| ABV RELEASE | WORDS // RICK BAYNE
Australia Has A New Top Jersey Herd A
USTRALIA has a new top Jersey herd after Brookbora Jerseys reached the number one spot in the April 2021 ABV release. It is the first time Brookbora Jerseys, owned by Robert and Sandra Bacon at Tennyson in northern Victoria, has claimed Australia’s number one title. Brookbora rose to the top with a BPI of 191, up 23 from the December 2020 proof where they were in third place. After several years in the top spot, Con and Michelle Glennen’s White Star Jerseys at Noorat in south-west Victoria slipped to number two herd, despite increasing their BPI by 6 to 176. John and Margaret Cockerell at Warrain Jerseys in Numurkah were also big movers, climbing to number three with their herd BPI rising 27 points to 166 BPI. A large proportion of their herd being genomic tested since December 2020 added to their figures. Robert Bacon said it was pleasing to reach the top during a time when the Jersey breed continues to improve. “I think Jerseys in general are getting better and more consistent,” he said. “We’ve been in the top handful for a few years and were top in the TWI before it ended and top for health traits, but this is our first time to top the BPI.” However, he can’t really explain the huge jump. “We don’t really know why,” he said. “We haven’t changed anything. Our aim has always been to breed commercially viable, consistent
cows with good confirmation, to enjoy milking them for a long time.” Mr Bacon has also spoken to previous top place holder Con Glennen. “Con was the first on the phone to congratulate us and said it couldn’t happen to a better herd,” he added. Brookbora Jerseys also entered four cows in the Sydney Royal Easter Show, winning all four classes highlighted by Interbreed Intermediate Supreme Champion BROOKBORA VALENTINO SWEET ELFA and Reserve Senior Jersey Champion BROOKBORA PGRS VALENTINO LOVELIES, coowned with Parrabel Genetics and Rockstar Cows. Warrain Jerseys has had individual cows in the top rankings but this is the first time the herd has been in the top three. Margaret Cockerell said a focus on health and appearance traits was complementing the herd’s strong production performance. “We’ve been sitting in the top 10 for a fair while but to suddenly jump up to number three was a bit of a surprise,” Mrs Cockerell said. “With assistance from Amy Wright who does our mating management, we pick bulls that we think are going to improve our herd. We’ve had high production years around 7000-7500 litres average so we’re now looking to improve parts of the cow’s appearance, feet and legs and udder,” she said.
Top Jersey Bulls - April 2021 ABV Release Jersey Australia Positive Selection List Bull Id Bull Name ROULETTE CAIRNBRAE ROULETTE PICKLE WALLACEDALE PICKLE DOBSON WHITE STAR DOORMAN CSCJAMIEO MURRAY BROOK JAMIEO 29JE4213 FOREST GLEN CRAZE TRIPP-ET ARDENT BERCAR 9216 PRIMROSE JACKIAH PEAK 9196 7JE01750 VICTORY CRAZE SRIXON {6} 7JE01904 JCJ JLS CHROME BOSA-ET 29JE4225 SANDCREEKS CRAZE SPARTY-ET 14JE00769 JX SPRING CREEK MARLO STONEY ALGERNON BROADLIN HILUX CSCTOYOTA AUBURN VALE TOYOTA STGPILOT DORNOCH FIGHTERJET PILOT 0200JE00399 MISSISKA VITALITY CSCBALENTI KAARMONA BALENTI MINX STONYRUN AUtS TBONE MINX 7JE01737 JX AHLEM CRAZE PROTEUS {6}-ET VDGOSCAR DUTCH HOLLOW OSCAR-ET 29JE4195 ABS MARINE-ET
BPI 390 381 372 360 341 337 307 293 290 290 285 281 275 266 258 253 252 251 247 238
PRT % 0.31% 0.28% 0.37% 0.18% 0.16% 0.30% 0.11% 0.21% 0.21% 0.17% 0.27% 0.42% 0.33% 0.22% 0.21% 0.17% 0.13% 0.09% 0.03% 0.13%
FAT % 0.20% 0.38% 0.21% 0.59% 0.42% 0.30% 0.07% 0.41% 0.41% 0.26% 0.71% 0.03% 0.26% 0.28% 0.11% 0.47% 0.19% 0.16% 0.34% 0.19%
The Australian Jersey Journal – May-June 2021 // 6
Milk Ltrs 403 160 375 117 169 263 458 71 47 207 115 175 145 52 107 59 204 213 126 168
OT 110 107 102 109 104 105 102 102 103 106 103 106 104 109 101 106 106 107 104 102
MAMM 114 109 103 112 105 105 104 103 106 106 101 111 106 114 101 108 105 107 106 100
FERT 100 103 101 100 101 101 104 103 100 100 102 100 107 101 105 100 101 100 102 101
