National Young Jersey Breeder Awards

Adam Vance

Adam Vance, Alverton, Penna., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

USJersey The Young Jersey Breeder Award is presented to individuals or couples who are at least 28 years old and under the age of 40 on January 1 of the year nominated, who merit recognition for their expertise in dairy farming, breeding Jersey cattle, participation in programs of the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc., and leadership in Jersey and other dairy and agriculture organizations.

Since 1982, the Vance Family has milked Registered Jerseys™. Working with his parents on the home farm helped Adam realize he wanted to do something in the dairy industry. After graduating with a degree in dairy science from Delaware Valley College, Adam returned to work with his father. In 2007, they were able to purchase a neighboring farm providing 180 additional acres of cropland and facilities for dry cows, calves, and heifers. Adam now has complete responsibility at Cotton Spring Farm, from cropping to management and breeding of the 100-cow herd.

“When Adam performs his sire selections, he has a knack for accentuating the positive in a cow while still selecting carefully to improve each cow family generation after generation,” noted Dr. Laurie Joseph, the farm’s veterinarian. “His cows remain true to the breed and are the epitome of what all young breeders should strive for.” Adam currently breeds nearly 50% of the herd to young sires.

Adam and his wife Kelly have have three children, Austin, Lane, and Brooke, and hope they will grow up to share the same love of Jerseys that Adam demonstrates.

Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbachers

Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbacher, Argos, Ind., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Dairying and breeding Jerseys has been a part of Max’s family for over 100 years, beginning with his great-grandfather, Brayton Pyle. When Max graduated from high school, he began milking 25 Jerseys of his own, as well as 15 others belonging to fellow Indiana Jersey breeders. Max married Carrie Jo in 1997 and moved his Jerseys into Carrie’s family’s herd of 150 Holsteins not long after. Max became herd manager; the number of Jerseys has since grown to 125 and the Holstein herd now numbers 600 head.

The Jerseys are kept in a separate barn and fed their own ration. They include 50 Excellent homebred cows with an average score on 117 cows of 86%. In December the rolling herd average was 17, 813 lbs. milk with 5.4% fat and 4.0% protein tests. Max and Carrie Jo have received three Hall of Fame certificates, one of which was earned by Sambos Lady Luck of Bolle-Acres, Excellent-92%. She was also an Indiana state leader for several years with more than 190,000 lbs. milk lifetime.

Max and Carrie Jo both share a love for the show ring. Max has exhibited Jerseys at the Indiana State Fair for 30 consecutive years. Four of the past six years the family has won Premier Breeder honors. The family’s success extends to The All American Jersey Show in Louisville, Ky., where their oldest son, Drew, exhibited the Junior All American Summer Yearling this past fall. Back in 1998, Max and Carrie Jo exhibited Bolle-Acres MJ Willie May, who was crowned National Grand Champion as a junior three-year old and came back the following year to capture the title again.

Ryan and Jennifer Clark

Ryan and Jennifer Clark, Tyrone, Penna., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Jessica Peters, Pennsylvania Jersey Cattle Association secretary, calls Ryan and Jennifer “an inspiration to other young dairy producers looking to start out in this business.” Each discovered a love of Jerseys as teenagers showing at county and state levels. While Jennifer came from a dairy farm, Ryan did not, but worked on neighboring farms through high school and college. Ryan’s purchase of 20 Jerseys started the Windy Lane herd, which has since grown to over 200 head since he began to focus on dairying full time in 2009.

Despite establishing their farm fairly recently, the couple has bred high production animals with great success. The Windy Lane herd had a 2013 lactation average of 22,049 lbs. milk, 1,069 lbs. fat, and 851 lbs. protein on 120 lactations, which ranked seventh in the nation for protein among all herds. Among similar-size herds of 80-149 lactations, they ranked second for protein production, sixth for milk, and seventh for fat.

In 2013, Ryan received the Graduate Production Award from the National Dairy Shrine. This award is given to two- or four-year agricultural graduates to pursue careers in commercial dairying and to gain ownership of dairy cattle with the intent of growing the size of their dairy herd. Ryan and Jennifer currently rent facilities for their Windy Lane herd, but identify the next phase of their business plan as buying a farm and increasing their milking herd to 400 head.

James Herron

James Herron, Salem, Ohio, will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

James returned to Welcome View Farm to work alongside his father, David, in 2006 after graduating from the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (OSU-ATI). Since joining the operation, now named Cold Run Jerseys, James has improved production and type, while expanding the herd. From 85 cows when he started, the 220-cow herd now features 37 Excellent and 195 Very Good animals, with an average appraisal score of 84.9%.

The Cold Run herd ranked among the top 10 in the nation for production among similar-size herds in each of the past four years. With a 2013 lactation average of 21,455 lbs. milk, 1,142 lbs. fat, and 781 lbs. protein on 198 lactations, it currently ranks second for fat and third for milk and protein among herds with 150 to 299 cows. A total of 25 Cold Run cowss produced 305-day records in excess of 25,000 lbs. milk, the highlight being Cold Run Action Rhea, Excellent-90%. Her production record of 33,360 lbs. milk was the seventh high 305-day milk record in the nation.

Shannon Mason

Shannon Mason, Jefferson, N.Y., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Shannon is the sixth generation to operate Danforth Jersey Farm, which was established by her great-great-great grandparents, Nahum and Esther Danforth, in 1817. With her grandfather’s passing in 2004, most of the cows were sold, but Shannon held on to the young stock and a handful of deep-pedigreed cows. Two years later she began milking the 20-cow herd after working with her uncle, Russell, to learn about dairy herd management. Shannon now does milkings and barn chores daily and a majority of the haying during the summer.

Today the herd consists of 48 milking cows with a 2013 lactation average of 20,321 lbs. milk, 924 lbs. fat, and 734 lbs. protein. Danforth Jersey Farm ranks among the top 25% of REAP herds in the nation for average Jersey Performance Index™. The herd has an average appraisal score of 85.3% with 11 Excellent and 26 Very Good cows. Five of the Excellent cows were bred by Shannon, while the others were bred by her uncles, Alan and Russell, using the farm’s prefix.

In addition to overseeing the operation of the dairy herd, Shannon is also in charge of design, marketing, sales, communication, and promotion for Cowbella Creamery. The creamery, established in 2010, was inspired by Shannon’s great-great grandmother who made award-winning butter during the late 1800s. The Queen of Quality® producer makes butter and yogurt that is sold in 32 locations and used in half a dozen restaurants. Shannon plans to begin bottling skim and whole milk next year.

Davis Peeler

Davis Peeler, Starr, S.C., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Davis returned to Milky Way Farm in 2003 as a third-generation Registered Jersey™ breeder. That same year, he was the winner of the AJCA’s National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest, capping his extensive involvement with AJCA youth programs. Since transitioning from a full-time employee to a business partner, Davis’ attention now centers on cow and calf care and reproduction programs. His breeding philosophy focuses on developing an efficient cow that can produce profitably on pasture and breed back quickly under the stresses of the southern climate.

The top two-thirds of the herd are strategically mated, utilizing both genomic young sires and progeny-proven bulls. All of the animals in the 100-cow herd are bred by A.I., about half to each sire group. Recently, Davis has begun to genomic test selected cows and heifers to increase future marketing opportunities.

When Davis returned to the farm, the Peeler family ventured into selling milk directly to the consumer in a local market for fresh milk. Although business was slow at first, it has seen enough growth in recent years to consider expanding with additional products such as butter and cheese in the future.

Veronica Steer

Veronica Steer, Cottage Grove, Tenn., will receive one of seven Young Jersey Breeder Awards given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies on June 27, 2014, during the association’s Annual Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Veronica’s work with the Jersey breed started at a young age as she would follow her father Charles around when she was little, opening gates, counting heifers, or watering calves. In 2001, Veronica was the winner of the National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. Her Jersey experiences encouraged her to pursue a degree in dairy science at Virginia Tech, from which she graduated in 2003.

Since Veronica returned to her home farm, Sunbow Jerseys, in 2005 she has taken over many of the day-to-day responsibilities and management decisions. The 2013 lactation average on the 97-cow herd was 17,783 lbs. milk, 782 lbs. fat, and 618 lbs. protein. Currently, five cows in the herd rank on the Top 1.5% traditional Jersey Performance Index™ list.

Veronica has consistently utilized young sire programs. For 2013, 85% of matings were to genomic young sires and she sold her first bull into A.I. Veronica is the current President of Dixieland Jersey Sires Inc. James Huffard, Huffard Dairy Farms, Crockett, Va., commented on Veronica’s involvement with the program: “She is one of those young Jersey minds that you definitely want on the team.”

The American Jersey Cattle Association

The American Jersey Cattle Association, organized in 1868, compiles and maintains animal identification and performance data on Jersey cattle and provides services that support genetic improvement and greater profitability through increasing the value of and demand for Registered Jersey™ cattle and genetics, and Jersey milk and milk products. For more information on the association’s complete line of services for dairy business owners, visit the website at www.USJersey.com or connect at Facebook.com/USJersey.