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3Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
4 Behind the Scenes
6 Tanya’s generation faces the passion and the poison
12 Farmer directors see 2020 perspective
16 Progeny Test Rebate Scheme
20 Shows: Adelaide Royal, Melbourne Royal, Wauchope (NSW)
25 Let’s Cook - with Dairy
26 Udderly Admin
ABS Australia FC
Agri-Gene 18
Bralock Jerseys 11
Central Sires Co-Op 21
Colac JBC 19
Goulburn Murray JBC 23
International Dairy Week IFC
Jugiong Jerseys 8-9
Northern District JBC 10
Philmar Dairy Company 14-15
Semex BC
South Gippsland JBC 17
Zoetis IBC
ADVERTISERS INDEXCONTENTS
IN THIS ISSUE...
Vol. 66 No. 6 - November-December 2013
Editorial and Advertising to: SHARON CLARKClark Graffi x - PO Box 1576, Shepparton VICTORIA 3632
T: 0437 066 077 | F: 03 5821 0165 | E: jersey@clarkgraffi x.com
Developing and Promotingthe Jersey Breed
JERSEY AUSTRALIAPO BOX 292, ASCOT VALE, VIC 3032Telephone: (03) 9370 9105Fax: (03) 9370 9116Email: [email protected]
Pre-Press Editor & Graphic Design:Sharon Clark - Clark Graffi xPrinted by:Shepparton Printing Service P/L(03) 5821 4707Email: [email protected]
NEW SOUTH WALESState Secretary - Milton JohnstonPhone: (02) 6552 5915Fax: (02) 6552 [email protected]
QUEENSLANDState Secretary - Diane ReevesPhone: (07) 5485 4585Work: (07) 3221 3182Fax: (07) 5485 4575Email: [email protected] AUSTRALIAState Secretary - Amy McDonaldPO Box 13, Greenock SA 5360Phone (08) 8562 8113Fax (08) 8562 8520Email: [email protected] Secretary - Max McCormackPO Box 1258, Devonport TAS 7310Phone: (03) 6424 1250Mobile: 0409 252 232Email: [email protected]
VICTORIAState Secretary - Andrew Younger162 Zeerust Church Rd, Zeerust Vic 3634Ph: 03 5829 8352 Mob: 0409 572 484Email: [email protected] RECOVERY OFFICERSChris MacKenzie (Western Districts)Phone: (03) 5598 7222Margaret Cockerell (Northern Vic)Phone: 0407 641 132 (03) 5864 1133Barry Monson(03) 5625 3176 or 0429 343 903WESTERN AUSTRALIASusan LuteyFeast Rd, Serpentine WA 6125Phone: (08) 9525 [email protected]
Opinions expressed in The Australian Jersey Journal are not necessarily those of Jersey Australia Inc or its Board of Management or Compiling Editor, and no responsibility whatsoever is taken for their authenticity. 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.
Jersey AustraliaBoard Members
President:Peter Ness
PO Box 93, Mt Compass, SA 5210Telephone: (08) 8556 8270
Vice President:Milton Johnston
118 Edinburgh Drive,Taree, NSW 2430
Telephone: (02) 6552 5915
Secretary:Scott Joynson
PO Box 292, Ascot Vale, VIC 3032Telephone: (03) 9370 9105
Hon. Treasurer:Rohan Sprunt
235 Kaarimba Hall RdKaarimba VIC 3635
Telephone: (03) 5826 [email protected]
Trevor Saunders495 Araluen Rd, Yarragon VIC 3823
Telephone: (03) 5626 [email protected]
Andrew Younger162 Zeerust Church Rd, Zeerust Vic 3634
Ph: 03 5829 8352 Mob: 0409 572 484Email: [email protected]
Geoff HeazlewoodPO Box 87 Latrobe TAS 7307
Telephone: (03) 6426 1169
Chris MacKenzie859 Cooriemungle Rd
Timboon VIC 3268Telephone: (03)559 [email protected]
Troy MaugerThe Willows Willawa Rd
Jerilderie NSW 2716Telephone: (03) 5885 [email protected]
Lisa Broad388 Johnson Rd
Lockington VIC 3563Telephone: (03) 5486 2624
Brian Wilson204 Wallamore Road, Tamworth NSW 2340
Telephone: (02) 6761 [email protected]
Jersey Australia Website:www.jersey.com.au
JANUARY 2014 DEADLINESAdvertising Bookings: NOVEMBER 17th
If you require your ad to be designed - all copy must be received by NOVEMBER 27
If you are supplying press ready ads from an outside source the fi nal deadline is DECEMBER 3
COVER Harnessing the power of Rock Solid genetics• ABS Rock Solid Sires are what breeding is all about!• With RSG, we are giving breeders & commercial dairymen the
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www.absglobal.com/aus l [email protected] Ph: 02 6049 9200 l Fax: 02 6026 2387Semen orders only, freecall 1800-ABS-BULL
ABSH A R N E S S I N G T H E P O W E Ro f R O C K S O L I D G E N E T I C S
29JE3510 Schultz Rescue
HEADLINE Rescue x Avery x Soonerdtr: Headline Margy VG-88@2Y / photo: Beth Herges
29JE3506 Tollenaars Impuls
LEGALdtr: Wis Legal Mozza 6947 VG / photo: Beth Herges Cairnbrae Jaces
ELTON Jace x Alf x Lesterdtr: Ascot Park Elton Wanda - Intermediate Champion Brisbane Royal 2013Owned by S. & J. McCarthy / photo: Dean Malcolm
JerseyJournal_ABS_1013_nb.indd 1 28/10/2013 1:58:30 PM
JERSEYJOURNALNovember-December 2013November-December 2013
Print Post Approved 325550-009
4 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
market our very best to the rest of the world. There is a list of companies later in this magazine who are not only testing here in Australia but are offering a PT rebate for daughters of their bulls, please consider their teams as you make this year’s semen purchases.
ADHIS releases ABV’s twice annually and August 2013 saw, for the first time, a low key release of high ranked genomically tested cows and heifers. The Jersey Australia Board hopes to publish this elite group of females on a regular basis going forward and congratulates the owners below for having animals of such high genetic merit amongst their herds.
There is a Ginfo project running in conjunction with the Dept Primary Industries where a number of Jersey herds have been selected on the quality of data their herd submits to industry via Herd Testing etc. These herds will have the opportunity to receive funding for genomic testing of all their 1st calving heifers on the basis that these animals will also be classified. The DPI will study the data from these herds looking to increase the reliability on genome type predictions, improve the current Jersey reference set and a number of other study projects in the pipeline. I would also expect to see the best of the animals tested appear in future elite heifer listings released by ADHIS.
Finally, I was very pleased to have been able to attend the Colac & Districts On Farm Challenge presentation night to see firsthand the video presentation and hear the judges’ comments on each age group. Sometimes comments made by judges who have spent a life time milking a different breed can be quite revealing on how the Jersey is progressing here in Australia. It was also great to see David & Raylene
JJ JERSEY AUSTRALIA by Scott Joynson
Behind the ScenesWe are getting down to the business time of year
here at Jersey House with the beginning of Tour 2 classification tours. On top of membership classification we have also just received the LTE file nominations from ADHIS which, thankfully, show a healthy increase in AB Company interest in gaining traditional type proofs for this year’s crop of graduating bulls.
It has been a genuine concern to the Jersey Australia Board that with the advent of the genome testing technology the Jersey Breed saw a steep decline in Linear Type Evaluations performed on daughters of graduating young sires. This year’s slight increase is the first in three years and hopefully a step toward improving numbers annually.
The genome testing technology has also seen several companies drop local testing of young Jersey sires. Jersey Australia has approached local representatives and long time supporters of our breed for a reason why local testing could not continue and it seems that the decision was not theirs but made by head office personnel in the Northern Hemisphere. It is important for a strong breed here in Australia that our members support those companies who at least partially invest in the quality genetics that we have right here on our doorstep.
Australian Jerseys have a loyal following beyond our shores, not because of clever marketing or by massive investment but because the small amount of our genetics that have been used internationally has performed beautifully in a wide variety of farming regimes. To keep our Australian brand we must support those companies who still actively progeny test, because it is these companies who will in turn
Top 10 Genomically Tested Heifers - August 2013
Herdbook Name Date of Birth Sire Owner APR Rel Overall Type Mam Syst Rel
641624 GELBEADO PARK VANAHLEM BELLE 4180 3/08/2012 PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM P & L Mumford 242 52 109 107 40
637082 KAARMONA VANAHLEM GLENFERN 14 2/04/2012 PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM SPRUNT GC & RG 198 53 110 109 41
645228 MERSEYBANK VAN CLARITY 28/08/2012 PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM Heazlewood G & A 188 52 104 106 39
652012 BUSHLEA VAN FERNLEAF 4 ET 29/02/2012 PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM BUSHLEA FARMS 187 54 112 110 43
651440 BUSHLEA TBONE BELLE 3 ET 8/08/2012 RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 BUSHLEA FARMS 151 52 101 101 38
651437 BUSHLEA TBONE MAYBELLE 3 ET 5/08/2012 RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 BUSHLEA FARMS 144 47 93 97 30
625419 CAIRNBRAE VALERIAN ESTELLE 5/08/2011 KAARMONA VALERIAN P & L Mumford 135 58 106 104 47
651431 BUSHLEA TBONE MAYBELL 2 ET 29/07/2012 RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 BUSHLEA FARMS 129 45 95 98 27
653097 ASCOT PARK MERCHANTS BEAUTY 29/08/2012 SUNSET CANYON MERCHANT MCCARTHY SG & JA 125 44 102 102 29
625639 BILLY CREEK DEMI 20/08/2011 CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON CRAWFORD T & B 108 59 104 107 49
5Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
JJ JERSEY AUSTRALIA
JERSEY AUSTRALIA seeks expressions of interest from members who might be interested in being part of a Trade Mission to South Africa 12th - 20th September 2014. The trip will include the Jersey South Africa hosted WJCB Conference and is likely to cost approximately *$4750 - $5500 AUD.
For more information contact Robyn
Barber 03 9338 9259 [email protected]*pricing and fi nal itinerary to be confi rmed
Top 25 Genomically Tested Cows: August 2013
Profit Conformation
Herdbook Long Name Date of Birth Sire Owner APR RelOverall
TypeMam Syst
Type Rel
565968 WARRAIN HATTEN EMPRESS 2 23/08/2006 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 COCKERELL JR & MA 285 61 90 94 52
568953 NOWELL MAN SANDY 21/08/2006 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 YOUNGER ANDREW EASY DAIRY 276 68 103 101 54
572089 MERSEYBANK ELTONS CLAIRE 11/03/2007 CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON Heazlewood G & AE 271 62 105 102 45
605569 GELBEADO PARK NAVARA BONITA ET 21/03/2009 DARAWAY FLOWERPOWER NAVARA GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS 263 57 111 109 48
524915 CAIRNBRAE FLOWERS ESTELLE 5/08/2003 CLAYDON PARK FLOWER POWER CARSON, A.G & J.A. 261 69 104 106 53
571353 WALLACEDALE ELTONS ELLOUS 21/08/2006 CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON WALLACE CJ & MB 259 65 105 105 55
484995 RIVERSIDE MBSB ADRIENNE 856 15/06/2000 MASON BOOMER SOONER BERRETTA C.B. & K. COUCH, 256 72 106 103 60
588222 BEULAH KONUI K POPPINS 8/08/2008 KONUI GLEN ELMOS BOWIE HOEY DM & L 249 59 102 102 45
575505 KADDY SANDY BIRD 19 2/09/2007 NOWELL SANDBLAST YOUNGER ANDREW 243 63 100 104 54
527041 NOWELL POWER SANDY 9/03/2003 CLAYDON PARK FLOWER POWER 243 70 107 109 52
641624 GELBEADO PARK VANAHLEM BELLE 4180 3/08/2012 PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS 242 52 109 107 40
610551 MELDAN TBONE SANDY 24/07/2010 RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS 239 57 114 115 51
595238 BEULAH VAL L PAINT 3 8/04/2009 KAARMONA VALERIAN HOEY DM & L 239 62 105 101 52
508325 KOENARL MELBA X13 28/05/2002 ALCISTON CHARLIES LAD TAYLOR TA 238 64 107 100 52
555976 DARAWAY TARANAK VANESSA 4 9/03/2006 ROYALS GREEN ELMO BACON, R.L.G. & S.L. 235 64 101 102 47
552557 WALLACEDALE JACE MELAINE 4 20/09/2004 WINDY WILLOW MONTANA JACE WALLACE CJ & MB 232 67 102 103 53
595535 BEULAH BADGER SOFIA 2 21/08/2007 BEULAH TARANAK BADGER HOEY DM & L 232 67 110 106 56
436478 CAIRNBRAE ALFS ESTELLE 9/05/1997 COMFORT ROYAL ALF (E.T.) CARSON, A.G & J.A. 232 73 106 108 60
516943 BEULAH LEMVIG A POPPINS 23/08/1999 FYN LEMVIG HOEY DM & L 231 70 102 95 58
568994 LERIDA PARK MANHATTEN ROSEBUD 112 16/03/2007 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 BR/JL/RP/LJ SMETHURST 224 60 99 98 43
569791 KAARMONA MANHATTEN ARKONA 10/01/2007 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 SPRUNT GC & RG 222 64 93 96 54
588334 BEULAH MANHATTEN C BAMBI 15/08/2005 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 HOEY DM & L 221 62 97 92 50
591848 BEULAH VAL B HALO 26/08/2008 KAARMONA VALERIAN HOEY DM & L 221 65 112 106 56
J GIRLIE 93 20/08/2004 SILHOUETTE EXCEPTIONAL NOLAN FAMILY TRUST 215 59 91 95 33
560615 AUS FOUNDATION JACE BUOY 29/08/2006 WINDY WILLOW MONTANA JACE SPRUNT GC & RG 215 66 105 102 56
Hallyburton of Camo Jerseys presented with the 50yr Jersey Stud award by Jersey Australia president Peter Ness. If you are someone who has continually operated a Jersey stud for 50yrs or know someone who has and has not yet been recognised please do encourage them to apply for the award by contacting Jersey House on (03) 9370 9105.
When you think of all the changes tour our Industry in the past 50yr years it is inspiring to hand out these awards to people who are still passionate about our cow and excited by their future within the dairy industry.
The HUNTER VALLEY JERSEY BREEDERS CLUB cordially invites all Jersey Australia Members and enthusiasts to att end JERSEY AUSTRALIA’S 2014
ANNUAL MEETING AND TOUR to be held in Tamworth, NSW beginning on Tuesday 20 th May 2014.
The iti nerary as it stands is as follows: Tuesday 20th May Arrive Tamworth by 2pm for a 3pm Bush Tour and back
in ti me for a 7pm Casual Dinner Wednesday 21st May 9.30am Jersey Australia AGM followed by Farm Visits
which will include Peel Valley Milk, Whitt ons and Drury farmwalks. 7pm Jersey Australia Award Night Guest Speaker TBA.Thursday 22nd May 10.00am Shirlinn Herd Farm Visit,
11.00am Pre- Sale Inspecti on, 12 pm Shirlinn Sale - 6pm “Aft er Party”.
6 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
words: Michael Porteus
Tanya had a garlanded Jersey at her wedding, and later pictured her new-born daughter wearing a Jersey suit in a manger.
She has been a South Gippsland Young Citizen of the year, and Victorian Rural Ambassador who studied dairying in the United States for six months in 2001. She’s a past president of the South Gippsland Jersey Breeders Club, and a member of the Young Dairy Farmers Development Group and Murray Goulburn Ladies Group. She has sat on many committees including the RASV Dairy Show Committee, and has judged cattle at shows in four Australian states. Tanya has also been announced as a 2013 winner of a Green Agriculture Innovation Award.
She gained her Diploma of Agriculture by part-time study, and has attended many short courses. She uses social media to ‘friend’ both fellow farmers and people who know nothing of farming.
Her motto is “always give back to the industry which has given me so much joy, happiness and success over the years!”
There’s no shortage of passion. Tanya says farmers answer with pure passion when asked
why they work such long hours: ‘It is who I am, and what I do’.But there is also the poison.Tanya says the words “get bigger or get out” are poison to her,
and she hears them often from governments, dairy companies, and even friends from small farms.
She says this poison is killing smaller dairy farms. Families do not get enough returns to enable older generations to retire while following generations invest.
And Tanya says ‘bigger’ does not necessarily mean ‘more profit’ for the farmers. Staff are expensive and unlikely to help cattle like someone who has grown up with them.
Tanya is now 33 and has two children – Levi aged two, and Ava aged 9 months. She also runs the office of the stainless-steel company she operates with her husband Con and a business partner. Her brother Brett also has employment off-farm.
Tanya’s great-grandfather Alec was one of the first to select land in Mardan in the 1870s. The farm was later run by her grandfather Jack, and then by her father Barrie who began work there almost 60 years ago. Barrie switched to Jerseys, and began the Inverlair Heights Jersey Stud in 1981.
Tanya says the main influences on their herd have been Kooroo, Inverell, Mapleton, Parrabell, Barwidgee, Lynbrae, Fleurieu and Bushlea.
“We breed for average production and above-average type,” she says. “I would much prefer to have a cow remain in the herd till they are ten years old, rather than blow their udders by the time they are five from producing too much milk.”
Inverlair enters both the South and Central Gippsland On Farm Challenges every year. “We have won second in the Pen of Five three times now and would love to take that class out in the future,” Tanya says. “We have had two representatives in the Great Southern Challenge.”
Farmers find Facebook friendsTanya says that before the internet, friends always thought
she was crazy driving to Melbourne to attend meetings and sit on committees. So she is passionate about the power of social media, and is easy to find with Facebook or Google.
Many of her social-media ‘friends’ are farmers. “It’s great to know they are having the same issues we are, what the weather is doing in their neck of the woods and how they are dealing with problems,” Tanya says. “I also love sharing the good and bad of our industry with my other ‘friends’ who don’t understand farming like I do, just to make them aware of what we go through on a day-to-day basis to get milk in their coffees and on their cereal.”
Tanya thinks the future of the Jersey breed is rock solid. She says more farmers are starting to value advantages including
Tanya has always loved cows, and knows by name the 120 Jerseys she milks with her 72-year-old father
Barrie Allan, mother Sue and brother Brett at the 235-acre Inverlair Heights Jersey Stud near Marden, 170km east of Melbourne. The family has supplied the Murray Goulburn for 60 years and won many awards for milk quality.
Tanya’s generation faces the passion and the poison FOURTH-generation Gippsland dairy farmer Tanya Allan Privitera doesn’t hold back when she talks about the passion – and the poison – for small dairy farms in the 21st century.
Tanya and Barrie winning Junior and Senior Allbreeds champions at Korumburra Show in 2001.
7Jersey Journal – November/December 2013 7Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
Jerseys’ lower live weight, calving ease, and lower feed intake for high-component milk. “Many of my friends who milk Holsteins have been introducing more and more Jerseys into their herds,” she says.
But she is worried about the future of the dairy industry: “I am scared that the family-run dairy farm is disappearing, and I would hate to see that happen. I love working with my parents and am proud to send top-quality milk off to the milk factory each day, even though many people would say to me ‘oh you only milk 120 cows’ and look down on me for it.
“All our cows at Inverlair Heights Jerseys have their own names. Dad and I know every cow just by looking at her. They have their own special identities.” Tanya says most small farmers aim for quality, herd health and lifestyle.
“Sustainable agriculture is so important. I hate seeing farms pour nitrogen onto their pastures to get quick growth. Do they realise they are limiting the productivity of their farms and land in the long run?
“We need to keep biodiversity alive – worms aerate the soil. Cows’ health is also affected by too much nitrogen – you are basically heating their stomachs from the inside out, causing so much damage.
“When we swapped our fertiliser regime to include more natural ingredients such as seaweed, our cows’ health turned around dramatically. It was great to see.”
Tanya says it’s scary to see young farmers in debt. “They need help so they don’t get buried alive by costs,” she says. “We need to make sure city folk are aware of how hard farmers work and how heartbreaking it is at times to be working 12-hour days seven days a week and actually have our costs out-weigh our profits!
She was surprised to find city people who think farmers get the full supermarket price for milk. They can be horrified to find out that the farmer may only get 40 cents a litre. “It’s important to use tools such as Facebook to connect with friends who don’t have an everyday understanding of farming,” Tanya says. “Some of them are shocked at what we go through. Some kids have no idea where milk comes from.”
“I never want to see any parts of South Gippsland owned by any government and worked by their employees. We need to make sure dairy farming is a viable business for young people to still want to take part in. I know we can’t control things like the weather, but we can control the level of skills people have to run the operation and deal with Australia’s adverse conditions.
“Our product needs to remain at world’s best practice so that we are high on the list of other countries to choose to import our products. We have so many options with courses run locally – it’s just a shame that so many farmers don’t get time to attend. I’m very lucky to have a dad who encourages me to spend time off-farm to learn and meet as many like-minded people as possible.
“One day, I dream of making my own cheese from our top-quality Jersey milk. I envisage working side-by-side with my husband and children to achieve this. I’m not sure if this will happen, but I know I have the passion to make it work.
“If dairy farmers work together, we can push forward as one voice.”
60-year farmer tries alternativesIt’s almost 60 years since Tanya’s grandfather father Jack
caught pneumonia and her father Barrie left school at the age of the 13 to work on the farm.
Barrie remembers that he used to keep one eye on the road to make sure the police were not coming to haul him back to school.
Barrie thought heavier cows were not helping his hill country and introduced Jerseys in 1958. He tried cross breeds, but by the 1980s was sticking to pure-bred Jerseys. He started the Inverlair Jersey Stud in 1981, and in the late 90s was still looking for ways to improve his pastures and keep water grass off his ridges.
“The cows would not eat it,” he says. “I got the fertiliser company out here to do soil tests, and they told me use more fertiliser. To me that was ridiculous – I went looking for alternatives.
“I came up with liquid fertiliser containing a lot of seaweed and a lot of minerals. Within two years you could put cows in those paddocks, and they’d just graze them to the ground.”
Barrie saw the need for minerals when his calves had coughs that vets couldn’t cure. He had mineral blocks to mix with feed, and when he left one in a paddock, the cows “licked it like mad” and their coughs disappeared.
Barrie looked further into soil health. He knew about worms, but no-one told him that soils depend on microscopic bacteria that can be killed by fertiliser. He stopped using urea 14 years ago. He says this improved conception rates, and he now gets most of his herd in calf on time.
Barrie also works hard to keep his somatic cell counts low. He minimises use of antibiotics, and tries many other ways to improve hygiene.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Barrie and Tanya agree about the poison of get-big-or-get-out logic. Barrie draws a parallel with wider trends. “Quality has dropped with every big business that’s running today,” he says. “It’s happening right across the board – even the clothes we buy, the rubber wear in the shed – it’s a throw-away society.”
He says big factories just want big farms, and don’t give enough recognition to milk quality.
He’s not surprised dairying struggles to attract younger people when milk returns don’t meet the investment needed to run a farm. He’s seen many farms fail after a father retired and his children couldn’t make it a workable investment.
He says Inverlair would not survive if he sold it: “You couldn’t survive off it and pay for it – the overhead for what you make is just far too great.”
Tanya and Col Privitera pictured on their wedding day with Tanya’s favourite show cow, Inverlair Heights Remake Fern
Balingen Park Jerseys“Little Cows - Big Attitude”!
Kieron & Melissa Eddy685 Hooper Road, Tatura, 3616
Ph: 0427 061 [email protected]
BROADLIN JERSEYSLynton and Lisa, Toni, Gavin and Cassie Broad
388 Johnson Road, LOCKINGTON 356303 5486 2624 - 0427 862 624 [email protected]
Jimann JerseysTrevor & Julie Campbell
286 Lowe Rd Rochester 3561PH: (03) 5484 1624 [email protected]
EURARIE JERSEYSCharles & Carolyn Smith
80 Rathbone Road, St Germains 3620Ph: 03 5826 0325
Brookbora JerseysRobert and Sandra Bacon
Tennyson Vic 357203 5488 2323 - 0429 333 119
Bercar Jersey StudBernie and Carol McManus
252 Bamawm Rd Bamawm. 3561Ph: 03 5483 2245
e-mail [email protected]
SUNSHINE FARM JERSEYSN R & J M McDonald
715 Andrews Rd Kyabram 3620Ph: 03 5855 2516 - 0428 992 450
LincoLndeLL JerseysRon and Val Read & Family
167 Panoo RoadLockington 3563
Utopia JerseysJared & Courtney Ireland
53 Hewlett Lane, Lockington.Ph: 03 5486 2694
Silhouette JerseysRichard & Ann Worboys
Echuca Mitiamo Rd • KottaPh: 03 5483 7500
Sybilgrove & SummerSpirit Jerseys
Collins Family202 McColl Road, Ballendella 3561
Ph/Fax: 03 5486 5393
NortherN District Jersey BreeDers cluB
Presdient: Bill Cochrane 03 5486 5474 Secretary: Lisa Broad 03 5486 2624
Benlock Jersey Stud
Bryan & Lee Rushton79 Brooks Rd Rochester 3861
Ph: 03 5484 [email protected]
WINDY WAYS JERSEYS
Frank Walsh41 A Finlay Road, Tongala VIC 3621
Ph: 03 5859 0532 Mobile: 0418 576 856
Email: [email protected]
Dalbora GeneticsRobert & Sandra Bacon
Daryl & Maria Collins
Tennyson Vic 35720427 882 227 - 0429 333 [email protected]
JUGIONG JERSEYSNicholson Family
Curr Rd Girgarre 3624Ph/fax 03 5854 6393
Pat 03 5854 [email protected]
Rockleigh ParkJerseys
Stewart Mancer2/1 Moama Court, Moama
Ph: 0429 882 [email protected]
SHENSTONEJERSEY STUDGordon & Lyn Emmett12 Curr Road, Stanhope
Ph: 03 5857 [email protected]
.....breeding since 1930
Gailee JerseysNorm & Dawn Stone
489 Hill Rd StanhopePh: 03 5857 2399
Craigielea Jerseys Bill, Kaye and Andrew Cochrane836 Hansen Rd, Bamawm, 3561
Ph: 03 5486 [email protected]
BRALOCK Brad & Jessica GavenlockMobile: 0437 299 205 Email: [email protected]
artwork: Hayley menzies - pHotos: ross easterBrook, imp merle - CyBil FisHer, VeroniCa & morganartwork: Hayley menzies - pHotos: ross easterBrook, imp merle - CyBil FisHer, VeroniCa & morganartwork: Hayley menzies - pHotos: ross easterBrook, imp merle - CyBil FisHer, VeroniCa & morganartwork: Hayley menzies - partwork: Hayley menzies - partwork: Hayley menzies - partwork: Hayley menzies - partwork: Hayley menzies - partwork: Hayley menzies - p
Gold Label Daydream Ex-92** action & tequila daughters sell **
Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal 2009Supreme Dairy Cow Sydney Royal 2010
Blacky Rose of Briarcliff Ex-96** tBone grand daughter sells **
Grand Champion WDE 2002Reserve Grand Champion 2001
Huronia Centurion Veronica 20J Ex-97Grand Champion WDE 2004, 2005 & 2006
** Premier grandson sells ** Dam: Arethusa Action Volume VG-88 2-yr
One of 17 EX & 8 VG daughters by 9 sires to date!
Bralock Governor Merle ** she sells ** 1st Adelaide Royal & HM Junior Champion 2013
1st & Res Champion All Breeds Youth Show 2nd Melbourne Royal Open Show 2013
Dam: Whistler Merle VG-87 / Bomber Merle EX-92 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92
Bralock Mexicano Merle ** she sells **
Reserve Junior Champion Sydney Royal 2013
Dam: Nadine Merle VG-87 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92
Bralock Connection Merle VG-88 Max ** she sells **
Reserve Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal 20122nd Sr 2yr-old IDW 2012
Dam: Flowerpower Merle VG-87 / Firstprize Merle EX-92 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92
Ratliff Remake Morgan Ex-90** tequila daughter sells ** Backed by 11 Generations Ex Dams
Res Intermediate Champion Wisconsin Spring Show 201310th Sr-3yr-old World Dairy Expo 2013
7th Sr 2-yr-old, All American Jersey Show 20125th Dam: plEASAnt nOOk J IMp MARtHA EX-94 7E
Huronia Centurion Veronica 20J Ex-97Bralock Imperial Merle Ex-91** she sells, Plus daughters sell **
2nd 6yr in milk Sydney Royal Show 20134th IDW 5yr in milk 2013
Res Int Champion & Jnr Best Udder nSW State Show 2010Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal Show 2010
This year produced 9,033L with 410kg fat
Dam: Edi Merle 137 Ex 92
Gold Label Tequila Dream** she sells **
1st Adelaide Royal Show & Junior Champion1st Melbourne Royal & Res Junior Champion
SHE SELLS
SHE SELLS
SHE SELLSSHE SELLS
BRALOCK & CHERRYLOCK COInvitational SaleBRALOCK & CHERRYLOCK COBRALOCK & CHERRYLOCK CO
~ SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW 2014 ~
12 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
The Akers farm, Loxleigh Jerseys, has about 400ha in two parcels of land about ten minutes north of Shepparton in Northern Victoria. They irrigate 200ha and run 650 cows including 450 stud Jerseys.
Like all farmers, the Akers always have plenty of tasks that require immediate attention. But Natalie says that all farmers have still got to be able to think about five- to ten-year projections, and where they want to be in 2020.
Geoff, the deputy chair of Dairy Australia, says he and Natalie don’t discuss the details of their work on their different boards.
But he guesses that they both look at the same medium-term time frames.
“You go to your board meeting with a good feeling of what fellow farmers think about particular issues,” Natalie says. “But applying that to big decisions that M-G has is different again.”
Geoff says he is “challenged by a different group of people” at Dairy Australia. “You sit on boards with a lot of people that have a extensive business experience, and some of them are not from the dairy industry,” he says. “That certainly helps raise issues and ideas that we need to have in front of us at Dairy Australia at a strategic level – what are the issues that we need to invest in for the future of the Australian dairy industry.”
And Geoff says this way of thinking does come back to their farm. “We have got to be making decisions to make sure the business is going to be profitable, whatever the circumstances are going to be,” he says. “One thing that we do know is that it’s going to be a volatile industry in the medium to long term. That’s a reflection of the fact that we are now operating in a world environment.”
Natalie says there are elements that are outside farmers’ control: “We can’t control the Australian dollar, and we can’t control whether it rains or not.
“You’ve got to make your businesses flexible enough to manage your way through all of that.”
Geoff says dairy farmers around the world are now getting a very strong price signal to increase production. “We’ve got to understand the market in China, and the projected growth in population,” he says. “We’ve got more people moving into the middle class in what have been third-world countries, and they are going to look for dairy. Prices will go up and down due to the fact that there are so many more players in that export market now.”
He says the United States has now overtaken Australia’s dairy exports, and US farming systems allow it to quickly change its production.
“They’ve also got a few subsidies over there,” he says. “If they start playing in our markets, it is challenging for us.”
‘I married my chairman’Natalie grew up riding horses on a
beef farm an hour north of Melbourne. Eight years ago, she was the water policy adviser at the Victorian Farmers Federation when Geoff was the chairman
“The challenge on every dairy farm is to get out of the ‘today’,” Geoff says in an interview he and Natalie recorded with Australian Jersey
Journal in spring this year, when their herd was producing 12 new calves every 24 hours.
Farmer directors see 2020 perspectiveTallygaroopna Jersey breeders Geoff and Natalie Akers say their work on the boards of Dairy Australia and the Murray Goulburn co-op helps them think about farming in five-to-ten year time scales.
Lloyd, Natalie and Geoff Akers at an ADIC breakfast this year.
words: Michael Porteus
13Jersey Journal – November/December 2013
of the Victorian Farmers Federation Water Council. “I ended up marrying my chairman!” she says. They wed in January 2007.
She then became the chief executive officer of Murray Dairy, a regional development program covering northern Victoria and southern NSW. “I’ve always enjoyed working with farmers and advocating farmer’s positions,” she says.
When she started her new life on a dairy farm, she also had to become familiar with the ducks and chooks that Geoff (like many Jersey farmers) also breeds. “It was all good,” Natalie says.
The Akers now have a three-year-old son Lloyd, and they are expecting their second child in November.
The Akers supply their milk to Murray Goulburn Cooperative, and Natalie was approached to nominate for the board in 2011.
She became the first woman and youngest-ever M-G director in November that year.
“The M-G board role is very interesting,” she says. “We are making a number of positive changes, and hopefully farmers are seeing the rewards with a higher milk price.
“The co-operative model is important – it’s all about returning as much as you can to the farmer.”
Geoff grew up on a dairy farm near Shepparton. He worked as a Victorian government dairy extension and research officer for six years from 1989.
He says he now breeds cows to milk, and to last. “If they turn out stylish enough to show, well that’s all a bonus,” he says.
The Akers farm grows mostly rye grass and clover annuals and perennials. Geoff says conditions were tough during the drought, but are now looking much better with good rain and water allocations.
He says Jerseys are “a different animal to manage” compared to Holsteins. “Jersey’s walk faster than black and whites and don’t tend to suffer the same hoof troubles”. He also says Jerseys have much higher conception rates.
He likes to milk Jerseys for their longevity. “It’s always nice to have a few cows around that are ten years old or so, that aren’t causing you any trouble. When you are milking a lot of cows, you are not looking for problem cows. So if they are still around at that age, they are generally a pretty problem-free sort of a cow.
“I think there has been a massive improvement in the Jersey breed over the years. But now I think we have got to look at their longevity. Perhaps we have lost a
little bit of quality out of our udders, and fertility has dropped also.
“It’s something we need to be aware of, because if you can’t get cows in calf, it’s placing pressure on a whole lot of other farm things. If you have got to cull cows because they are empty, you are less likely to cull for mastitis, sore feet and all those sort of things. That’s a really important factor as far as running a trouble-free herd.”
Benefits of on-farm challengesThe Akers calve in the autumn and
the spring. They say their favourite cow families are probably Iris and Designer, with which they’ve had their most success at shows. Delian, a bull they’ve bred in the Designer family, is now rated in Australia’s top ten. Geoff also mentions families like Marie, which have been in the herd for 50 years and still breed high-producing big cows.
“We are always looking for opportunities that are going to help the business grow,” Geoff says. “We are at about capacity with the two dairies we’ve got, so over the next few years a decision will have to be made about how we are going to milk the next couple of hundred cows I guess.
“We’ve been in a consolidation phase since we bought the second dairy farm six months before the financial crisis in 2008. We came out the other side of that, and we are looking for the next opportunity now.”
The Akers have had a string of successes since 2000 in the Goulburn Murray Jersey Breeders Club on-farm challenge.
“We won the Great Southern Challenge in 2000 with Loxleigh Blain Lily 2 and again in 2006 with Loxleigh Astound Iris 4. She was also the runner up in 2004.”
Geoff says showing can be expensive. The big advantage of the on-farm challenge is that the cows don’t have to leave the farm to give their breeders an indication of what they are really like, and how their herd is trending.
The on farm challenges are also great social events. Natalie says the Jersey community is a great bunch of people where everyone is passionate about their cows and the direction they are trying to take their farms.
She says Jersey breeders may be more easy going than people who show horses, where the competition can be more about how much money is spent on saddles and bridles, rather than the quality of the animals.
Natalie says meeting Jersey breeders gives her “an ear to the ground” about what fellow farmers are thinking.
The Akers think that breeders have also got to think about five- to ten-year projections.
“As dairy farmers, we need to sit up and look at what we think that medium-term future and outlook is, and have an understanding as to how our individual businesses fit into that,” Geoff says.
“You have got to understand the industry you are in and what drives it.
“No matter what colour cow you are milking, you have got to have a good understanding as to what’s driving returns.”
Lloyd Akers plays in the pastures at Loxleigh Jerseys.
Mark & Philippa Flemming & sons, Newell Hwy, TOCUMWAL…on the Murray03 58 833133 [email protected] Mark 0419 320777 Philippa 0400 833133 Mitchell 0437 833288
Thank you… to our great team of aisle partners; Brookboora, Elmar, Homelands and Tandara, for sharing the workload and
providing company and support. Special thanks to Daniel Bacon, Julia Paulger and Kayla Bradley for massive efforts. Congratulations girls for leading our Champions, and “well done” to Kayla, Marty and Brady on their
showmanship victories. Finally, we really appreciate all of the favourable comments and
congratulations we received for having a successful show; and well done to all other exhibitors.
60 Years of Miami Jerseys
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