2024 Jersey Australia Annual Report

Notice of Meeting

Dear Members

It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Board of Jersey Australia, to invite you to the 2024 Jersey Australia Annual General Meeting to be held on Friday May 31st 2024 at Moama on the Murray.

We are excited this year to be hosted by the Northern Districts Jersey Breeders Club and we look forward to seeing you all at “Moama on the Murray” 69 Dungala Way Moama NSW 2731 for the Annual General Meeting.

We also recognise the value of ensuring members who cannot travel in person, can also attend so we will be streaming the AGM via video link. Members can access the meeting on zoom via the following details:

Glen Barrett Returning Officer

Glen Barrett is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Jersey Australia 2024 Annual General Meeting

Time: May 31, 2024 09:30 AM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84518161502?pwd=WXVwUUpxVFQzelIyZ2RiaWFHOU84 UT09

Meeting ID: 845 1816 1502

Passcode: 900499

Jersey Australia 2024 AGM and Conference

Host Club: Northern Districts Jersey Breeders Club

Tuesday May 28th 2024

11.00am Brookbora herd walk and Sale inspection

• 434 Tennyson Road, Tennyson

1.00pm Brookbora Invitational Sale followed by drinks and cheese.

5.15pm Bus departs Moama on the Murray for Brookbora

6.00pm Dinner @ Brookbora

10.00pm Bus departs Brookbora for Moama

Wednesday May 29th 2024

7.00am Breakfast @ Moama on the Murray

8.30am Bus departs Moama on the Murray

9.30am Herd visit @ Benlock Jerseys – Rushton Family

• 79 Brooks Road, Fairy Dell

10.45am Morning tea @ Rochester Silos

12.00pm Herd Visit @ Royal Greens Jerseys – Brown Family

• 1039 Prairie Road, Lockington

1.15pm Lunch @ Lockington Recreation Reserve. – includes Members Discussion Forum

2.30pm Herd Visit @ Craigielea Jerseys – Cochrane Family

• 836 Hansen Road, Bamawm

4.00pm Arrive back at Moama on the Murray

6.00pm Social Dinner – Moama on the Murray

Thursday May 30th 2024

7.00am Breakfast @ Moama on the Murray `

8.30am Bus departs Moama on the Murray

9.15am Herd Visit @ Windy Ways Jerseys – Walsh Family

• 41a Finlay Road, Tongala

10.30am Herd Visit @ Golden Dreams Jersey – Todd Brown

• 310 Lorenz Road, Stanhope

11.30am ACM Biodigester followed by lunch

12.30pm Tour of Girgarre Botanical Gardens

1.15pm Herd Visit @ Jugiong Jerseys – Nicholson Family

• 771 Curr Road, Girgarre

2.30pm Great Aussie Beer Shed and Museum in Echuca

• 377 Mary Ann Road, Echuca

5.45pm Bus departs for Morrisons Winery

6.30pm Dinner @ Morrisons Winery –

• 123 Merool Rd, Moama

11.00pm Bus departs Morrisons Winery for accommodation

Friday May 31st 2024

7.00am Breakfast @ Moama on the Murray

9.30am Jersey Australia Annual General Meeting

• Moama on the Murray

11.00am Morning tea

• That the following be added as Clause 11 altering all subsequent clause numbering accordingly if successful

Independent Directors

o The Board may appoint an Independent Director from time to time for a defined period up to a maximum time of the next Annual General Meeting to fill a necessary identified skills gap on the Board.

o If the Board considers the appointment of an Independent Director for an extended period beyond the next Annual General Meeting, the appointment must be put to the next Annual General Meeting for the members to vote on the appointment for a 2year period.

o The Independent director will be an additional Board director appointment over and above the 8-member appointments.

Reasoning

To ensure the Association is provided the appropriate level of good governance to provide the appropriate direction and leadership required, capacity needs to be provided into the Associations constitution to enable the appointment of a director to the Board to provide the necessary skills not achievable from the membership.

Minutes of the 2023 Annual General Meeting

Meeting Open and Welcome

Jersey Australia Inc

Minutes of Annual General Meeting

Thursday 25th May 2023

Annuka Beach Resort, Coffs Harbour NSW and on Zoom

The chair opened the meeting at 9am and welcomed members in the room and online.

Apologies

• F Winsome Anderson

• Mark Flemming

• Alan & Janine Carson

• Milton Johnston

• Ian & Joy Richards

• Margaret & John Cockerell

• Robert & Sandra Brown

• Michelle & Steve Brown

Motion

• That apology be received.

Moved: Trevor Saunders

Seconded: Andrew Younger

CARRIED

• The chair acknowledged the Life Members in attendance and asked for all those present to stand for a minute silence in respect of those members who passed away during the year.

• The chair acknowledged the attended of Jersey New Zealand President Ms Julie Pirie and partner Brian Pirie.

• Members attending online were.

o Asked to turn the video footage on to enable recording of attendance and when asking a question.

o Members were asked to use the raise hand function to indicate they wished to ask a question or place the question in the message box.

Attendees

In Person

Lisa Broad - V007719

Geoff Akers – V000102

Brian Wilson – N002203

Jane Sykes – T000757

Geoff Heazelwood – T000738 Peter Ness – S009148

Jamie Drury – N008789

Robert Anderson – V008118

John Sykes

Daryl Bryce – V0011379 Frank Walsh – V204369 - Assoc Vicki Wilson

Lyndsay & Shirley Wilson - N054319 Genetics Australia – Rob Derksen –V010073

Paul & Lynette Lenehan - V010512

Brian Leslie – V000255

Wayne Burley – N001959 Kerrie Anderson – V011527

Andrew & Natalie Marks – N002088 Con & Michelle Glennen – V006189

Trevor Saunders – V010850 Anthea Day – V007489

Ken & Marg Atkins – N003713 Phillipa Flemming – N008638

Online Attendance

Wayne Kuhne – V011238 Colin & Jenny Dowel – V000609Assoc

Reece Attenborough – V010560 Chris McKenzie – V005223

Barry Monson – V000286

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Gordon Lawson – V011409 - Assoc

Brian & Jo Dickson – V0111073

Andrew Younger – V00409

Simon & Tekoa Atkins – N008713

Lynton Broad – V011131

Dr John Quinn – N002141

Alan & Cheryl Launder – V000248

Hayley Boyd – N204811

Phil Ryan – N008739

Motion

• That the Minuets of the Annual General Meeting dated 26th of May 2022 be accepted as read.

Moved: Geoff Heazelwood

Seconded: Kerrie Anderson

CARRIED

Business Arising - Nil

Annual Reports

President Reports

• The President report was table as read.

• Ms Broad provided additional commentary to the report acknowledging.

o Members affected by significant weather events.

o Increase of membership throughout the year.

o The growing requirement of farming to maintain a social licence.

o Mr Brian Wilson on his completion of 12 years on the Board

o Members who have encouraged and fostered young members within the Association.

Motion

• That the Presidents Report be received

Moved: Lisa Broad

Seconded: Dr John Quinn

CARRIED

General Managers Report

• The General Managers report was tabled as read.

• Mr Barrett provided additional commentary to the report thanking.

o members and the Board for their ongoing support and encouragement to continue to promote and drive the Jersey Breed

o Jersey Australia staff for their efforts and contributions to the delivery of member services and events.

Motion

• That the General Managers report be received

Moved: Trevor Saunders

Seconded: Brian Dickson

CARRIED

Treasurers Report

• The treasurer’s report was table as read.

• Mr Drury provided additional commentary to the report noting.

o The unacceptable position of making a loss however it should be recognised the

▪ The cyclical nature of investment had us in a downward cycle for the complete year

▪ Cost relating to an international promotion will be offset by grant funding to be received in this coming financial year.

o Losses are difficult to overcome when the current financial levers that we have are only increasing members service fees.

o The Board through the year sought to manage risk via

▪ Reducing budgeted costs where possible

▪ Managing the investments through significant market and industry uncertainty to mitigate value loss.

o The Board is continuously seeking alternative revenue streams.

o We expect to see reduce income this coming year from exports with a declining China market.

• Members raised question relating to financials which the Chair directed all question to be withheld until the presentation of the financial statements.

Motion

• That the Treasurers Report be received.

Moved: Jamie Drury

Seconded: Paul Lenehan

CARRIED

6

Genetics Report

• The Genetics report was table as read.

• Mr Kuhne provided additional comments to the report noting.

o Strong growth in domestic and international opportunities for Australian jerseys

o Jerseys sales have been exceptionally positive.

o International opportunities such as Pakistan will be vital to driving exports.

o It was positive to see the Jersey Most Profitable Cow project being utilised internationally.

Motion

• That the Genetics Report be received

Moved: Wayne Kuhne

Seconded: Cornelius Glennen

CARRIED

Promotions Report

• The Promotions Report was tabled as read.

• Ms Sykes provided additional commentary to the report noting:

o Thanks to Beautizone club for hosting the AGM.

o Also recognised the international use of the Jersey Most Profitable and Sustainable cow Project.

o IDW was a great success.

o The reduced participation in Jersey Australia competition and invited member feedback on the value of continuing current competitions and suggestion on new ones.

Motion

• That the promotions report be received

Moved: Jane Sykes

Seconded: Wayne Burley

CARRIED

Financial Reports

• Mr Barrett presented the financial report.

o An overview of the Associations revenue and expense performance was provided.

▪ Member discussion was held on various items.

o Members noted the tables loss was unacceptable.

▪ The Board and management both noted that no loss was acceptable.

▪ Ongoing efforts to identify new or improved revenue streams is a key Board priority. These include.

• Jersey Milk Pool

• Dairy Beef

• Export market opportunities.

▪ The Board has been quite strong on the need to ensure services are delivered at cost rather be subsidised as they have been by export heifer and investments.

▪ It was noted in the last 5 years, the only profitable years was 2020/21 when COVID grants, and reduced costs had a significant financial effect on the year and 2018/19 when there was a significant tidy up of the Association accounts which included finalisation of state loans being moved from the balance sheet to the profit and loss.

o It was noted that a grant has been received to support global promotional efforts.

▪ The revenue for this grant will be received in this coming year.

• The Board made the decision to incur the costs in the year just completed with full knowledge the grant revenue to offset these costs will be in the coming year.

o Members noted concern on the investment dropping below $1,000.000.00.

▪ This was noted by the Board.

▪ Every effort is made to protect the investment.

▪ Investment is cyclical by nature in their performance, and we must accept the good years in line with the bad years. The yar just completed is a bad year in the cycle.

Motion

• That the audited financial statements for the year of March 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023, be received.

Moved: Jamie Drury

Seconded: Andrew Marks

CARRIED

7 Appointment of Auditor

Motion

• That Dillon Clyne be appointed as the Association auditor for the 2023/24 financial year.

Moved: Jamie Drury

Seconded: Dr John Quinn

CARRIED

8 Board Appointment

• The Chair invited the Returning Officer Glen Barrett to Announce the results of the Board Elections

• Mr Barrett advised the meeting.

o A call for director nomination was undertaken under the rules of the Constitution.

o At the completion of the nomination period. 3 nominations were received.

o With insufficient nominations being received to require and election, the following members were appointed to the Board for a 2-year appointment.

▪ Wayne Kuhne

▪ Jamie Drury

▪ Cornelius (Con) Glennen

• The Chair welcomed and congratulated Mr Glennen on nominating and being appointed to the Board and presented him with his Jersey Australia Board Member pin.

• The Chair acknowledged the retirement from the Board of Mr Brian Wilson and thanked him for his contribution to the Association as a Board Member.

9 Membership Fees

Motion

• That Membership Fees be increase to the following.

o Full Membership $375.00 + GST

o Family Membership - $410.00 + GST

o Associate Membership - $180.00 + GST

o Junior Membership - $80.00

Moved: Geoff Akers

Seconded: Dr John Quinn

• Mr Akers spoke to the motion.

o The increase in fees represent a CPI increase. The Board considers a CPI increase is appropriate to ensure that Jersey Australia fees and charges increase at the same rate that our expenses do.

o It is important for the Association to manage our way out of a cycle of ongoing losses and return the Association to profitability. This can only be achieved by our fees matching the cost to provide the services.

The chair put the motion and it was.

CARRIED

10. Constitutional Changes

Motion

• That Clause 7 of the Constitution be updated to remove Clause 7.C

o facsimile transmission, if the member has requested that the notice be given to them in this manner.

o

Moved: Jane sykes

Seconded: Geoff Akers

Ms Sykes spoke to the motion advising the meeting the proposed change recognised that fax machines are no longer used, and the provision was no longer required in the constitution.

The chair put the motion and it was.

CARRIED

The meeting requested and agreed that agenda items 10b, 10.c and 10.d be all considered in the one motion as they all dealt with the same matter relating to the 3 separate clauses of the constitution and the removal of facsimile as a means of transmission and the use of video for meeting attendance,

Motion

• That

o Clause 16 be updated to Notice of General Meeting to

Notice may be sent: -

• by prepaid post to the address appearing in the register of members; or

• by electronic transmission to the members email address appearing in the register of members

• posting on the Association web page or social media page

• That the following be inserted as Clause 13.2

o An Annual General Meeting may be held in person, on a video conference or by com bination of both.

▪ All person attending via video conference must always ensure the video is turned on to.

• Enable the recoding of the attendance of the member.

• Speak at any time during the meeting.

• That the following be inserted as Clause 14.3

o A Special General Meeting may be held in person, on a video conference or by com bination of both.

o All person attending via video conference must always ensure the video is turned on to.

▪ Record the attendance of the member.

▪ Speak at any time during the meeting

Moved: Geoff Akers

Seconded: Robert Anderson

CARRIED

Motion

• That the following be inserted as Clause 11 of the constitution amending all clause numbering of the followon clauses

o Specialist Directors

▪ The Board may appoint a Specialist Director from time to time for a defined period up to a maximum time of the next Annual General Meeting to fill a necessary identified skills gap on the Board.

▪ If the Board considers the appointment of a Specialist Director for an extended period beyond the next Annual General Meeting, the appointment must be put to the next Annual General Meeting for the members to vote on the appointment for a 2-year period.

▪ The specialist director will be an additional Board director appointment over and above the 8-member appointments.

▪ The Specialist Director is not required to be a member of the Association.

Moved: Jamie Drury

Seconded: Geoff Akers

Ms Broad and Mr Drury spoke to the motion.

• The Board considered it appropriate and necessary to make provision to enable the Association to appoint directors with specialised skills such as IT that was not typically available from our member directors.

• Members discussed the pros and con and of the motion.

The Chair put the motion and was lost 7 for / 15 against

Members requested the motion be reconsidered as Independent Directors and return for consideration at the next Annual General Meeting

General Business

Club / State Structures

• Members raised the state and club structures and how the structures are linked.

o Members were advised that a review through the year identified.

▪ States were either running as a club, only functioning for a purpose or were nonfunctioning.

▪ The Board took the decision to remove State Committee as affiliates of Jersey Australia as they were no longer providing a key governance purpose.

• This is in line with expectations set at the formation of Jersey Australia in 2008

▪ The Board has recognised that clubs not being directly affiliated in any way with Jersey Australia is a significant risk and concern and has set an objective to rectify this.

o It was noted that funding previously allocated to support state committees has been allocated to the Jersey Australia Community Grants Fund

o Members were reminded of the importance to ensure their respective cattle clubs are run according to their respective state consumer affairs requirements to mitigate risks of club events not being covered by JA insurance.

National Breeding Objectives

• Members raised the oncoming National Breeding Objective and what can be done to better support the Jersey breed in the National Index

o Members were advised that there was significant growing evidence identified in the Jersey Most Profitable and Sustainable cow project and presented by Prof Jennie Pryce at the recent Herd 23 conference particularly on survival that was demonstrating that different breeds have varying inputs at a trait-by-trait level and there is recognition that ABV’s will need to be tailored at a breed-bybreed consideration.

Dairy Beef

• Members raised the growing need for Dairy Beef for surplus calves.

o Members were advised that there was growing option for dairy/beef calves which include jersey/beef cross for surplus calves.

▪ Some of these programs were starting to recognise the cost to rear and providing an appropriate return for early life rearing.

o Ms Pirie advised the meeting that New Zealand regulations required for all surplus calves to have a viable purpose.

▪ This included the ability to sell calves at week old for a commercial purpose for veal / pet food.

o Members discussed the value proposition of supporting MSA testing in carcasses to provide meat quality data on jersey and jersey / beef cross.

▪ the meeting noted that there was already data available and there were programs running that will support additional data collection.

o Members raised the value proposition of a pure jersey beef market.

▪ It was noted that there was no demand for pure jersey beef and that members need to focus their breeding programs for surplus calves to suit the demand requirements expected by the meat trade.

2024 Annual Meeting and Conference

• The Chair invited members to attend the 2024 AGM and Conference to be hosted by the Northern Districts Club in Northern Victoria

Other

• The chair thanked the members of the Beautizone Jersey Breeders Club for hosting a wonderful 2023 conference.

• Mr Trevor Saunders asked for a vote of thanks to the Board and Management for their work and efforts throughout the year in leading the Association be recorded.

The Chair thanked members for their attendance, wished them safe travels home. Meeting closed at 10.30am

Board Meeting Attendance

• Mr Boyd joined the Board following the August 2023 meeting Audit and Risk Sub-Committee

• Mr Wilson left the Board after the 2023 AGM.

• Mr Akers replaced Mr Wilson on the A&R after the 2023 AGM

• Mr Kuhne was attended meetings when there was a known unavailability

Sub-Committee

• Mr Wallace joined the Genetics Committee meeting in February 2024

• Hayley Boyd stepped down form the Promotion Sub-Committee prior to a meeting being held during the year.

Wayne Kuhne

President Report Lisa Broad

Over the past year members have enjoyed a sustained period of high milk prices, favorable weather conditions, and a stable to high value for cattle in the marketplace. Whist there has been and always will be variation to these in each area of our country, things are very positive in the dairy industry at present.

Throughout the year we have seen a net increase in total members to 524 which is a very big positive sign for the Association to grow membership in a declining dairy industry. Member services have again been delivered to members in a professional and timely manner. The efforts of the dedicated and passionate team of Board members, staff, field services officer and the classification team are very much appreciated, thank you

The presentation of the inaugural Jersey Australia Master Breeder awards was held in August, a wonderful night of celebration and acknowledgment of the many years of breeding and outstanding performance by the recipients. An award that is very well respected within the industry, we encourage all members to continue to strive to achieve this.

During 2023-24 several member herds staged their final dispersal sales, all though those herds will no longer be active at Jersey Australia the sales have created many new memberships and seen cattle travel to all parts of the country. Their pedigrees, cow families and bloodlines will continue to be developed in other herds. We thank them for their contribution to the breed over an extended period and wish them well for the future.

Interest in Australian Jersey genetics continues to grow worldwide. During Jersey Australia’s recent trip to World Dairy Expo in the USA, animals by Australian sires were exhibited in the showring, high classification results were seen on daughters sired by Australian sires and a lot of farmer interest in using Australian genetics in their breeding programs.

An exciting and positive development for the association will be the introduction of a new classification system in 2024. A project the Board has been working on for several years. The new system will improve the way classification is recorded on farms by classifiers, improve collection and delivery of results to industry organizations and provide a more time efficient way of delivering results back to members. The development of the system has been supported and developed with input from classifiers, industry members and farmer members. It will take time for the system to be fully operational, during this time we ask you to please be patient and any feedback will be welcomed. The system will be introduced and explained to members during 2024.

Capturing data from member herds and building better ways to improve the way this data is used within industry is an area JA is actively involved. JA is a part of several advisory and working committees offering a breed associations perspective on this topic.

A detailed report on Jersey Australia’s achievements for the last 12 months is reported along with a KPI’s table following my report. Please take the time to read over this, the association has had some fantastic outcomes. Members are encouraged to share any thoughts or ideas they have in these reports.

Members showcasing their animals during the running of regional, southern, and northern on farm challenges was a welcome return this year, and great to see the Australian jersey cow being advertised on all media platforms for the world to appreciate. The success of these events is driven by member support, Congratulations and thank you to all members who participated in an OFC.

To my fellow board members thank you for your continued dedication, passion, and commitment to the jersey breed, often going above and beyond in their quest to preserve the jersey breed for the future. You are a pleasure to work with.

"Disciplined focus is an opportunity to increase performance."

Lisa Broad President

Australian Jerseys. Dairy's Finest Cow

Objective KPI Target

Maintain and Grow the Association relevance

• Increase membership by 15 -20% of current membership in the next 12 months.

• Ensure every member is registering every calf every year.

• We ensure every Jersey breeder regardless of their breeding objective are welcomed and supported by the Association

How do we achieve these KPI’s

• We continue to ensure there is strategic value proposition to registering cows.

• We engage a Field Officer to support growth objectives in membership and core services across the country.

What did we achieve

• JA maintained strong member numbers welcoming 35 new members for the year.

• Registered jersey with deep pedigrees showing high quality performance data in production, classification and genetic merit continue to command a substantial sale price premium over un-registered cows.

• Identified positive feedback on the global promotional works increasing global opportunities for Australian Jerseys.

Provide Strong Governance and Leadership

Financial Stability

• A strong stable Board with a key focus on strategy

• Key supportive sub-committees to provide the Board informed review, consideration and recommendations on key issues, rules, and policy.

• Reduce long term reliance on Export Heifer and Investment to maintain profitability.

• Invest in opportunities to support key projects and R&D for the Jersey Breed and the Association.

• Continuous investment in training and development of our current and future leaders

• Represent the Breed and Association within industry stakeholders

• JA Board undertook a governance skills refresher program with Horsburgh Consulting Service

• Provided breed and Association representation on key industry bodies.

• Led the establishment of Australian Dairy Youth

Maintain and Grow the Jersey Breed

• Increase the Jersey population in the national herd to 30%.

• Maintain a positive genetics trend on all traits

• Deliver member services at cost by 2025.

• Increase revenue through the provision of new or additional services.

• Increased Member Services revenue by 17% on previous year maintaining a 5-year growth trend.

• Set an objective to establish a commercially focuses dairy farm to provide increase revenue from our investment’s funds and asset growth.

• Established the Jersey Australia Reserve Fund

• Continue to investigate new revenues streams

• Continuously strive for the genetics improvement of the Australian Jersey Cow

• Provide support and encouragement to domestic and international market growth opportunities.

• Build on the foundation of the “Jersey’s Most Profitable and Sustainable Cow” Project to drive our breed promotion and marketing direction and opportunities.

• Host the Jersey 2050 Forum to ensure, set and maintain the breed direction as the cow of the present and the future.

• Ran the World Dairy Expo trade site on behalf of our industry partners which identified a significant increase in awareness and use of Australian Jersey genetics.

• Maintained a positive increase in the Jersey breed as a % of the National herd.

• Continue to promote the benefits of the Australian jersey breed worldwide

General Managers Report Glen Barrett

The 2023/24 year was a great success for the Association that was built on successes and failures, high and lows, plenty of hard work from many and the occasional time to stop and reflect and celebrate our achievements along the way.

The launch of the Jersey Elite awards with the announcement of the Association’s inaugural Master Breeder was certainly a night to remember that brought together members from across the country to celebrate 10 Breeders whose input and impact on the Breed for many many years has been extraordinary and the recognition just reward.

Across the year it was terrific to see strong engagement at many member and industry events. It is always a great positive to be out with members discussing with them their cows, business and families and how Jersey Australia can better assist them.

Services

The Association services were in strong demand throughout the year. After a significant increase in 2022/23, it was very pleasing to see registrations maintain strong numbers with just over 11,000 cows registered for the year.

Our classification services were on a par with the previous year however we did see a significant increase in the number of mature cow class with total mature cows scored up 34%. Ginfo numbers were down 30% for the year offsetting the increase in cows.

Export Heifer numbers softened on previous years While it was positive to see a new market open up with a shipment to Indonesia, the China market reduced to 2170 which is 60% down from 2020/21 numbers although the export orders did start to increase towards the back half of the year.

During the year we implemented a new Registration Assist Program which enables registration to be completed without members having to lodge them using industry data sources. This is certainly a step in the direction of future services and while at this time there is a manual element to the processing, we look forward to great data connectivity and automation.

Staff

I take the opportunity to thank the staff for their dedication and commitment to the Association throughout. We have a small team with Peter Roach, Kelsie Hore and Rosie Phillips in the office however we achieve big outcomes for the Association in the delivery of members services.

During the year David Anderson’s role of Field Officer completed and I thank David for the positive outcomes and achievements he made during his tenure. It was certainly disappointing that we did not have the budget to continue this role. Through this role we were able to grow new members and increase registration numbers which we expect to add continuing benefit over the years to come

Our classification team was busy throughout the year. My thanks to our Senior Classifiers Reece Attenborough, Jamie Drury and Les Bennett for their in-field leadership and the whole team for their efforts in delivering classification services to members and industry across the year.

Industry Engagement

The Association maintains a strong engagement across the industry representing the Jersey breed and registered Breed Associations on the DataGene Genetic Services and Data and Services Standing Committee. At the 2024 Gipps Dairy Muister we provided a detailed demonstration on classifying cows and the utilisation of ABV for correction mating,

Our most significant industry achievement this year was leading the initiative to develop Australian Dairy Youth bringing together other Australian registered Breed Associations to provide new initiatives for Australia’s youth in the dairy industry.

Jersey Australia submission to host the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Conference in 2025 was also accepted and while this is an exciting opportunity for the Association, it will mean a significant effort will be required by the Association over the forward 12 months to bring this together.

Global Promotions

Our second year at World Dairy Expo was very rewarding and one which demonstrated a significant increase and growing opportunity for Australian jerseys not just in North America but in the wider global dairy community. I thank our partners in Genetics Australia and Agri Gene for their support and involvement in this initiative.

Glen Barrett General Manager

Australian Jerseys. Dairy's Finest Cow

Treasurers Report Jamie Drury

It’s pleasing to report that for the first time in many years (other than COVID) we have made a profit. The association has continued to manage expenses as closely as possible while still providing the members’ services to expectations. There have been consistent increases in both membership fees and member service fees, and while not popular, that has underpinned our ability to remain financially viable.

The board made the decision during the year to establish a Reserve Funds Policy and invested $300,000 into a secure government guarantee investment. The Reserve Fund provides financial assurance and protection for the ongoing function of the Association in the advent of a significant event affecting the Association. It protects the Association from any financial misfortune so the association can continue to function.

This also allows us to investigate opportunities with our remaining investment to provide better and alternative revenue streams, so we were not reliant so heavily on export heifers, continual significant rises in member service fees, industry services and investments to keep the association running.

The association remains committed to promoting the Australian Jersey cow for its members with trips to World Dairy Expo and continual industry involvement.

The role of a Jersey Australian Field Officer has been a successful one in bringing in a significant number of registrations, mainly herd catch ups along with several new herds. The decision was made this year not to renew the position as we felt we had gained the most value from the position at this time and we needed to commit funds elsewhere.

One such investment is the new classification system. The system has been four years in development and will see the new system implemented this coming spring. The new system will see significant efficiencies for the administration of classification services, data transfer for the generation of bull proofs and new information for the breeders. No doubt there will be an adaptation period for both the association and breeders but will be a significantly improved service on the previous system.

Moving forward you will see another CPI increase in fees, continual monitoring of our investments and investigation into better returns, export revenue alternatives and market promotion of our Jersey cow. These measures along with diligent management of costs, we endeavor to provide a strong financial base for the progression of your association.

Jamie Drury Treasurer

Australian Jerseys. Dairy's Finest Cow

Genetics Report Wayne Kuhne

The last 12 months has seen many gains genetically for the Australian Jersey Cow and I applaud the members for the continued improvements the jersey cow within Australia is making. International and domestically there has been strong demand for Australian Jersey genetics.

CLASSIFICATION

The increasing numbers through the classification tours continues to grow, particularly in reclassifications. It would be great to see 2yr old classification numbers growing at the same rate. I remind members the importance of 2yr old classifications for the validation of genomics, type data for bull proofs and internal use for the study of breed trends for the development and assessment for input into the likes of the National Breeding Objective. This growth brings challenges to the class team through scheduling and availability of classifiers. We are looking at a number of ways to spread the risk associated with member classifiers.

Whether it be outsourcing classifiers through some of the bigger tours through Victoria or more remote parts of the membership.

Looking at the traditional times of classification and spreading that work load out over a longer period. Classifying at times that suit the classifiers or members more.

I do believe that member classification is the biggest risk to Jersey Australia and its members. There is a very dedicated classification team, but the number of classifiers is not matching the growth in the numbers getting done. If you have the slightest interest in classifying, please put your hand up to attend a classification training day.

There will be no better time to become a classifier. With the NEXT GENERATION CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM being rolled out this year. We are currently undertaking implementation and testing of the new system, and we look forward to implementing the new system this year.

The new system is a linear driven system which breaks score basis into 4 trait groups. Traits are weighted on their importance to the trait group and each group is also weighted to its importance to the final scores. Cows linear scores will be required to be assessed as ideal to reach maximum scores. The new system will also see changes to reporting with class scores to be reported for traits groups a final score similar to the following.

3

The new class system is a result of many years work, from Lisa, Jamie, and Glen in the early stages. Through Jamie and Glen going over thousands of historical class records. Running and re-running data to create the new system. Your dedication and commitment to this project has been outstanding. I doubt without you both this project would not have got off the ground.

I would like to thank Jamie Drury for his years of classification and commitment to developing the new system and his role as Chair of classification oversight. Jamie has stepped aside as chair and an active classifier. Jamie will continue to play an integral part in the new systems roll out. On behalf of the board and members thank you for all your work as a classifier and your work in developing the new class system.

I would like to thank Les Bennet for his time and commitment to the role of being a senior classifier. Les stepped back from this position during the year, he is still a very important part of the class team.

I would like to welcome Reece Attenborough to the position of Chair of Our Classification Oversight committee. Reece has been a senior classifier for a number of years now. It has been very encouraging the way Reece has conducted himself at the recent Gipps Dairy muster and recent training day for new and returning classifiers.

We also welcome the addition of Jake Matthew as a senior classifier.

There has been an increase in the number of cows achieving 94 and 95 points. Which is a positive for the breed and shows there has been ongoing genetic improvement of recent time.

I would like to ask the membership are they happy with maximum scores as they are? Would they like any changes, should number of lactations be linked to the maximum scores. For example,

• Would a change like this add value to our higher classified cows?

• Would it help give a greater spread to the scores?

NATIONAL BREEDING OBJECTIVE & GENETIC TRENDS

What genetic trends do you believe need addressing? What area of your breeding program are most concerning to you? What needs to change from an industry perspective?

With the NBO starting to take place later this year and into 2025. These are the questions we ask of the members to help shape what Jersey Australia propose as changes to the breeding index.

The system is data hungry; it needs more data! Without growth in this area the range in our index will remain tight. Take FERTILITY as an example % of bulls between 98-103. It’s of the utmost importance that data sharing AND genomic testing more heifers are taking place.

Perception is everything and how bull proofs are read and interpreted.

Take FERTILITY again, according to DataGene, a Jersey bull at 105 has a 6 week in calf rate off around 70% as compared to a Holstein bull with the same ABV of 105 with a 6 week in calf rate off around 50%. Significant different expected performance on farm yet both contributing the same value to indexes. There’s a definite need for the 6 weeks in calf rate to be published with the ABV.

As a breed historically we have had an advantage in FERTILITY. Though our genetic improvement in FERTILITY has been ZERO. I do believe this needs attention, or our advantage will be lost. This is the reason that breeding females and males with diverse pedigrees is of such importance.

I encourage all members to make contact with myself to discuss any of the above questions.

I thank the Genetics Sub-Committee for their support over the past 12months and to all the Board and Jersey Australia staff members for their continued commitment to the Jersey cow within Australia.

Wayne Kuhne Chair of Genetics & Breed Development

Australian Jerseys. Dairy's Finest Cow

Promotions Report Jane Sykes

This year has seen some big and amazing things happen in the Jersey Australia Promotions and marketing space.

Last year’s AGM was held in Dorrigo, and we thank the Beautizone Jersey Breeders club for hosting us and showing us a great time. The Dairy’s Finest sale as well as the charity lots sold very well, and we thank all vendors and purchasers of the lots. This is the one sale per year that Jersey Australia brand as the Dairy’s Finest Sale and while it’s taking a break this year the sale will be back in 2025 as part of the World Conference.

It was a pleasure this year to also award our first MASTER BREEDERS award and I congratulate those 10 studs who received it. It was a fantastic night in Melbourne that saw the awards presented, with Brian Leslie providing commentary on the studs as they were presented. The development of this award had been a long-term goal of the association to acknowledge the best of our breeders based on data, however with every award comes its challenges. The data for this award is based after 1990 due to a number of factors, the main of which being the records being computerised leading to complete data with good accuracy. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the great breeders of the past for breeding the cows that made a great foundation for the current breeding our great cow.

The implementation of the JERSEY ELITE AWARDS was fantastic, and it was exciting to see many cows recognised for their elite performances. 100 cows were awarded the Jersey Elite Brood Cow, 2442 the Jersey Elite Production Cow and 245 the Jersey Elite Type Cow award as well as 10 bulls receiving the Jersey Elite Bull award.

World Dairy Expo was a major driven by Jersey Australia and during the year, a team of people including President Lisa Broad and General Manager Glen Barrett attended on behalf of the Association. It was exceptionally positively to receive back reports of growing strong interest from a wide range of Breeders across a wider range of countries with interest in semen, embryos and live animals.

The return of the Great Southern Challenge along with the Great Northern Challenge was a muchanticipated event. Congratulations to all the winners and I would like to acknowledge and thank our major sponsors ST Genetics for their contribution to the event. We cannot run events such as the Great southern and Great Northern without a lot of support and I would like to thank and acknowledge all those involved at club level for continuing to volunteer their time for this competition- thanks to the car drivers, navigators, judges as well as secretaries and tea ladies. All of you play a vital role in the competition and it wouldn’t be the same without all you.

International Dairy week has remained a mainstay in our domestic promotions campaign with strong interest once again thru the stand at IDW. The Wednesday morning coffee and donuts were again a winner, and the introduction of a tour to farms on Tuesday morning was hailed a great success and saw

GSC Champion Cow: WARRAIN ASKN EXPRESS

GNC Champion Cow: BRUNCHILLI VALENTINO PRISCILLA

a group of interested members visit the Kaarmona and Jugiong studs. With IDW support we will aim to continue this for future years.

The All-Australian photo competition was again run and won and thanks to our judges John Gardiner and Corey Couch for having the hard job of judging some great entries. This competition will again be running this year, so I encourage you all to support it with entries!

In the way of publications, we were pleased to again have the Australian Jersey Journal and Annual Calendar as our key member publications for our membership.

In this space however I do need to remind members that the journal is a publication that needs to break even- and to do this we need content and advertisers. We sincerely thank all who advertise in the journal and encourage all those who don’t (or perhaps know of a business who may benefit from advertising in the journal) to reach out to Peter Roach Also, if you know of any jersey related stories or industry stories that you would like to see in the journal, please send your suggestions through.

In time, if the journal in unable to return to cost neutrality some decisions may need to be made about the publication frequency and or move to a digital format.

My thanks to those who supported the annual Jersey Australia calendar. This continues to be a in demand publication that could not be achieved without your advertising support.

We are also pleased to be awarded the rights to the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Conference in 2025. Due to this, we will not be having a Jersey Australia Conference in 2025 and we encourage all members to join for some or all of the World Conference Program. The Jersey Australia AGM will be held online in June with the Annual Awards being held during the World Conference program.

Finally, I’d like to thank Hayley Boyd, Daniel Bacon, Glen Barrett, and Peter Roach along with Con Glennen & David Boyd for their help and support through the year- and to thank You the member who thru rain, shine and adversity continue to breed such great cows that are a pleasure to promote!!

Wishing everyone a great 2024 and may we continue to use the great cows of the past and present to breed the cows of the future- and may the promotion and marketing of our great cows result in the acknowledgment of the true greatness of our jersey breed!

Jane Sykes Chair of Promotions and Marketing

Australian Jerseys. Dairy's Finest Cow

AA Class 7 Winner JACKIAH VALIN CHARM 3097

JerseyAustralia Inc

A.B.N. 25 894 603 423

Director's Report(Continued)

Environmental Issues

The Association continues to acknowledge and operate within theenvironmental regulation underthe laws of the Commonwealth, States or Territories in which itoperates.

Information on Directors

Lisa Broad - BroadlinJersey's, WonthaggiVIC

Lisa has been a member of theJerseyAustralia Board of Directors since 2010, currently holdingthe position ofPresident and previously Senior Vice Presidentand Genetics Chairperson andPromotions Chairperson. Lisa's involvement with the Jersey Breedhas stretched throughout her lifetime, holding numerousexecutive roles, judging shows, and classifying. Lisa believes her role on the Board istobringknowledge, commitment, andpassion to help grow, promote, and drive the breed within thedairyindustry.

Jamie Drury-Jayden Jersey's, Tamworth NSW

A Board member since 2019, Jamietogether with wife Michelleown the Jayden Jersey Stud th, Jamie has completed a Bachelor of Science degreemajoring in Chemistry and Biochemistry, with post-graduatestudies in Animal Nutrition andAgriculture and Resource Economics. Jamie has previously servedon the Board of Dairy NSWand a committee a member of Mid Coast Dairy Advancement Groupand NSW Farmers'Association. Jamieis currently servesas the Association Treasurer and andChairoftheAuditandRiskCommittee.JamieisemployedbyWorld WideSiresAustraliaastheGeneticsProgramSpecialist

Wayne Kuhne - Bushlea Jersey's, Leongatha VIC

Elected to the Jersey Australia board in2019 Waynelives in Koonwarra Victoria, where, along withhiswife Lisa,farmstheBushleaJerseyStud. Wayne is currently chair of the Genetics and BreedDevelopment Sub-Committee

Jane Sykes- MinstonnetteJersey's, Ringarooma TAS

JaneisapassionateJerseybreederwhojoinedtheJerseyAustraliaboardin2016,andsince2017 beenchairofthepromotionssubcommittee.JanegraduatedfromtheUniversityofTasmaniawitha bachelorofAgriculturalscience(hons)in2008.JanehascompletedtheDevelopingDairyleader programandisanactivememberoftheTasmanianJerseyclub.

Robert Anderson - KingsVille Jerseys, Drouin VIC

Joining the Board in2020, Robert together with wife Kerrie operate Kings Ville Jerseys. Robert has a strong interest in genetics, isa well-respectedjudge both inAustralia and internationally and hasalso served asa Jersey Australia Classifier.

Jersey Australia Inc

A.B.N. 25 894 603 423

Director's Report(Continued)

GeoffAkers- Loxleigh Jersey's, Tallygaroopna VIC

Geoffjoined the committee in 2021and is currently holding the position of Vice - President. Geoff with his wife Natalie farm the Loxleigh Jersey Stud. Geoffhas served on the boards of DairyAustralia, Murray Dairy, National Dairy Alliance, and Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project including terms as Chairof DairyAustralia and Murray Dairy. Geoffalso chaired the VFF Water Council and currently is the Association Vice President.

Cornelius (Con) Glennen -White Star Jerseys, Noorat Vic

Con joined the Board in 2023, Con With his wife Michelle operates and manages the family partnership of White Star Jerseys at Noorat inSouthwest Victoria. The White Star Herd is regularly the number 1 genetic herd in Australia and has been for many years a premier bull breeder to the Australian Al industry. Con also serves on the Board of National Herd Development.

David Boyd- Brunchilli & Rivendell Jerseys, Nowra NSW

David with his wife Brooke and their business partners Stewart Menzies and family operate Riverlane Dairy Pty Ltd at Nowra, NSW. The farm incorporates the Brunchilli and Rivendell herds. David joined the board of Jersey Australia in 2023.

Dated on this 3rd day of May of Directors.

2024 and signed in accordance with the resolutions of the Board

Auditors' Independence Declaration

A copyof the auditor's independence declaration as required under section 307C of the Corporations Act 2001 is enclosed.

LisaBroad (Chairperson)

JamieDrury (Treasurer)

3rd May