2022 JERSEY CANADA AGM / 2022 AGA JERSEY CANADA MARCH 31ST TO APRIL 2ND SAW MORE THAN 80 JERSEY PRODUCERS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY descend on the ‘Dead Sea of Canada’ – Manitou Beach, Sakatchewan, for the 2022 Jersey Canada AGM. For many, this was the first meeting in person since the 2019 Jersey Canada AGM in Westlock, Alberta. Considering Jersey Canada registration activity in 2021, Saskatchewan was the perfect place to host our 2022 AGM. Saskatchewan saw a 62% total increase in Jersey registrations in 2021, the highest in the country. And in fact, the four Western provinces combined saw a 17% increase in registrations over 2020. With this in mind, attendees were eager to explore the Heartland Province. Herd tours on the Friday stopped first at a different type of herd, Purshega’s Bison farm near the town of Guernsey, where Laura Purshega and family raise around 200 bison for meat. In 2018, the Purshega’s made the switch to bison from elk after Chronic Wasting Disease decimated elk populations in their area, their own included. Laura explains “We already had the elk fence up so (bison) made sense. They eat snow in winter, so don’t have that water requirement, plus they are easy calvers and something a little different for us.”
The second stop on the tour was Kenbert acres in nearby Drake. The Friesen family milk 209 cows, mostly Holsteins and a small number of Jerseys, on 4 robots. Visitors had no trouble finding the Jerseys in the herd, who pushed their way through the sand-flushed free stall to the headlocks. Three weeks after our visit, Kenbert took 6 animals to the 2022 Canadian National Convention Holstein & Jersey shows in Saskatoon, including what would be this year’s Grand Champion Jersey, Bramville Joel Lil, bred by Bramville Jerseys in Nokomis, SK. Jersey Canada’s own president for 2021-22, Joanne Edwards, hosted the final stop on the tour. Bramville Jerseys is operated by Joanne and her partner Stephen Dufault. Originally a grain farm, the Edwards Family Farm, Joanne’s mother Fran started milking cows in 1970. Joanne and Stephen now milk 55 Jerseys in a two-year-old pack barn, with grandmother Fran supervising and daughter Maddie herding cats. The Bramville prefix can be found in many barns in the province and across the country, producing cows that can milk and show also. Joanne and Stephen themselves brought 11 animals to the Saskatoon show, back in the ring after a three-year hiatus, and walked
Bramville Jerseys
away with the Premier Exhibitor banner. Back at the hotel, Jersey West streamed closing bids for their ‘Best of the West’ sale live on the big screen. The online auction featured an impressive selection of Western animals and genetics. The top seller was 3 IVF F. Joel x Sunny Hill Notepad Armadillo, fetching $3,000, and the sale average on 14 live lots was $2,071. On Saturday, attendees gathered first to hear the Next Generation Speaker series presenters; Lesley Kelly, Victor Guevara and Sean Gorrill. Immediately after, the Annual Meeting took place, addressing the year’s business efficiently. No resolutions were presented and all motions were passed. What the business meeting lacked in fanfare, the awards banquet that evening more than made up for. Hosted at nearby historic Danceland, Jersey Canada award winners were feted, and many offered moving speeches in their acceptance. Throughout, a common theme appeared; the warmth found in the Canadian Jersey community. For a country so vast in geography, it was remarked again and again how welcoming Jersey breeders are, and how supportive this small (but growing) group of diverse, hard-working dairy men and women are
Canadian Jersey Breeder / Eleveur de Jersey Canadien JUNE / JUIN 2022 15
