Hoard Jerseys see the appraiser

Earlier this month, the Hoard Jersey herd which now numbers 101 cows (plus 11 heifers) was appraised by AJCA appraiser, Blake Renner. We purchased the Jerseys from three Wisconsin herds, and they are housed in our old tie stall barn that recently made a complete transformation into a free stall facility. The barn is scraped twice a day with a skid loader, and cows are fed outside with drive-by feeding. The Jerseys make their way to our three-year-old parlor three times a day to get milked.

When we were done, the American Jersey Cattle Association put scores on 50 head. The entire group averaging just shy of two lactations averaged 80.3 points which is down one-tenth of a point from our December score. That average included the 50 cows that previously were scored in the current lactation and did not change in score. When looking at the herd by lactation number, we had:
• 22 first-lactation (first-score cows) averaged 78.2 points
• All 36 first-lactation cows that averaged 78.7 points
• 41 second-lactation cows that averaged 80.8 points
• 23 third-lactation cows and greater that averaged 82 points

Overall, the second-lactation group was one point higher compared to last December. And that was with 22 more cows in the group. Our second-lactation average scores is right at breed average.

For those who follow the Hoard Farm Guernseys: Numbers are near an all-time high. We have 333 Guernsey cows and 292 Guernsey heifers, of which 95 are safe in calf, 67 are unbred yearlings, and there are 141 calves.

Dairy icon, Jim Cavanaugh, passes away

One of the most successful leaders of the purebred dairy cattle industry passed away April 6 just eight days shy of his 93rd birthday. James F. Cavanaugh joined the American Jersey Cattle Association in 1947 and went on to become the longest-serving executive secretary in Association history, heading the organization from 1956 to 1985. Under his leadership, Cavanaugh helped guide the 1953 purchase of the Jersey Journal, the 1957 formation of National All-Jersey, the 1967 creation of the AJCC Research Foundation, and the 1971 addition of the Jersey Marketing Service. Truly a pioneer, Cavanaugh pioneered the adoption of the USDA sire summary for recognition of bulls and was a vigorous campaigner against using minus bulls. Additionally, he was a vocal supporter of the multiple component pricing movement. There is no doubt that today's popularity of Jerseys can be traced directly to Jim Cavanaugh.

Born and raised on a Kansas farm, he graduated from Kansas State University. In 1939, he was selected by the Borden Company to work at the company's exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair where he cared for the famous "Elsie" the Borden cow. Cavanaugh is shown in the photo during a 2007 reunion of the Borden Boys in New York. During World War II, he flew 50 missions as a bomber pilot. Cavanaugh joined the Hoard's Dairyman editorial staff prior to entering military service and remained on the staff until 1947 when he joined the national Jersey association as assistant secretary. And it was Jim Cavanaugh who encouraged Eugene C. Meyer to join the Hoard's Dairyman editorial team when he left the Hoard's staff for his new position at Jersey.

Soon after Cavanaugh's retirement from the American Jersey Cattle Association, Cavanaugh was persuaded to accept an 18-month appointment as secretary-treasurer of the American Guernsey Association on January 1, 1986. Then Cavanaugh was named acting secretary of National DHIA in April 1987 and stayed on until March 1, 1988.

Cavanaugh served as President of National Dairy Shrine in 1962. In 1975, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Dairy Science Association, and, in 1977, was World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the Year. The very next year he was honored as the National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor.

His wife, Virginia, preceded Jim in death. Visitation is at the Egan-Ryan East Chapel at 4019 East Livingston in Columbus, Ohio, on April 8, from 2 to 4 p.m., and from 6 to 8 p.m. The funeral will take place at St. Catharine Catholic Church on 500 South Gould Road in Columbus at 10 a.m., Friday April 9. At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to The J.F. Cavanaugh Fund of the AJCA Research Foundation, 6486 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 43068-2362.

He helped bring Elsie to life article.

It was a dynamite decade for Jerseys

It is not going overboard to say that so far during the 21st century, Jerseys have been one of the dairy industry’s hottest trends. Not only does the soaring popularity of small brown cows not show any signs of slowing, but it only figures to increase as producers continue looking for ways to boost feed efficiency and profitability.

One obvious yardstick of this enthusiasm is the number of new animals registered with the American Jersey Cattle Association each year, which set an all-time record in 2009. New records don't happen very often at organizations that are 142 years old, but this was the second one in a row for AJCA.

Cherie Bayer, the breed group's Director of Development, said total registrations in 2009 were 95,557, breaking the previous record of 94,774 in 2008. She noted that registration numbers dipped as low as 33,104 in 1973 and did not regularly exceed 60,000 per year until the late 1990s.

What happened to suddenly make headstrong small brown cows the belles of today’s commercial dairy ball? There's little doubt that the answer is Multiple Component Pricing of milk, which went into effect in Federal Milk Marketing Orders on January 1, 2000. Switching volume-based milk pricing to a system that rewards protein and butterfat clearly caused interest in Jerseys to soar, and has boosted their retail value onto a par with Holsteins as well.

In addition to greater demand for Jersey cows, Jersey A.I. semen sales have also surged as many dairies have started crossbreeding programs to boost protein and fat production in their herds. Bayer points out that between 1997 and 2008, Jersey A.I. semen sales increased 183 percent.

The Hoard Farm Jerseys get their first score

This October and November we added 71 Jerseys to the Hoard Farm herd. Those cows which came from three Wisconsin herds are settling in quite well in our old tie stall barn which we are operating as a free stall barn. The 68 lactating Jerseys in the group are fed in the existing outside feed bunks and milked in our 2-year-old parlor. They are adapting quite well even with the one foot of snow we received the prior week and the subzero temperatures we are now experiencing. (To read more about the Jerseys, download the PDF with an editorial from our November issue at the bottom of this page).

On the afternoon of December 15, we appraised 68 Jerseys (did not score the dry cows). It took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to put scores on the cows as we milled around the feeding area on the very cold, but sunny, winter day that had temperatures eventually drop below zero later in the evening. The cows had about 10 to 12 hours of milk in their udders as we evaluated them just before milking time.

When we were done, the American Jersey Cattle Association put scores on 68 head. The entire group averaged 80.4 points. When looking at the herd by lactation number, we had:
• 32 first-lactation cows that averaged 80.4 points
• 19 second-lacation cows that averaged 79.9 points
• 14 third-lactation cows that averaged 79.6 points
• 3 fourth- and fifth-lactation cows that averaged 86.7 points

When looking at the three groups of cows we bought, it was quite uniform with Group A's 19 cows averaging 82.2 points (1.95 lactations); Group B's 30 cows at 79.3 points (1.6 lactations); Group C's 20 cows at 80.2 points (2.2 lactations).

Like our Guernsey 2-year-olds, our first-lactation Jerseys have taken to their new environment the best with their 305-day ME (mature equivalent) at 20,142 milk, 1,121 fat, and 773 protein. The second-lactation cows are just shy of 18,000 milk, while the third-lactation-and-greater group is just short of 17,000. By the way, the cow shown in the photo went VG-85.
hdm-2009-11-10-0-704.pdf

Alicia wins back-to-back titles

The nation's largest Jersey show kicked off at 8 a.m., Monday morning in Louisville, Ky. For many years, the All American Jersey Show has featured a unique format that sees the cows placed before the calves and heifers. Judge Brian Sayles of Paris, Ontario, Canada, and his consultant Hank Van Exel, Lodi, Calif., selected Ratliff Price Alicia as Grand Champion. Bred and owned by Ron and Christy Ratliff of Garnett, Kan., Alicia is a back-to-back Grand Champion of the All American Jersey Show. Alicia, the first place 4-year-old, also captured Reserve Grand Champion honors at the 2009 World Dairy Expo. Shown above are judge Sayles (left) and consultant Van Exel as they look at what went on to become the Grand and Reserve Grand Champion cows

Reserve Grand Champion honors went to Frederick 2783 Adventure owned by Eaton and Walton Lackey of Carlisle, Pa. She placed second in the very deep 4-year-old class. In all, there were 222 cows shown on Monday. Shown below are Alicia (right) and Adventure (left).



Taking home Intermediate Champion honors was Belfontaine Remake Oshgosh shown by Ben Sauder of Tremont, Ill., with Reserve Intermediate Champion going to Gadget Jade of Edgebrooke exhibited by Mike Dilly, Montour, Iowa.

On Sunday evening, the 57th All American Jersey Sale averaged $4,712.50 on 44 lots. The high seller was Lot 2, Choice of "Renegade" daughter of BW Avery Katie 121-ET. She sold for $15,500 and was consigned by Brentwood Farms, Orland, Calif. The first choice was purchased by Clauss Dairy Farms and Yosemite Jersey Dairy, Hilmar, Calif. The second high seller was Lot 3C, Gabys Dale Avalon-ET. She brought $15,000 and was consigned by Henry Gaby, Greeneville, Tenn. She was purchased by David Allen, Reedsburg, Wis.

Vermont's Cobb Hill wins North American Jersey Cheese Awards

At an event the first of its kind, it was Cobb Hill Cheese's Ascutney Mountain variety that took home top honors in the North American Jersey Cheese Awards. The awards program was held during the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All Jersey annual convention. See our last blog for more about the convention. This new event, the North American Jersey Cheese Awards, was organized by U.S. Jersey staff and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau to showcase cheese produced around the continent from 100 percent Jersey milk. A similar event, the World Jersey Cheese Festival, was held at the breed's original home on the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel last year.


Seventy-seven cheese entries from 29 producers in 15 states and Quebec were submitted to the competition. Cheeses were judged on both technical and aesthetic characteristics by a panel of esteemed cheese experts and cheese enthusiasts. Kathy Guidi, a 35-year cheese expert, Dean of the Cheese Education Guild, and President of Artisan Cheese Marketing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, served as lead judge.

Medal winners were showcased at Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus, NY, during an evening dinner and garden tour at the former Jersey farm. Of the group, 48 received either a gold, silver, or bronze medal award. Cheeses that earned between 36 and 40 points received bronze awards, those with between 41 and 45 points earned silver medals, and those with 46 to 50 points received gold medals. Guidi praised the Ascutney Mountain cheese from Cobb Hill for it's excellent flavor, texture and beautiful rind. The runner-up was Blau Wein Kase of Flat Creek Lodge cheese in Georgia. Second runner-up recognition was given to Tarentaise, a cheese from Spring Brook Farm, from Vermont. A photo of the winning Ascutney Mountain cheese is shown below.

Jersey worlds combine in upstate New York

We're keeping busy this summer bringing you coverage of each of the breeds' annual meetings. This week is no exception as we joined over 400 Jersey breeders and enthusiasts from around the country and world in Syracuse, N.Y. for the annual meeting of National All Jersey, the American Jersey Cattle Association, and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. Activities started Wednesday and will continue through Saturday.

Wednesday evening highlighted the accomplishments of six outstanding young breeders who have developed well-established Jersey breeding programs in just their short time breeding Jerseys as all honorees were under the age of 40. Those winners included Roger and Cathleen Alexander of Liberty, Pa., Kimberly Clauss of Hilmar, Calif., Eric Daggett of Derby, Vt., Jake and Kate Hardy of Belleville, Pa., Shari Strickhouser of Elkhorn, Wis., and Ron and Nicole Wussow of Cecil, Wis.

Thursday started off with National All Jersey's annual meeting, as well as a seminar regarding Jersey beef research that was recently completed at Oregon State University. The afternoon included a visit to Silver Spring Farm, owned and operated by convention co-chairs Chuck and Sue Luchsinger. After lunch and tour, the farm was the site of the Jersey research auction which impressively raised over $18,000 for Jersey-specific research. Thursday evening showcased award winners of Jersey's top honors. This year's honorees included William and Carolyin Ahlem, Sabino Ahlem Herrera, and Ed Fisher, all of Hilmar, Calif., who were named Master Breeders. Robert and Helene Dreisbach of Mercer, Pa., were given the Distinguished Service Award and the Award for Meritorious Service was given to Ronald Pearson of Virginia Tech and Blacksburg, Va.

Be sure to watch for our August 10, 2009, issue which will have a full report of each convention, including association financial reports and convention sale reports.