At the end of this year, Jersey Canada National Fieldman Jean Marc Pellerin will be retiring. Jean Marc has been in this role with Jersey Canada since 2006, and before that spent 10 years as a national classifier with the Joint Classification Board.
Jean Marc has been an invaluable part of the Jersey Canada team. Over his years with Jersey Canada, he has supported producers in growing their herds while heling many others transition to Jerseys. The incredible growth of the Jersey breed in Quebec, 39% from 2010 to 2020, is in no small part due to the hard work of Jean Marc. The passion he has for the dairy industry has been shared coast to coast, and Jersey Canada is truly appreciative of his time and many years of commitment to Jersey Canada and as a champion of the Jersey breed.
In his own words: “I have enjoyed both helping people get started with Jerseys and helping the breed move forward.”
We wish him all the best for him and his wife, daughters and four grandchildren.
Best wishes from coworkers and breeders across the country:
GM Krista Cressman: “Coming into my new position as GM at Jersey Canada, Jean Marc was a great resource for me. His willingness to share his perspective was so helpful. He was a great tour guide when I visited Quebec and I think thanks to Jean Marc and his love for the province, I too fell in love with ‘la belle province’!”
Phyllis Harrington, Jersey Canada: “Jean Marc enjoyed seeing people succeed. He took pride in helping them do well and in his relationship with them. People trusted his advice and trusted their relationship with him and the Jersey breed.”
Former Jersey Canada GM Kathryn Roxburgh: “Jean Marc’s enthusiasm for the Jersey breed made him an excellent ambassador of Jersey Canada. He took great care in ensuring that anyone new to the breed had all the tools and advice necessary to get off on the right foot. Or at least, learned a new joke for the day.”
Former Jersey Canada GM Russell Gammon: “Jean Marc has been an absolute game changer for the Jersey Breed. He contacted hundreds of potential Jersey owners and has brought in hundreds of registrations, transfers and memberships to Jersey Canada during his long service with the association. He’s been largely responsible for the great growth in the last 10-15 years of the breed. He’s a gem!”
Guillaume Lemieux, Ferme Guimo: “Like a 97-point multi-star matriarch, the time for retirement has now sounded after 16 years of sound advice. It is always difficult to part with someone who has had a lot of impact on the development of our breeding. Know that what you have allowed us to establish as a breeding philosophy that is anchored in our herd. You have fuelled our passion for jersey breeding brilliantly. We are happy that you can now take time for yourself and your family. On the other hand, if you decide to occupy your free time by putting a blog online to tell your jokes, it is probable that we will be your first subscribers. We hope to be able to have another drink with you soon, but in the meantime, thank you for everything.”
Patrick MacDougall, Ferme Reyla.: “The seemingly effortless ability of Jean-Marc to transmit his knowledge and love of the Jersey cow cannot be discounted as to its impact on the growth of the Jersey breed in Canada. I would like to wish JMP a happy retirement and many “jokes de mononcle” to come.”
Adrian Haeni, Lone Pine Jerseys: “I was always impressed with Jean Marc’s passion for his work and his professional attitude towards it. Jean Marc had such a natural way in how he was able to communicate with people, and I think his great sense of Humor often helped him to ‘break the ice’ in his job. I was always looking forward to his Extension Work Reports at the Jersey Canada Annual Meeting, as they were always refreshing, short and still packed with humour. One thing Jean Marc did not like were low production bulls that he felt hurt the Jersey breed, and he had no problem letting you know what he thought about them. A few times when he found out that I used some of those bulls in our herd, he just gave me a look that I should have known better.
Because of Jean Marc I also gained a bigger appreciation for the job a Classifier does. He told me once that unfortunately people most times remember a classifier because of the one cow he did wrong, and probably not for the hundreds that he did right.
Jean Marc was good for the Jersey Breed in Canada, and he is a big reason why the Jersey Breed is gaining and moving forward. He will be missed!”
Doug Robinson, Payneside Farms Inc.: “Jean Marc did a great job with new Jersey breeders and was very good at helping with transfers and registrations. As both a fieldman and a classifier he really respected the Jersey breed.”
Source: Jersey Canada
