A Reflection on Change

In the days leading up to Christmas an American friend forwarded a very neat and old booklet to us. The booklet was published by the then American Jersey Cattle Club. Back in the day, the AJCC was head-quartered in New York City. When this booklet was published the AJCC offices were on West 23rd street in Manhattan.
The booklet represented a celebration of the Excellent Jersey cow. In fonts in heavy use in the era the proclamation on the cover read: " A Jersey "Excellent" is the Living Model of the Cow Beautiful."
The subtitle for the booklet was: Jerseys on Parade.

All photos in the booklet carried the stamp of famed cattle photographers Strohmeyer and Carpenter.

The booklet was created over half a century ago. Included in the contents are photos of 50 Excellent cows and four Excellent proven sires. Production credits are listed for each cow.

And what stands out in the booklet when viewed with 2010 eyes?
The following:

-The cows have proportionately more fore udder and less rear udder than today's Jersey.

-In fact, there is a lot less "bloom", fullness and capacity to the rear udders of most of the cows.

-The trait rear teats too far back we sometimes see today is not at all obvious.

-The animals carry considerably more body condition than today's cow.

-Being able to discern the rib cage is rare.

-Necks are generally shorter and thicker than today.

-All cows are horned.

-If one flips through the booklet and looks at photos first then the cows that take your eye because of a longer, leaner neck, some angulation and visibility of ribs, fuller rear udder than average-more of the "today's cow" look are often the heaviest producers.

-Most every cow tests over 5.0% by a good margin and some over 6.0% but with less yield than we're used to in this era.

-Two cows I think most would appreciate today are Bindle Sleeping Souvenir who made over 850 pounds of fat at six years of age (305 day or 365 days??) or over 380 kgs of fat and Zenia's Sparkling Ivy who offered up 16,627 lbs milk, 916 pounds of fat at 5.5% fat.

One of the important parts of going forward is knowing where we've come from and if possible why.

We've come a long way...what is the right way ahead? Cows as sharp as we have today, fuller rear udders? Great questions!

What is an Excellent today? What will an Excellent be in 2015? 2025?



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Re-writing the Jersey history books!

As the Christmas season reaches it full height we can add even more reasons for celebrating in the realms of Jerseydom!
Recent number-crunching has revealed two great presents to close off 2010!

By Tuesday this week-that would be December 21-registrations had roared past the 1985 total and plunked us at the highest total since 1969! Subsequent processing has upped the total and we are now close to leap-frogging over the 1969 total! Whether or not we make the next hurdle is largely immaterial! 2010 has been a great year anyway! This year now closing has offered up more proof that the Jersey breed in Canada is on the move upward in a most powerful way!

Additionally some digging through annual meeting reports from decades gone by indicates that our 2010 total for classifications will be the highest ever in breed history in Canada! Classification of Jerseys in Canada started exactly seven decades before the year now waiting to be born! Yes, in 1941! And in all those 70 years there has never been a year like 2010 for classification activity!

Positive momentum is encouraging! Great accomplishments build a foundation of exceptional potential for the future! Feel the excitement and grab hold of it!

Thanks, thanks, thanks to all who have made this possible!

New date and location for the Ontario Spring Show 2011

We have just received word from the organizing committee of some revised information regarding the 2011 Ontario Spring Show. For the first time this long-standing annual event will be held at the new fairgrounds in Ancaster, Ontario near Hamilton. Dates of Wednesday, March 30th (just prior to the Jersey Canada Annual Meeting at Alliston) for the Jersey Show and Youth Showmanship Classes and Thursday, March 31st for the associated Holstein show have been established.

Rexlea Jerseys hosts international visitors

 

International visitors from Thailand and Indonesia visited Rexlea Jerseys in Schomberg, Ontario recently to learn about dairy farming in Canada, as well as about the Jersey breed in particular.  Rexlea Jerseys currently maintains a herd average of close to 9600 kgs of milk in 305 days while having superior conformation animals as well.  Thanks to the Sheardowns for showcasing Canadian Jerseys!

2010 a great year for registry activity!

Just a few notes after reviewing registry statistics up to December 1st....

• We are about 7% ahead of 2009 on registrations!  It looks likely that we will have our best registrations totals since 1969!
  
• We need 562 registrations to reach our goal...so be sure to send in your registrations before the end of the year!
  
• We are now receiving about 60% of registrations electronically!  Let's keep pushing this higher!
  
• We are on track to have a similar number of members as 2009, the highest year since 1967!
  
• We have had five consecutive years with over 130 new herd prefixes registered!  Lots of new Jersey breeders across the country!

Nominees sought for Jersey Canada Awards!

NOW is the time for you or your local, provincial or regional Jersey association to make nominations for the major Jersey Canada awards that will be presented during the annual meeting.

Here's a listing of awards for which nominations are due by January 1, 2011.
 

• National Young Jersey Achievers
  
• Honorary Life Membership
  
• Ralph J. Barichello Memorial Award
  
• Distinguished Service Award
  
• Certificate of Appreciation

A brief description of each award can be found in the Awards and Results section on the Jersey Canada website.  In addition a historical list of previous recipients of each award can be found in the same section.  All nominations must be accompanied by a resume of the relevant accomplishments of the nominee.

Nominations for the Barichello award for an outstanding contribution to agriculture in Canada are received from provincial and regional Jersey associations. In all other cases, one can self-nominate, an individual can nominate someone else, or Jersey asosciations at the local, provincial or regional level can submit nominations.

For the first time, recipients of both the Master Breeder and Constructive Breeder awards will be selected automatically from within the Jersey Canada database based on a points system. Therefore no nominations are needed for these awards.

Nominations for the following award are due by January 31, 2011:

Youth of Distinction:  again described in the awards and results section on the Jersey Canada website. Nominations for this award are received from the provincial and regional Jersey associations.

Tim Sargent will be the new Jersey Canada director for Central Ontario

With Larry Sheardown completing his term as director for Central Ontario after the April 2010 Annual Meeting, a new director for Central Ontario was sought with nominations due earlier in the fall.  Two people were nominated:  Tim Sargent of Enniskillen Jerseys, Enniskillen, ON and Greg Mortson of Mordale Jerseys, Oro-Medonte, ON.

Following an election held by secret ballot and finalized in late November, we are able to announce that Tim Sargent will be the new director for Central Ontario, starting in April 2011. 

Jennifer Vander Meulen wins 2011 Jersey Educational Travel Award

The President and Council of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Jersey Educational Travel Award (JETA) which sponsors five young farmers to attend the 19th International Conference of the WJCB in New Zealand in 2011.

Outstanding applications were received from each of the five regions of the Bureau: Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.  James Godfrey, Secretary of the WJCB said 'The selection committee were posed with a very difficult decision selecting these five worthy winners from what was an exceptional list of applicants'.  The winners are:

Jenny Evans, from Mozambique, in the African region.  Jenny took her first AI course when she was only twelve years old and is responsible for providing the first fresh milk, processed dairy products and cheese Gouda Gold direct to the public.  Jenny and her husband Brendon own a farm in Mozambique with a herd of over 400 Jerseys and Holsteins from which they process nearly 2000 litres which is then processed into cheese, milk and yogurts.

Benoit Guioullier, from France in the European region.  Beniot is very much involved in promoting the Jersey breed in France.  He is the President of the ‘Jersey Breeders Syndicate of Western France’, participates in various working groups.  Benoit is currently on the family run farm when their herd of Jerseys of 130 milking cows are producing over 700,000 litres a year.

Mariano Storani, from Argentina in the Latin American region.  Mariano is currently studying veterinary medicine.  Mariano’s family has been in the industry for 35 years, his grandfather introduced Jerseys to their herd 23 years ago.

Jennifer Vander Meulen, from Canada in the North American region.  Jennifer is a co-owner and co-operator of Avonlea Genetics Limited.  Marketing the Jersey breed has become a passion for Jennifer and her husband Andrew.  Jennifer has now sold embryos to 26 different countries and actively volunteers for various committees and fundraising for the Jersey breed.

Troy Mauger, from Australia in the Oceania region.  Troy is currently a member of the board for Jersey Australia Committee with special responsibility for promoting the breed.  Troy milks 340 cows in partnership with his parents in New South Wales and also breeds and raises bull calves for the dairy with his wife Meagan.

The Big Run-up

Part of the human condition is wanting to know the end of the story NOW! For instance, we'd love to know where we'll be at the end of December 2010 with regard to our animal registration total for this year! We'd like to know how far above 130 we'll be for new herd names registered during the year! We'd also like to know what percentage of our registrations will be submitted electronically this year!

When you're in a people and animal growth phase as the Jersey breed is in Canada (and indeed around the globe!) this kind of information feeds your enthusiasm and energy banks! You're also inspired to strategize about how more growth will happen!

For now we know that "maybe" we'll see the highest registrations since 1969, forty one years ago! "Looks like" we'll be nicely over 130 new herd names registered this year! That will mark the fifth consecutive year over 130! "Appears" that we'll set a new record for electronic registration submissions! Our information gathering leads us to believe that the number of young sires coming on stream this year will at least match the record total of 2009!

You may think that these possibilities are good and nice but may question why they are cause for any excitement! We fully understand. Statistics by themselves can be cold and static and boring creatures. As so often it is " the story behind the story" that is revelatory and most important!

When-note when not if-we reach these totals we'll have further confirmation that the Jersey breed is on a powerful and sustained upward march in the Canadian dairy industry! Yes, we have the stories and stats of past years. We are constantly reminded to avoid "resting on the laurels" of yesterday. Fresh news and accomplishments provide "the wind beneath our wings"!

It has been said that "the best way to predict the future is to create it'. Therefore we invite all Jersey owners in Canada to join in the push to catapult our 2010 registration total over the 1985 total! That's the one that stands between us and 1969's total! Let's add in a new record total for electronic registration submissions.

Are you excited to be involved with a part of the agricultural industry that is enjoying a consistent, sustained growth phase? Are you ready for even greater happenings in 2011 and beyond? Do you have a vision of an even larger role for the Jersey breed in Canada's dairy industry? Are you ready to exceed the accomplishments of yesterday and soar much higher?

We have a rich heritage of success but have even more enticing prospects in the present. When one starts to dream about where we could be in the future we really come alive!

Join the Jersey parade!!

Jersey on, Jersey South Africa!

Seems like the Jersey breed is catching on, going places and kickin' up dust, making it happen and rockin' on all over the globe! Just after the first of November we received some highly motivating news from our good friends at Jersey South Africa! During the first ten months of 2010 their team of classifiers and appraisers scored a record number of cattle for any year in history! And.....there were still two full months to go at that point! In recent years registered Jersey numbers in this astounding country have climbed to be the highest of any breed!

One of the most important things in life is to celebrate and rejoice in the success of others! And we are surely celebrating and rejoicing along with the leadership of Jersey South Africa! This is both a monumental accomplishment and a harbinger of great things to come!

Bravo, Jersey South Africa! More of the same please!

Furthermore......

In our most recent post we commented on the significant increase in numbers of Jersey cows involved in milk recording programs in Canada over the latest nine years. We also trumpeted the fact that the number of milk-recorded herds that contain Jerseys had jumped by 96% over the same time period!!

As with so much in life there is "a story behind the story". A couple of regions of the country really experienced super-significant growth during those nine years.

Western Canada is really interesting in that the number of herds containing Jerseys more than doubled from 2001 to 2010-up 106% from 62 such herds up to 128 as of September 2010! The number of Jerseys on milk recording also outstripped the fine national increase of 19.6% by landing at 34.5%!

In The East the province of Quebec has been at the center of a very positive Jersey explosion! The number of herds containing Jerseys in this province has grown from 140 in late 2001 to 622 as of September 30, 2010!! That is an increase of....wait for it..........344%!!! 2010 marks the first year that the number of herds containing Jerseys has been over 600!

No surprise that there has been an increase of 186% in the number of Jersey cows on milk recording in Quebec as well!
The province just to the west of Quebec, Ontario has certainly fueled demand for Jersey cows in Quebec with loads and loads of cattle!

The story simply gets better and better each year and we are motivated and inspired by this growth and also very thankful!

News SO Worth Sharing!!

One of the annual reports that is available within the Canadian dairy industry speaks to the number of herds and cows covered by DHI/milk recording services across the land. For some reason or other these reports cover the period from October 1 to September 30.

The latest version of this report was created by Canadian Dairy Network early this month and covered the period up to September 30, 2010.  What a bread-basket full of great news this report supplies for those of us involved with the Jersey breed in Canada!

Overall the number of Canadian milk-recorded dairy herds that contain Jerseys has grown from 607 in late 2001 to an impressive 1188 in late 2010!  That is an increase of...wait for it......96%!!!!!!!

To put these numbers in even clearer perspective the 607 herds in 2001 would have equated to between 5 and 6% of all milk recorded herds in Canada. In 2010 there were 9535 individual milk-recorded herds in Canada. Therefore a much larger 12.5% of herds would have contained Jerseys in late 2010!!!!

We fully appreciate the fact that the number of Jerseys in many of these herds may be small-less than 5. However; those herds did not contain any Jersey presence in late 2001!!!  Now that spells potential! We find that the success rate for those investing in Jerseys is very high. Your association is doing everything in its power to ensure that the success rate remains high!

The great news continues at cow-side! The number of Jerseys involved in milk recording in Canada has grown by 19.6% since September 2001! This kind of growth is every bit as important as the amazing migration of Jerseys into barns where other breeds are milked over the last nine years!

The number of herds where Jerseys are present has grown every single year since 2001 and the number of Jerseys in milk recorded herds has grown every year for the most recent five years!  Jersey's growth based on these two measures can only be described as beyond robust and shines among breeds!

The target for tomorrow and the tomorrows after that remains keeping these numbers on an upswing!

Go Jersey breed, GROW!!

Declutterization

In the spring of 2010 Jersey Canada staff initiated a process that has proven to be extremely valuable and reaped huge rewards. What we did was take part in a truly major version of what is commonly known as "spring house-cleaning".

Major discoveries were made as part of this process. One prominent discovery was that we were keeping/storing many items that we had no use for and thus there was not one valid reason to be keeping those items.
After all if the item is at least ten years old and you haven't used it in at least eight or nine years do you really need to keep it? Really?
We also discovered that there are not that many items that justify their existence on the basis of "sentimental value". When the "pitching" process starts a ruthless approach is decidedly the best one.

Think about some really impressive places, rooms, houses, barns that you have visited. Are they often cluttered? Are they often overflowing with items? The ones I recall most clearly are not stark and essentially empty but are well-organized, living up to the maxim: " There is a place for everything and everything in its place", and radiating a sense of order and peace.
When you declutter and organize those items that remain are either tucked away out of sight or easy to see because they do not compete with unnecessary items.

As part of the process we learned another maxim from a very wise lady who knows the subject of cleaning and organizing inside out. Her words were: "If something remains in your work-space or barn or home you have made an decision that it can stay there-even if you never use it, you simply walk by it and in essence no longer even notice that it is present. You are still making a decision about it every day, if if you don't realize you are!" Now, I grant you that at first that seems far from profound. I do, however, invite you to apply that kind of thinking to the area where you live and move and have your being. A massive percentage of that which surrounds us is there because we have made the decision that it can stay around us! What we have to ask ourselves is: Do we need each physical item to stay around us?? Really and truly? Sometimes the answer will be yes and sometimes no. "When the answer is no, the item should go"! Just creating a one-line poem!

We'll be honest that the declutterization process made a demand on us that we make a ton or two of decisions and that we had to work to do the pitching. BUT.....was this process ever worth it, was it ever laden with value!!!
After a big chunk of two separate days we had the lion's share of what we needed to do done! The results were very close to having a brand new work area!
One extra benefit of the work was that there was a palpable sense of peace in the office once the process was completed. Things "felt organized".

We've also learned that good habits can be maintained. Once you have things cleaned up you really notice piles accumulating. You "nip the rebirth of clutter in the bud so to speak"! You also find that time spent searching for items or information that you truly do need is radically reduced. Without making too much of an issue of it you are partially "taking back your life" when you declutter!

Having enjoyed the immense benefits of the process at work I applied it at home and was amazed by the transformation there! That which was once cluttered is now wide open and those remaining items are so easily visible and accessible.

As another step in the process I "went after" an overflowing e-mail in box and deleted or filed in folders, let's just say " a lot" of e-mails, and made notes on a surprisingly small number that required action.

Ultimately it is a matter of focus and being able to focus on the right tasks and projects. Once decluttering has taken place you can access what you need, when you need it with relative ease.

We've noticed that once you've gone through the process and then followed up by keeping things in order and pitching the non-useful on a regular basis you notice circumstances that could use a serious decluttering. As much as possible should be decluttered so that we can think effectively and save time and spend more of our precious hours reaching goals!

Yes, I'm a convert and a reformed believer and fan of the idea! I know some will argue that there daily agendas are too full, every day, to be able to take part in the "time-consuming" process of clutter-busting. I would argue that you are not consuming time but rather investing it wisely when you declutter! Time and effort spent sorting and letting go of "stuff" can be some of the best time and effort that you'll ever expend. Getting back to the basics of what you need can and does prove to be golden!

Then you have time and desire to sort out the clutter that lives in some minds!

Congratulations to those who have never had to deal with clutter or who have been free from it for years! It is one of life's great delights to "join the club" of those who have wrestled clutter to the ground and vanquished it and want that state to be maintained!

Couldn't recommend the process of declutterization and all the benefits that flow from it more highly! Great stuff it is to release stuff from your life!

The Art of The Possible.....

One of the great joys for those involved with Jersey Canada has been the steady growth in both the people and the animal sides of our business that we've seen over the latest decade! This current decade has commenced with another year that looks like the trend is going to continue and amplify!

Allow us to provide a sampler of stimulating news on Jersey advancement in Canada in 2010:

-One of the most important aspects of a company's business life is the ability to keep growing as evidenced by new people making investments in the breed. Our success in this area has been nothing short of astounding in recent years! Many people are buying their first Jerseys now. A goodly percentage of these new buyers are settling in to owning Jerseys. They express their longer-term commitment by registering a herd prefix. This act signifies that they plan to register Jersey cattle.

As of the latter part of September we had registered 108 new herd prefixes since January 1, 2010.
This accomplishment marks the fifth consecutive year that Jersey Canada has registered more than 100 new herd prefixes in a year! Results from the last quarter of the year are still to be tallied. It does appear that by January 1, 2011 we'll be enjoying and celebrating our fifth consecutive year with over 130 new herd prefixes registered!

Add to this good news the fact that since January 2004 we have registered well over 930 new herd prefixes and you can see that a significant growth trend is well under way!

Continuing on the people side it is encouraging to see that our 2010 membership total is slightly ahead of our 2009 year-to-date total! 2009 was our best year for memberships since 1967, over four decades earlier! We'll see where we land but for now things look promising!

With regard to animal-related activity it is neat to be able to report that we are ahead of our 2009 registration total. The 2009 year end registration stat was the highest since 1985, 24 years earlier and the second best annual finish since 1969. If all continues as it is now we'll be at our highest level since 1969 this year!

Transfers of animals are slightly behind the 2009 total.

And how are those registrations arriving at Jersey Canada? More and more arrive as an electronic file!
This year we are running at 57.6% of registration applications submitted electronically after nine months. Last year we set an all time record of 57.2% electronic. We are convinced that we'll see the first year in history over 60% this year!

To think that many of our measures of activity are the best they've been in over 40 decades in a radically changing industry is both exciting and motivating! And then when one dreams about how much more we'll grow during this new decade the motivation factor expands!

It is understandable that questions arise after a period of sustained and steady growth. Will this continue? Will things get even better? Is that possible?
For now the answer appears to be that the upward trajectory of the last five to ten years is being well-maintained! Now that's exciting and inspires us to dream of even more growth! Go Jersey!

Site update: Jersey West

The Jersey West website has been updated this morning will some of the latest news from Jersey breeders and programs in Western Canada.  Included are links to pedigrees on Jersey consignments to the Red Deer Westerner Dairy Showcase Sale on October 29th.

Another 9/11 remembered

Two years to the day after that fateful September morn in 2001 I and a small contingent of other Canadian Jersey people were in an unusual spot. After a very long overnight flight across continents we were shuttling between New York City's major airports LaGuardia and JFK. We had spent the first ten days of September 2001 in the fascinating, captivating, scenic and Jersey- rich country of South Africa. Our mission had been all about attending the annual council meetings and associated tours of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. Now, jet-lagged and overflowing with precious and happy memories we were most of the way home to our final air destination of Toronto, Ontario.

Just as on that sunny, bright Tuesday morning in 2001 New York was bathed in sunlight and hope for a new day or activity and productivity. Some things are simply too ironic. Sometime after 8:30 a.m. we were making our way through another security check. Just as we got close I was standing right beside a security agent. I was so close that I could hear him say softly, with definite solemnity and a tinge of sadness in his voice into a microphone on his shoulder: "8:46 a.m.". And then, I instantly recalled. That was the moment that that the first hi-jacked plane hit the first tower at the World Trade Center. And you could almost "hear silence descend" over the bustling terminal. For a moment frozen in time we were cast into a sea of deep reflection on lives lost in an instant, hopes dashed, families torn asunder, hatreds unravelling but bravery and heroism and leadership coming to the fore too, fear rising, and so many questions asked some never to be answered.

Then on we went, somehow secure in the knowledge that our plane would wing its way across New York State, over Lake Ontario and safely on to Toronto.

This tiny instant provided yet another door of insight into a landmark and horrid moment in the history of the world, North America in particular but as it turns out the whole world. Seven, and nine, years later it is good that we recall both moments and the day that heroism and bravery took their rightful place and said no to terrorism and yes to life after our lives had taken a body blow of gigantic proportions!

Yes, we remember, so clearly.

Here a Jersey, there a Jersey, everywhere...

And I would guess the best way to begin is.......a Jersey, Jersey....as a tip of the hat to the legendary Old MacDonald who had a farm!
Late this past week Adrian Haeni, First Veep of Jersey Canada and a team leader at Lone Pine Jerseys
in Alberta told us a brief but interesting story.
He had trucked four of the family's mature cows to a Holstein Judging school farther north in Alberta. The Moreys of Unique Valleystream Genetics had done the same deed with four of their older cows and Markus Hehli had sent his best mature Jersey on a trip with the same destination.
This marked the first time that Jerseys had been part of this event. We're sure they were an impressive group who represented the breed well and also provided a good challenge to place!
We were reminded that Kristie Rivington of Jersey Ontario had told us that of nine classes placed at the Ontario 4-H inter-county judging competition three consisted of Jerseys!

Yes, the breed is certainly making rapid advances in profile and we "heart" that!

There are a few million other examples of where Jersey people have stepped up and made their cows available for examination by the dairy public further enhancing the breed's image and visibility!

All together now for a rousing rendition of: "Everywhere a Jersey, Jersey"!!!

I can't stop thinking big

In 2011 a new album will be released by the iconic Canadian rock band Rush. One of the songs on this forth-coming album has already been released. It is called Caravan. The lyrics are unusual and fresh. The central theme and main line of the song seems to be the refrain " I can't stop thinking big". Like any good refrain it is repeated a number of times amidst the guitar riffs and other musical goings on!

What a great short sentence! Think about it: I can't stop thinking big! What an excellent predicament! Sometimes we let life restrict us to small thinking and living below our God-given potential
On the other hand when we let our imaginations run free and our hopes soar and feel our pulses quicken we can see into the future with brilliant positivity!

We had such an experience recently when a number of Jersey breed leaders from across Canada sat down in an wonderful church in Belleville, Ontario called Maranatha Church. The goal of the conclave was to work up a draft base for a brand new strategic plan for Jersey Canada to cover 2011 to 2013.

Thankfully our team of about a dozen, led by facilitator Jo Anne Henderson, were, to a person, people who "can't stop thinking BIG"!!!

Long before the draft has been vetted and doctored and then approved it has already impacted and revised our thinking.

Why settle for small paltry dreams? Why not the best? Why not having the best days for Jersey Canada and its members still ahead of us? Why not dreaming about touching the sky and then propelling upward into the absolute stratosphere?

Why not think big, talk big and then act big and work and make it happen?

Apply this kind of approach to your entire life and see what transpires!??

The world needs more big thinkers who will then step up and speak out and actualize their big thinking!

We've found time and time again that when you set great goals and are definite and clear about them
something fine and indeed awesome happens. Either you're drawn to achieving the goals or the achievement of them comes closer to you and you start to see miracles happen!

Try it!

Thank you Rush for a renewed stimulus to become fixed on thinking big!

The Breeder is now online!

Since the August - September 2010 issue of the Breeder was made available on the website for free on Tuesday, August 10th, over 180 people have read the magazine!  In just two days!  

You can find the Breeder online here and can be viewed in a flip book format or can be downloaded as a PDF.

Jersey cheese featured in the Globe and Mail

La Belle de Jersey, a cheese produced by Les Bergeries du Fjord in the Lac St-Jean region of Quebec, has been featured in the Globe and Mail, one of Canada's national newspapers.

Globe and Mail - Belle de Jersey

This cheese is made from the milk provided by the Jersey du Fjord herd from Laterriere, Quebec.  The "Belle de Jersey" name comes from the fact that a certain percentage of the herd is descended from the great Duncan Belle!

Jersey Cheese-fit for World Leaders!

As many will be only too well aware the G20 global leaders and their massive and seemingly endless entourages descended upon southern Ontario for a few hectic ( did someone just say chaotic?) days in late June. Could this be an opportunity for solid Jersey promotion? It could and it was! Thankfully world leaders being ultimately mere mortals like the rest of us have to take on nourishment, simply put, eat, every now and then. At a very special banquet for the G20 leaders Canadian products were featured. We have to hope this was the case throughout their stay. However, we know for sure that Canuck foodstuffs were the products of choice at "the big banquet"!

And lo and behold four fine Canadian cheeses were an important part of the menu.
Even better one of the cheeses, Belle de Jersey, is made from 100% Jersey milk! And, a second cheese on the menu is created at a Quebec plant that does make a highly regarded a Jersey cheese.
Belle de Jersey is produced by Les Bergeries du Fjord in the Lac St. Jean region of Quebec. This cheese was a Silver Medal winner at the First North American Jersey Cheese Awards held in Syracuse, New York in July 2009. And yes, the name relates to the family surrounding the internationally renowned Jersey cow Duncan Belle!

One of the other cheeses was from Laiterie Charlevoix from the Charlevoix region of Quebec. This plant has a beyond amazing dairy museum and is the source of L'Hercule de Charlevoix, a Jersey milk-only cheese that also won silver at the 2009 NA Jersey Cheese Awards.

It is so great to think that Jersey cheese would be so high profile! We heard this great news via Cheeselover.ca and then Kathy Guidi of Artisan Cheese Marketing informed us that the cheeses had been mentioned in a full page article describing the meal in The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper.

This is only the beginning of great news for top quality Canadian Jersey cheeses and the cheese-makers who lovingly create them!

Youth Program Deadlines

Calling all Jersey youth and young adults!  Deadlines are set for applications for three youth programs:

Jersey Canada Youth Scholarship

Jersey Canada is pleased to offer a scholarship of $750.  The scholarship will recognize outstanding interest, knowledge and achievement in the Jersey Breed, as well as agriculture in general.  The scholarship is available to all young Canadian Jersey enthusiasts, enrolled in at least the second year of study at any post-secondary College or University and who have not previously been awarded the Jersey Canada Youth Scholarship.  Deadline for applications is September 1st, 2010.  Application forms available from the Jersey Canada office or apply online at:  www.jerseycanada.com/assoc/scholarship_form.php

Royal Jersey Ambassador

Each year, one Jersey Canada youth is selected to be the Royal Jersey Ambassador.  Duties include working at the Jersey Canada booth at the RAWF and awarding prizes and ribbons in the RAWF classes. Applications are due by September 1st, 2010.  Applications forms are available from the office or apply online at:  www.jerseycanada.com/about/ambassador_form.php

Nola Brown Continuous Achievement Award

The award will be presented yearly at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair to one qualifying individual. The recipient must be connected to the Jersey business or keenly interested and involved with the Jersey cow.  The recipient will also be a student entering or continuing college or university. The post secondary program applied to does not have to be agriculture related.

The successful candidate must demonstrate participation in activities in their home communities, display qualities of leadership, ambition and initiative, and have a strong independent work ethic.  The individual should clearly demonstrate the ability to work with others in a cooperative and productive manner, have the potential to become a leader in society and display a keen interest and aptitude in some aspect of agri-business.  The individual should have a love of animals and the agricultural community, contribute significantly to their schools and communities through volunteer work and participate in extracurricular activities.  The applicant should also be committed to personal and physical development, have a sense of their personal capabilities and demonstrate efforts to continually improve.

Applications must be received by Jersey Canada by 4:30 pm on September 15, 2010.  Resumes may include academic awards,  community or school volunteer work and employment background in order to support their application.  Only applications from Canadian citizens will be considered, thank you.  Please submit documents to Jersey Canada or email resumes to nolabrownaward@gmail.com.  The applications will be forwarded to an independent selection committee for review.

Site Update: Jersey Atlantic

Jersey Atlantic has updated their website with a new listing of their membership.  Check it out at www.jerseycanada.com/jerseyatlantic!  And if you are looking for Jersey cattle in the Atlantic provinces, please feel free to contact these Jersey breeders!

Inclusion in this membership directory is one of the benefits of being a member of Jersey Atlantic!

Exciting news from the Vente Fondation in Quebec

This year's edition of the Vente Fondation (Foundation Sale) managed by Jersey Quebec was held at the Salon International Laitier (International Dairy Showcase) on Thursday, April 15th.

41 head sold to buyers from Quebec, Ontario and Brazil.  The sale averaged $3111 across all lots, with a high seller of $9500 for Rapid Bay Maya Reagan Glitch, consigned by Rapid Bay Jerseys and purchased by RJ Farms of Corbyville, Ontario.

The big news?  20 out of the 41 lots were purchased by Quebec producers new to the Jersey breed within the last three years or making their first Jersey purchases!  WOW!!  Just an example of how the Jersey breed continues to accelerate forward in Quebec!

New Website: RJ Farms

Be sure to check out the new website for RJ Farms at www.jerseycanada.com/rjf.  Bob and April Jarrell and Family now have a comprehensive web presence featuring many of their top cow families, as well as a page dedicated to their Red Carpet Spectacular Sale on July 10th at the farm in Corbyville.  Check it out!

Picture-perfect picture, picture-perfect timing!

Right after the winter Olympics concluded we received a message from the super-keen John Brand of JNJ Jerseys near Clinton, Ontario. The morning after the great games wound up he received his Feb/Mar 2010 Jersey Breeder. Hm...great photo of a Jersey cow and the Canadian flag. Fairly appropriate, he thought. Then he noted that Melissa Bowers of Ferme Lencrest near Coaticook, Quebec had taken the photo. The photo was a great winner of the Jersey Canada/Unique Stock Photo contest for 2009. Hm...John looked at the tag in the cow's ear. Hm....2642 management number. Sounded familiar. And....the cow is one John and his family bred at JNJ and sold to Lencrest! Hm....87% at 2-2, easily good enough to be at The Royal in 2009, by a neat young sire and making a nice 2-0 record...hm......and her most fitting name is......JNJ Tyler OLYMPIA!

Does it get any better or more fitting than that!???!

When all the pieces fit together.....

Seemed like an innocuous enough kind of call....from the ever-enthusiastic and energetic Dean Cole in "Mosquito-Bite" in Halifax County, NS. Arriving on one December day in the year of Our Lord 2009. Dean is sire of Sandy Cole. In the deep, dark days of December Sandy was deep into preparations for his Semex/Holstein Canada three month junket to the wilds and wonders of Aussie, Ozi, or, if you must, Australia! One of Sandy's roles at the Cole's family's Eloc ( Cole, Eloc, you got it, eh?) is Lord High Chamberlain of Stall Card Preparation. On my latest foray into Eloc land on August 1, again in the year of Our Lord, 2009, we had been reviewing the cows prior to evening milking. Yours truly was caught up short by a card above a rather-young looking Holstein that read "Springbank Snow Countess". Hm.....seemed to me that the legendary black and white Snow Countess had been born at least 100 years prior to 2009! I was informed by Dean that I had just witnessed his son's puckish sense of humour in operation.

Anywho, back to December 2009. Dean wanted to know about "that cow from Tattrie's up in Brule on the North Shore of NS" (and there is no shore like the North Shore, that's for sure!) that had a big splash at the RAWF in the 1950s. Because of all my "life experience" I knew Dean was referring to the iconic (well iconic in some limited circles!) Patsy Of Windblown. This fine cow born in 1950 had been the $3800 high seller in the 1955 Sale of Stars at the Royal. Doug Tattrie and his brother Angus and wife Anne and their family were relatively new Jersey breeders at the time. The buyers from a little piece away in Truro, NS were the Norrie family of Fundy Jersey Farm. Now at this juncture I must note that the Tattrie farm at Brule is on "the doorstep to heaven" as it is in the very most eastward part of (north) Colchester County right up against Pictou County. Dean wondered if we could pull together a few pieces of information on Patsy. Sandy would then exercise his card-creation mastery for one of the fine Jerseys at Eloc before taking wing for the trek to Aussie. At this point I am compelled to ask if you are highly impressed by the extra-important tasks that Jersey Canada staff are asked to complete on a daily basis? Just nod and say: Yes, Suitably impressed!
I'll also add that the Eloc is a true United Nations herd with Holsteins, Jerseys, Swiss and Milking Shorthorns gracing the barns and pastures.

So, we set out to get the job done and started on a trail that had so many bunny trails one could hardly believe it!

Patsy of Windblown was an Excellent daughter of Popeye's Standard Dreamer. Dreamer was bred by J. Arthur Malcolm a very nearby neighbour of the Tattrie family. Mr. Malcolm is to date the only Nova Scotian ever to serve as President of Jersey Canada-a role he filled in 1955-56. This gent was also brother of Jennie Malcolm MacInnis. Mrs. MacInnins (wife of Logan M) was part of the MacInnis family of Scotch Hill farm about a mile from where yours truly grew up in Lyon's Brook in Pictou County. I recall slugging bales on that farm in my early teen years and attending 4-H meetings there when a few Jerseys were still part of the herd. Standard Dreamer was a son of Flora's Faye a member of a famous cow family bred by Edison Mutch of River North Jerseys on nearby PEI. And Edison Mutch was maternal grandsire of who? Wayne Boswell, 2004 President of Jersey Canada and only PEI resident to date to be President of Jersey Canada.
The dam of Patsy of Windblown was Brownie's Anne 02Z, born in 1945 and bred by one Amos C. Tattrie of River John. And where is River John? East of Brule on the western edge of heaven on earth-i.e. Pictou County. Anne was a rather intensely line-bred daughter and maternal grand-daughter of a bull named Norway Prince Charlie. Hm...Norway.....I wonder? So, checking on Prince Charlie's roots I discovered that he was indeed bred at the Maritime Oddfellows Home Farm on the west edge of the marine town of Pictou-about three miles from where I was raised. Norway refers to Norway House the large house that had served as main building on the retirement home on the farm.
If you track back on Anne's maternal line you'll going back almost a century in the Amos Tattrie herd.
Then you'll find genetics from herds near Amherst still on the North Shore and near the border with New Brunswick.
So? Well at Christmas time my Dad, the feisty Jack(son) Gammon was visiting some neighbours named MacConnell and brokered the loan of an amazing scrapbook the family had kept on their Stony Acre Jersey herd. The MacConnells had farmed at Meadowville, a great farming community between Lyon's Brook and River John and Brule. Rollie MacConnell has been a family friend for decades. The scrapbook told a compelling story about Rollie's grandparents Sigbert Mac Connell and Mrs. M and his parents the late Rae and Helen MacConnell and their family. The MacConnell kids had been part of the Pictou County 4-H program at the same time as the Gammon brood.
Helen MacConnell was an especially energetic and keen Jersey person. She was for a time the dynamic Secretary of the provincial Jersey association. As was the case at the time the local newspapers carried lots of stories on the exploits of the Mac Connells and their top Jersey herd. From a herd of 35 to 40 head and maybe 25 to 18 milking cows the family won numerous show championships and even produced a couple of Canadian All Time Class Leaders for Production in the late 1950s and 1960s. One of their cows even broke a 30 year old Canadian production record set by a cow in BC on the west coast! Sometime ago I wrote that they had hosted a Provincial Jersey Field Day in the summer of 1959 that attracted well over 250 guests!
And where was Helen MacConnell born and raised? As daughter of the aforementioned Amos Tattrie of River John she was raised by the sea on her Dad's farm. Later in life Helen took to expressing herself through painting. On my desk at home in Fergus sits one of my most prized possessions a small original painting of a lovely horned Jersey cow in pasture by the sea. I have to believe Helen was painting a Jersey cow at her home sea-side farm.
Many of the foundation cattle at Stony Acre farm were from the Tattire herd. Their champion producers were by a bull named Dalcraig Royal Dick, a bull who was bred by the Master Breeder Adamson family at Heathbell which is between Lyon's Brook and Meadowville.
Hm..are you tracking with me?
One day over Christmas I was doing my much-needed walk on a trail close to home and just west of Pictou. Hm....part of the trail was "off limits" due to construction but I could see tracks in the snow that told me "everyone else was walking on the trail anyway". In addition the off limits section would on a seaside portion of the trail right in front of Norway House and the former Oddfellows Farm where Norway Prince Charlie had been born in 1939, 70 years earlier. Seemed like a no-brainer that I had to do that walk. As I did so I there was, as Canadian singer Jann Arden would say: "A massive explosion of thoughts in my head" as I reflected on the Tattries and Mac Connells and other Jersey families on the North Shore not far from home.
On the afternoon of Sunday, December 27th my Dad and I headed west along the North Shore for our annual Christmas visit with the Thompson and Johnston families at Pine Haven Farm at Oxford another almost-North Shore towns. Over Christmas I had browsed an amazing book about the communities of Seafoam and Toney River on the North Shore, in Pictou County east of River John. As we drove through these villages I thought of learning that there had been Jersey 4-H calf clubs there in the 1940s. West of River John Dad pointed out the former Amos Tattire farm. Then we passed Amet Farm formerly owned by the Jersey-loving Langille brothers, over the county line into Colchester and past the two barns where Doug and Anne Tattrie and Harold and Kathy Tattire had milked Jerseys at Windblown, the Semple farm, home of some very famous Jerseys once upon a time; Arthur Malcom's former farm, then quickly by farms where families with names like Reid, Gunn, Ross, Schaad, MacLanders and Cock had milked cows. At the Cock's Norwall farm a cow named Norwall Castor's Anda had been bred. She spawned a bevy of great cows at Pine Haven. One branch of the Anda family had yielded the Miss Pixie line at Norval Acres in Quebec. As we drove to Oxford we were not aware that, on that afternoon, Don McCaig of Norval Acres was leaving this earthly life.
At Tatamagouche, just a few miles west of Brule and that cluster of former Jersey farms, we passed the Balmoral Inn-scene of many NS Jersey meetings and then the former Weatherby Jersey farm.

In life it is always important to be active today and to plan for and be expectant about the future. Then again, it is always helpful to be reminded of your past and where you came from back in the mists of time.

Thanks to Dean Cole for starting this walk down memory lane!

In praise of and celebrating "Comeback Kids"

Recently the Eastern Ontario publication " Farmers Forum" published an article with the title "Comeback Kid". The article was about Rob and Jody Beggs and family of North Gower in the Ottawa Valley and their decision to re-enter the ranks of milk producers! It has been a few years since the Beggs family have milked Jerseys with the well-known Cranbrook prefix. Now, they are back at it with a young family and great enthusiasm!
We recall a time just over 18 years ago when a then very young Rob was showing a really nice cow named Cranbrook Ray's Lee, Ex in the big leagues at the National Jersey Show at the RAWF. And not just showing her but doing really well in the fast company of veteran showmen!

All industries need renewal! The Beggs family are not the only young people who have returned to milking cows-and indeed Jerseys, in this region within the last six months!
We have been encouraged by the number of new entrants and re-entrants to the dairy industry who have chosen to milk herds of all or a large percent Jersey! The trend seems to be growing!

May all these folks find ways and means of drawing a good living from the industry and making a positive contribution by producing a valuable, high quality product!

Jerseys are unquestionably the "comeback kids" of the global dairy industry and it is great to see keen and able young people like Rob and Jody decide to work with our growing breed!

Pure Inspiration!!!

What wings of joy we were carried upon when we learned of the Gold Medal victory of Alexandre Bilodeau at the Olympics on Sunday! What a true success story for this 22 year old wunderkind!
Perhaps most touching is the joy this victory brought to Frederic, 28 year old brother of the Gold Medalist-the first ever for Canada on home soil as host of the games after three go rounds over almost 34 years!!! Frederic has cerebral palsy and is more than a hero to his younger bro!

I sometimes feel waves of moderate despair wash over me when I read the reactions of fellow Canadians to moments of pure mountain-top delight like this! In the comments sections of CBC and CTV news websites there are those who blow off this spectacular victory with carping about it being a judged rather than timed sport. There are those who wanted to post-mortem and nit-pick the stunning opening ceremonies to pieces. Perhaps I should stop reading these comments! Everyone is entitled to their own take on things and their own opinions. I do feel sorry for some of these folks who carp and make put-downs at times like these. How dark and negative and lonely and long their days must be!
I shall pitch my tent with those who think bigger and brighter and know how to celebrate a glorious moment without dissecting it to bits!

This is a great moment for a young man, his brother and other family members and friends, coaches and fans! Tis a great moment for an entire country too! My response is to cheer: Bravo, Alexandre!

Love that sign at Gencor.....

And the roadside sign in fornt of the Semex partner unit north of Guelph, Ontario on Highway 6 simply reads:

GO CANADA, EH!

We fully concur!!!!

Oh Canada! Go, Canada, GO!!!!!

"The Olympic flame kissed the dark Vancouver sky..." So begins a CBC news report on the spectacular opening of the 20-10 Winter Games on our west coast on Friday evening!

What a moment! What a moment to be Canadian in our "true north, (so) strong and free!

From time to time it is good to be reminded of who you are, where you come from and how much potential that gives your life today, and in the future!

Even before the moment when the snowboarder whipped down a run, vaulted through the Olympic rings and offered a welcome to game, wonder was at work!

In a short video clip prior to the actual ceremony we were reminded that we live in the land "Where anything is possible...because we live in the greatest country on earth!!"

Nationalistic pride and patriotism aside this was a message we all need to hear more than once!

The video clip also reminded us that "We are more than gracious hosts....we are a nation of leaders, heroes and champions!" Too true!

At this point even before things really got heated up I was already thinking that I was turning to mush. The line about Canada being the land where anything is possible resonated with me so deeply. I'll tell you why in a later blog as it relates to my "maternal grand sire" Harry A. Barnard, the orphan boy form England who came to Canada with his brother Frank and ended up owning a farm and raising a fine family. Tears flowed as I thought about my Poppa B and his great life in his adopted land. But for now.....

That electric moment when BC folks rockers Nellie Furtado and Bryan Adams took to the stage and belted out : Bang Your Drum.....the lyrics which include " Bang your drum a little louder so the whole world can hear" fitting in with the drumming and joyful gyrations of the dance that the first Nations reps had been doing all around the stage! Then those important lyrics.... "Dream Big!!! Aim High!!"
How inspirational.
I thought about how these words apply to all of us in Jersey Canada and involved with our growing breed around the world.

And there was so much more...meaningful to me because of my love for the Island nation of Haiti was having our Haitian-born Governor General officiate at the games. Another person adopting Canada as home like my Poppa and soaring!!!!

The Great One Gretzky lighting the flame, assisted by greats Nancy Greene Raine; Catriona Le May Doan; The Man In Motion Rick Hansen and super-talented Steve Nash! WOW!

k.d. lang singing Cohen's Hallelujah! Canuck titans like Barbara Ann Scott; Anne Murray (you knew she was born in Northern Nova Scotia, eh?); Romeo Dallaire; and Terry fox's Mom Betty ushering in the Olympic flame! Have mercy!

And in the midst of it all that moment when Clara Hughes with the widest smile possible had the distinct honour of leading the rock solid, amazing, glory-bound Canadian team in the ring-magic!

This morning I have listened to that awesome West Coast girl Nellie Furtado sing that powerful song of her making, FORCA!

A fitting send-off to Team Canada as they get ready to do what forca means...kick some you know what!

So, yes, OH Canada, GO CANADA, GO!!!!!!! God speed all competitors!!!

Thoughts for the future from John Brand

Below is an excerpt from an email received from John Brand in recent weeks, posing some interesting questions on the future of the Jersey cow in tomorrow's dairy industry....

------

Three thinks that make me think...

• We were given a small horse for my kids this year. I feed this horse very mature average hay. She is FAT now. Horse people tell me - you are feeding her WAY TOO GOOD OF HAY! No balanced ration. No grain!!. She basicly lives outside!! What is wrong with my cows? aren't they supposed to be forage digesters?? 
• I regularily change my feeding ( heaven forbid a nutritionist find out!!) to suit my quota requirements. Some cows go down in milk with less grain but there are afew who always go up!!
• I can dry off a thrifty cow and have her lose weight when on my heifer ration of staight hay. Yet I can also dry off an unthrifty cow and have her gain weight on the same hay !!

Some points that maybe give support...

• Young people (20-30's) are now rated as having equal heart health as that of seniors 
• We are seeing an increase in digestive cancers -animal product foods are seen often as the culprit.
• Canada is the largest exporter of flax in the world -which has been hit hard in recent weeks
• We are regularily told we need to use an ovsync program to get our cows pregnant.We are told that we need to feed palm kernal fat (imported from malaysian rain forest) to give our cows enough energy.
• The use of grain as biofuels means that we will need to protect our soils with better crop rotations.
• Nutrtionists tell us that the only way to meet the needs of "todays high producing cow" is to feed a ration of corn silage and straw.
• Decades old research tells us that flax fed cows have healthier and 2x larger follicles. 
• Flax fed cows have milk that is 75:25 good to bad fat.
• Palm kernal fat gives milk that is 25:75 good to bad fat
• Flax gives the cow itself a healthier blood profile and is a natural anti inflammitory for the cow as well.

What might be some of the results?

• The demand for more flax would enhance crop rotation opportunities.
• Milk from cows fed grass and pasture is more heart healthy.
• This milk also has 10x-50x more CLA (the most potent cancer fighter known) than heavily grain fed cows.
• The larger the percentage that forage makes up in the diet , the higher the CLA in the milk ( and meat !!)
• High forage fed cows can have a less acidic body enhancing conception and improving forage digestion by 10%. 
• More demand for forage from cattle farms would improve the sustainability of our soil rotations.
• Cow manure that is deposited in the field has 80 % of the nutrients returned to the soil.
• Cow manure stored in the barn and spread on the field has 80% of the nutrients lost to the environment
• Forages when seeded can last for several years.
• Corn needs to be seeded every year with fertilizer, diesel and pesticides.

The Bottom Line....

• A forage-farmer benefits and the consumer benefits
• if grain fed...the suppliers benefit

Which one do you think will be promoted to us??

We say we sell natures most perfect food...will we let our practices prove it??

Opportunities for genetic diversity, genomics and the Jersey breed??

Is this Canadian Jersey the World's First Fifteenth Generation Excellent Jersey?

We think so! We do know that at least two Holsteins in the USA were the frist fifteenth generation excellent dairy cows in the world in recent years! This cow's aunt was the world's first fourteenth generation excellent dairy cow on January 15, 2002. The cow's dam was the second fourteenth generation Excellent Jersey. Since then two more maternal sisters to this pair have been deemed Excellent! Al bred in Canada, three still here and one in the USA!
The main event happened on Thursday, January 14, 2010!
The cow was bred in Quebec but has resided in Central Alberta since mid-2005!
Any guesses?
We'll "reveal all" soonest!

EXCITING? Oh yes!

The reading of minds

Hm...sometimes you get a start when you realize that others are having thoughts very similar or identical to yours!
Let me describe the latest case of such that I've been involved in!
Early this past rapid-paced week Carol Murphy of Ontario, as avid a fan of the Jersey breed as there is contacted me and suggested that we should be "picking the fertile brains" of our Canadian Jersey elder statesmen and stateswomen. Carol's contention was that they should be asked for their advice on how the breed could be guided and also their dreams for the future of the breed. Made sense to me!

Later in the week I completed the most fun news release I have ever written about Jersey Canada doings. The release recounted our blockbuster year in 2009 and how we were geared up for the future. I e-mailed this release to James Johnston, capable herdsman at the Thompson family's Pine Haven Jerseys in Oxford, Nova Scotia and his wife Meranda. When sending it I noted that James had once told me about the ribbing he had taken in 4-H in his native province of New Brunswick for being "the kid with the Jersey calf" while everyone else had the larger black and white or red and white cattle. Hold that thought.

Today, while driving to Guelph from the Fergus highlands I was reflecting upon those who have supported and led the Jersey breed through " thick and thin" times. Because of their persistence and determination and wisdom and brilliance and belief in and love for the Jersey cow we of today's generations enjoy all the roaring Jersey excitement and soaring we live in now! My thoughts turned to legendary Jersey giant Jim F. Cavanaugh, now 92 and still in the Columbus, Ohio, USA area. Jim was Executive Secretary of US Jersey from 1956 to 1985 and quarter-backed one of the great reversals of fortune a dairy breed has ever known in world history. With a willing team of smart fellow players an ongoing glorious victory for the Jersey breed was snatched from the jaws of almost certain defeat". The breed, rather than regressing, moved ahead mightily, a forward progression still gaining speed and momentum in many lands today! So, I thought, I shall send Jim's son Paul that fun e-mail about Jersey Canada success in 2009 that I had forwarded to James and Miranda Johnston on Friday. I'll ask Mr. Cavanuagh to present Jim with the news release with our thanks for his pivotal part in the process.

Here's where it gets weird...well weirder.....as I hunted out Paul Cavanuagh's e-mail address....I heard the gentle but noticeable "ping" that told me I had mail, new e-mail.
Well, there was a message from James Johnston in Nova Scotia which read....

"The breed sure has come a long way. Back in 4-H I never would have dreamed of not just the acceptance Jerseys have acquired, but the demand! As I think of the people who gave me a hard time for showing a Jersey calf, most of them have now added Jerseys to their herds! I guess the sky is the limit-and according to the numbers in this news release the sky keeps getting higher! The die-hard Jersey breeders must be thanked. They kept on when the breed was near "outcast" status, and continued to breed the type of cow that the modern industry has now evolved into requiring. Constantly amazed, James"

To all of which we would say a loud and boisterous "Amen, Brother!" and "Preach it!"

Thus the thoughts converge and we dare to say "great minds think alike"! We should be SO thankful for the past fans and supporters and capable breeders leaders and true Champions of our breed. A paraphrase of that popular expression comes to mind: "If we can see a great future while enjoying great success today it is because we are standing on the shoulders of giants!"

Thank you giants of the Jersey breed! We soar today because of you!

Jersey Ontario AGM - Register Today!

Just a reminder that the Jersey Ontario AGM is being held January 22nd and 23rd in Woodstock and they are still accepting registrations!  If you are interested in going, please visit www.jerseyontario.ca to download your registration form or contact Jersey Ontario directly.  Schedule includes herd tours in dairy-rich Oxford County and lots of fun with old and new Jersey friends!