an opportunity for an award. Often these heifers are less related to the more common bloodline.

Performance award improved:

• Recorded in calf to AB sire and confirmed by owner

• Heifers completing a minimum of four herd tests

• Minimum score of 6 for udder overall

• Minimum score of 6 for dairy conformation

• The highest NZMI increase from; ancestry to completion of her first season

Glenui Integrity Lace ET VG7

BW 416 PW 655 234kgms in 133 days

Dam of Laradeo & Larkin

Grandam of Lamar

Glenui Bowies Honeydew EX5

Dam of Hoss

Glenui Goldie Lacey ET 86VG

BW 416 PW 524 283kgms in 114 days

Dam of Lamar

Glenui Super Lamar BW 482 gBW 480

Glenui Super Larkin ET BW 444 gBW 411

Glenui Integrity Shanty EX2 Dam of Pepper Shaker

Glenui BC Laredo ET S3J BW 381 gBW 335 Marketed by LIC

Glenui Pepper Shaker BW 452 gBW 414

Glenui Degree Hoss ET BW 357 gBW 335 Marketed by LIC

The Jersey Future scheme continues to be a success, with a total of 88 animals nominated for the 2023 team, of which 29 bull calves have been selected for genomic testing. These results will become available towards the end of November and the selection process will be finalised after the dam and bull calf inspections in December.

Registering your animals for inclusion in Jersey Future

For future bull dams to be to be considered going forward, we recommend members register their animals with Jersey NZ. Registered animals can not only be put forward for nomination to Jersey Future, but can also provide several benefits, such as increasing the value of your herd. Registration is a prerequisite for successful bulls in the genetics industry and higher genetics bulls sold as service sires often attract a premium when registered.

Take advantage of Jersey Plus

Jersey NZ have made the process of registering your herd even easier with Jersey Plus. You can save up to $10 per animal on registrations by using Jersey Plus!

• Use the automated ‘Turn your herd on’ option to register all current females J12 and over. Members receive discounts depending on how many animals in their herd.

• To be eligible for Jersey Plus pricing members must also set up an annual standing order which is prompted by the office and will see all eligible heifers in your herd listed in a report. Simply name your animals and your registrations will be processed and completed.

• Further discounts may be available based on numbers registered.

Industry Benefits

There are two main benefits to the industry for registering your herd:

1) Information. As part of our data access arrangements, we can readily access information on the subset of registered Jerseys within the national herd. The more information we can access, the more reliable the data is.

2) Registrations generate income for Jersey NZ. It is that income that provides the resource for Jersey NZ to advocate to and work alongside industry partners on your behalf and to drive the growth of the Jersey breed.

Contact us today to begin the registration process!

Selection Process:

Jersey NZ will request elite bull calf nominations from members to be received by early September. These nominations are passed on to the selection panel, which consists of three JNZ members and up to two LIC representatives. JNZ and LIC have 50% voting rights. LIC field assists will contact members to sample bull calves and go on to inspect selected bull calves and dams as part of their scheduled bull buying round, commencing in November.

Bulls are selected by late November and owners willing to sell a Jersey bull to LIC pursuant to clause 4.6 will be required to enter into a sale and purchase agreement with LIC in a form that is acceptable to LIC in all respects, for the sum of:

(a) $4,000 (plus GST) per Jersey bull; or

(b) $5,000 (plus GST) per Jersey bull where that Jersey bull has been created by embryo transfer; or

(c) $1,000 (plus GST) per Jersey bull plus $0.50 (plus GST if any) per straw of Qualifying Semen; or

(d) $2,000 (plus GST) per Jersey bull where that Jersey bull has been created by embryo transfer plus $0.50 (plus GST if any) per straw of Qualifying Semen, and

(e) where LIC has made payment to an Owner pursuant to 4.7(a) or 4.7(b) and where LIC (in its sole discretion) has accepted the Jersey bull under one of its Premier Sires® or Alpha® brands or the Jersey bull is accepted for the sale of semen outside of New Zealand, an additional payment of $7,000 (plus GST if any)

Jersey Future Incentives

Members receive the following incentives by investing in Jersey Future genetics:

• Free TOP for all Jersey Future sired heifers where all two-year-olds are inspected in the herd

• 50% discount off the cost of registrations for all Jersey Future sired heifers

• One year senior subscription free to any new member purchasing 70 or more straws of Jersey Future semen.

Jersey Future continues to deliver bulls from outstanding proven and performing cow families. We encourage members to utilise these outstanding Jersey genetics while also supporting Jersey genetic gain. A big thank you to the members who have supported the programme by not only using the semen in your herd, but also nominating your bulls. We look forward to more members taking advantage of this scheme. Invest in our future. Invest in Jersey Future.

Matriarch Genetics Update

by Deb Burmeister

As the spring mating season is coming to an end, Matriarch Genetics is pleased to have some positive results coming from our strategic alliance with ST Genetics. This alliance has seen STgenetics take over marketing and dispatch for all Matriarch semen. Along with the move to Xcell Breeding Services for semen processing, we are confident that we are able to provide top quality semen from our top quality bulls. A small quantity of sexed semen has already been marketed and we plan to be increasing this in the near future.

The Jersey team was headlined by Stony Creek TB Salubrious, with an impressive AEL BW of $425. Salubrious is from a strong cow family hailing from the Southland herd of Heslops. Ably supported by two Crescent Genetics bulls by Crescent Leo Dominator, an Ellison bull by Crescent LT Marcus and an

outcross from Riverina by the homebred bull Giovanni. Some of these bulls, along with the addition of some upcoming superstars will be making up the 2023 spring and autumn teams.

Behind the scenes, Matriarch has also been busy supporting Dairy NZ in obtaining DNA samples for its enhanced genomic platform. This is in order to increase the accuracy of the genomic data being included into AEL 3.5 prior to its release. We expect that this release will be a game changer for genetic gain in NZ, as dairy farmers will soon have an independent genomic platform built into the indexes. Matriarch Genetics seeks to take full advantage of this updated platform and to continue providing you access to some of the best genetics around.

GLANTON DESI BANFF

SHELBY INTEG LABYRINTH ET

TIRONUI SUPERMAN ET

LITTLE RIVER TRIDENT S3J

OKURA PEPPER LUCCA

WEE BURN DESI DON

SHELBY BC LOTTO ET S3J

LITTLE RIVER OI SAMURAI

CAREYS CM LEXICON S2J

GLENUI SUPER LAMAR

CRESCENT LEO DOMINATOR

GLENUI PEPPER SHAKER

GLOBAL BOUNTY REWARD ET

GLENUI SUPER LARKIN ET

CRESCENT I FIRELIGHTER ET

ULMARRA TT GALLIVANT

BELLS BERN FLYNN S3J

ELLISON PS TUNGSTEN JC14 LITTLE RIVER

TIRONUI SUPER MIRAGE

LOCKHART OI JOEL JC15

GLENUI BT

S2J

Ian Harris Memorial Heifer Competition

The Ian Harris Memorial Heifer Competition is open to all youth aged between 8 and 35 years of age. The competition consists of two categories – Junior (8-17yrs) and Senior (18-35 yrs). Entrants must be a member of Jersey NZ or associated with a member who retains a Senior or Associate membership. We invite one nomination per entrant. The competition is open to any in milk 2 yr old (J14 and above), born between 1st January and 31st December.

How are points allocated?

Points are awarded for production, TOP and fertility

Production:

• Points are based on the difference between the animals LW and average LW of the herd’s two year old group.

• 0.2 points will be awarded per LW point difference up to a maximum of 50 points. e.g. if the herd average LW is 153 and the animal LW is 264 there is a difference of 111, which equals 22.2 points

Fertility:

• Points are awarded for the animal’s expected calving date for 2022 relative to the herd’s planned start of calving

• If an animal is due to calve on the PSC, then the animal gets the maximum 50 points.

• 0.55 points are deducted for each day after the PSC that the animal is due to calve.

Traits of the than production (T.O.P):

• Points are based on T.O.P scores

• Single direction Traits (RW, US, C, FU, RU) actual points 1-9

• Two-way traits (RA, L, FT, RT)

• 5 = 10 points, 4 & 6 = 9 points, 3 & 7 = 7 points, 2 & 8 = 4points, 1 & 9 = 0

When can I nominate an animal?

We will be asking for nominations in mid-2023, so keep an eye out! Animals can be nominated from other herds, provided you have permission of the herd owner.

Our 2022/23 entrants:

Junior Entries

Ruby Williams

Ellie-May Riddell

Charlie Williams

Jack Williams

Odyssey Travers

Boyd Ferguson

Henry Scherer

Gabrielle Scherer

Charlie Scherer

George Williams

Olive Anderson

Ella Wallace

Isaac Wallace

Mia Farac

Thomas Jeyes

Annabel Jeyes

Chloe Sargant

Imogen Beagley

Ella Pirie

Senior Entries

Kahu Morgan

Hannah Nicholson

Katie Mears

James Wallace

Cow Name:

Williams Lotto Rose

Thornlea Hoss Tansy ET

Williams Misty Toffee

Williams Misty Frosty

Rivermere Integ Tess

Allandale Casino Lassy

Sherborne Casino Pippa

Sherborne Chrome Darcy

Sherborne Fizz Luna

Williams Hoss Jaffa

Sherborne Fizzy Cola

Grahmar Ricks Paris

Grahmar Wins Paula

Grahmar Xpunch S0J

Kuku Casino Lilly

Ferdon Tequila Chanel

Ngatea Chloe Winnie

Ngatea Imogen Luna S1J

Ngatea Leo Ella Cinnamon

Cow Name:

Thornlea Ricks Ezzie2 ET

Hanrose Super Stella

Kirbydale Tilly

Maxwelton Topeka Gypsy

Murray Harnett Challenge Trophy

Young Judge Competition

Held annually at the NZ Dairy Event in late January, this Young Judge Competition is open for Jersey NZ members up to 30 years of age. The first two placegetters each year will go on to represent Jersey NZ in the World Wide Sires All Breeds Young Judge competition.

Contact pgoodin@jersey.org.nz by 31 December to enter the 2023 Challenge

Ferdon Tequila Lois, nominated by Thomas Jeyes – 3rd place in the senior category 2021/22 and overall TOP winner.

Good data in, is good data out – progeny testing and reliability

NZAEL Update by Andrew Fear

This is an exciting time of the dairy season when accurate data recording by farmers really starts to pay off. Data from herd testing, liveweight recording and traits other than production (TOP) inspections means bulls are starting to obtain higher reliability rates. This means farmers have more accurate data and can have confidence when making breeding decisions.

At NZAEL we continue to work on data quality improvements to ensure we deliver meaningful animal evaluation data for farmers.

Farmer efforts during calving and mating to keep accurate records are now paying off as this data starts to flow into the national Dairy Industry Good Animal Database.

Accurate matching of dams and calves, and farmers recording calving dates, mating, calving difficulty and tagging heifers all contribute towards DIGAD data. This data is used to estimate animal breeding worth (BW).

TOP and liveweight data from progeny tested daughters, along with herd testing has seen 61 Jersey bulls move from having Breeding Values (BV) and BW based totally on parent averages to having their daughters contribute to evaluations.

Being able to draw on increasingly accurate data from cows means bull rankings are becoming more reliable. For a bull

to be eligible to enter the ranking of active sires (RAS) list, he needs to have a BW reliability of 70%, or greater. Bulls must also have at least 10 herds with their two year old daughters herd tested.

This updated animal data allows farmers to better understand the outcomes of their previous mating season. They can use this information to inform the next years mating decisions, and look at which animals to cull and which bulls to breed with which cows.

Use our bull search tool to explore Jersey bulls and how they rank, visit dairynz.co.nz/animal-evaluation

Andrew Fear NZAEL Manager

Jersey NZ Farm Signs

Hang it like the Lansdaal’s, screw it to a fence, smack it in your shed, or jimmy up a light display from the electric fence and flash everyone who drives past.

Single Sided or Double Sided Pricing Quote will be provided with order! To order email info@jersey.org.nz

PURIRI JERSEYS

Wilson Farms

TE WAIU JERSEYS

J & N Guy

Link LivestockLTD Update

Link Livestock continues to strengthen our business relationships with a number of new partnerships and look forward to a busy second half of the year.

We have had a very good service bull season nearing completion with the final few deliveries moving into November.

This year we had a very successful sale with the Jersey Pride Sale with the highest ever average, including breaking the Jersey In-calf heifer record and achieving the highest auction average nationally for all breeds during the Autumn selling season. Ross Riddell takes on the mammoth task of compiling the sales entries for this sale each year which can take a number of months to pull together for a successful and enjoyable event. We are now looking for nominations of interest for next years sale. If you have any animals that you would like to offer for this sale, contact one of the team to discuss.

Looking ahead to the auction season we have a number of sales booked for the Autumn period, and this is shaping up to be a very busy time for our team. If you are looking to downsize your herd, have surplus cattle or seeking a complete herd dispersal contact the team to discuss your options. Paddock, auction and bidr options are all available.

Jersey Pride 2023

The Jersey NZ Annual Conference will be held in Invercargill on 29th-31st March including the Jersey Pride Sale on Thursday the 30th. Following the last sales record-breaking success, we expect much interest. Please note the earlier sale date which means nominations, parentage and BVD testing etc will need to be actioned earlier. As usual we require females of a high standard with no holes in the 3GP, well grown, conditioned and sound type. Good animals always make their value and ideally, we would prefer a variation of bloodlines including Overseas, NZ and polled genetics and an age variation.

A printed catalogue will be available on request to post, at the sale venue, as well as an online version. Entry costs include commission, Bidr fee and some marketing.

Please submit nominations by January 15th, 2023, with either an ID or 3GP. Obviously, some age group entries will be subject to scanning at that time. I would welcome a heads up from possible vendors over the next few weeks and any queries. The success of Jersey Pride is dependent on the support of vendors.

Ross Riddell | 027 211 1112 rriddell@linklivestock.co.nz

CLUB CONTACTS

Established 1953 Townshend family first registered Jersey in 1916

Crescent Dominant Dozen of Proven Sires 10 Crescent Bred + 2 Owned by Crescent and sired by Crescent Kenya Bounty

Crescent breeds cows that the NZ Dairy Industry requires; efficient feed converters, which get incalf easily, with low SCC and good functional udders. It should be no surprise that the Crescent Dominant Dozen bulls leave daughters which are a little bigger than breed average, have good udders, good SCC and outstanding daughter fertility. More than 50% of NZ Dairy cows are culled because they are not pregnant. Under a zero-intervention policy, and a 12-week mating policy, Crescent expects its Jersey herds to come in at sub 10% non-pregnancy rate vs a national 15% actual Some of our herds operate at 5-7% non pregnancy rates and year-on-year herd replacement rates of 15%

Crescent has more than one or two strong cow families, and this is demonstrated by the 10 Crescent bulls above representing six different families within the stud

Sires used heavily at Crescent this spring include Cr Leo Dominator. His semen quality processed out of Xcell in Canterbury looks to be very good. His daughters are strong dairy-like animals. Global Bounty Reward, with another crop of heifers calving down this year, increases our confidence that he is an outstanding all-round sire. Dominator (Liberty Proven) and Reward (Crescent SPS Proven), have minimal DNA sired verified daughters. Therefore, like standard SPS 100 dtr proof bulls when they get thousands of herd-tested dtrs, they have the “widespread use” BW discount factor applied i.e. Dominator and Reward on a like-for-like basis will be under-rated by 20-25 BW vs the highest BW sires with all sire DNA verified in the initial 100 Dtr proofs.

As usual, we have used most of the highest daughter proven BW sires. But two bulls used disproportionately this season on BW qualification alone were Riverina Index Jetset and Little River Nucleus because of their particular BV combination.

Enquiries: Mark Townshend, Mobile 0274 978 658, Email: mark@townshend.co.nz

Te Awamutu Jersey Club Report

The SEPTEMBER DISCUSSION GROUP was a Luncheon meeting held at the Te Awamutu Farm Source meeting room. Several members attended this interesting & timely discussion.

Logan Scott from Pioneer talked about Maize and Lucerne growing, along with costs, tonnages and efficiencies. Jarno Sammet, Farm Source, compared other crops including brassica’s, chicory. They reinforced the value of reviewing summer crop options and where to get assistance with planning. Frank Porteous talked about DNZ and Chris Burke working with Jersey Herds on fertility trials.

OCTOBER HERD VISIT to the farm of Glenn & Chantal Wilson, home of Wee Burn Jerseys, was enjoyed by a good turnout of members. Andrew Russo from VE Vets covered some interesting points around ET work and many of those attending had valuable insights to share. Frank Portegys led the Discussion Group and the farm visit handout included an excellent write up by Chris Burke & Jane Kay, Dairy NZ, about reproductive management after a tough spring. The group enjoyed a walk to view the farm. The rolling hills and several blocks of bush and gullies provided some great vistas. Many thanks Chantal & Glenn, and also to our speakers and Discussion Group organisers.

President - Marion Johnson

Secretary - Shirley Hamilton

CENTENNIAL ACTIVITIES coming up include: The Jersey Classic Show on the 17th November 2022, to be held at the Kihikihi Domain. It is also the North Island Championship.

The Centennial Luncheon on the 20th November 2022, to be held at Rosenvale. We are looking forward to some short slideshows showing our Club history, reminiscing with past and present members and invited guests, including our Te Awamutu Mayor, President of Jersey NZ and the MP for Taranaki-King Country.

A family Christmas event will be held in December, details to be confirmed.

Looking ahead to 2023 we have the On Farm Show planned for February 7, 8, 9. More details to come. Visitors and new members welcome.

The

Photos show the farm walk and Wee Burn Kpin Dee S3J, dam of Wee Burn Desi Don.

Advertisers Index

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Samen

Ellison Jerseys

Ngatea Jerseys

Ardachie Polled Jerseys

Cow Manager

Glenui Jerseys

Link Livestock Ltd

Two View Jerseys

Crescent Genetics

Front Cover

To book your advertisement for the next Jersey Focus, email info@jersey.org.nz

Next issue: JUNE 2023

Deadlines:

Bookings for advertisements 12 May 2023

Material for advertisements 19 May 2023

Subscriptions:

Published June and November of every year.

Subscriptions are $60.00 plus GST per annum or $100.00 NZD for overseas subscribers.

Free to Jersey NZ members.

contact info@jersey.org.nz for more information

In My Opinion:

We invite your contributions In My Opinion. Not all contributions will necessarily be published and the Editor reserves the right to edit articles for publication and to have the right of reply on any issues raised. All informed comment (letters and articles) will be considered for publications.

The Editor Reserves the Right:

To accept, amend or reject any advertisements, editorial or article submitted for publication. While every effort will be made to publish advertisements as ordered, no responsibility is taken for the failure of an advertisement to appear as ordered or for any errors or omissions in the printed copy.

Opinions expressed by editorial contributors or claims made in advertisements are not necessarily those of The Jersey FOCUS, General Manager and Board of Jersey NZ.

© Jersey NZ 2017

Return flights + bags for two to a mystery destination

2 nights luxury 5-star accommodation

Daily breakfast and dinner

An Avis rental car for the duration of your stay

Think a cow in your herd has what it takes to be Samen NZ’s Cow of the Year? You could win: www.samen.co.nz/cow-of-the-year