6 minute read
2021 Milestone Awards
Jersey Australia congratulates the following studs on achieving their milestone awards at the 2021 Jersey Australia AGM and Conference. The awards recognise the longevity of the studs in the Breed.
Year Stud
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125 Years KINGS VALE JERSEY STUD 100 Years BROOKLANS JERSEY STUD 75 Years BUSHLEA JERSEY STUD 50 Years DARRYN VALE JERSEY STUD 50 Years ADADALE JERSEY STUD 50 Years GLENAARON JERSEY STUD
David and Sharon Anderson – KingsVale Jersey Stud Sam Conochie, Tahnee Wilson and Marley Wilson – Brooklands Jersey Stud Wayne Kuhne – Bushlea Jersey Stud
WORDS // RICK BAYNE
A New Taste Sensation!
WHEN it comes to taste, chef turned dairy farmer Matt Wilson knows what he’s talking about.
Matt was responsible for lunch at Poowong North during the Jersey Australia annual conference tour and his twice-cooked beef was a hit, with every roll being snapped up.
But it wasn’t any old beef – it was Angus-Jersey cross beef and Matt says it’s a taste sensation that is catching on.
“The marbling on it is very good; better than any pure Angus I’ve ever used and they’re saying in the right situations it’s getting up towards Wagyu,” Matt said.
The twice cooked Angus-crossJersey beef was smoked in a Webber and braised for about four hours.
The desert Crème Brulee was made from pure Jersey cream.
The Angus-Jersey beef came from Luke and Mel Wallace’s farm, but Matt and his wife Caroline are also looking at a Jersey beef option on their leased farm at nearby Drouin West.
“We’re keeping our Jersey bulls and looking at possibly making a line of Jerseys beef,” he said.
The move to farming has been quite a journey for Matt, but it was always his first love.
Matt grew up at Lang Lang on a beef and pigeon farm, with the pigeons being sold to restaurants.
“As a kid when I was about eight, I went to the neighbour’s dairy farm and milked the cows and fell in love with it,” Matt said.
“My Mum talked me out of being a dairy farmer, so I became a chef, which was something else I wanted to do anyway.”
However, after 15 years of that pressure-cooker industry, another change was in store.
“I decided that I’d had enough of being in the kitchen 15-16 hours a day. “I wasn’t earning as much money as I felt I should have been for the years I had been doing it,” Matt said.
“I had started getting more involved in dairy by milking on a friend’s farm for a couple of years. Then while we were living in England, I got a job on a 350-cow organic dairy farm.
When we came back to Australia, I cooked again but after a while I said that’s enough, I’m done and we went farming.
“I love cooking and hope people could taste it in what I did for the lunch; but now I do it for enjoyment, rather than money.”
Matt was responsible for lunch at Poowong North during the Jersey Australia annual conference tour and his twice-cooked beef was a hit, with every roll being snapped up. But it wasn’t any old beef – it was Angus-Jersey cross beef and Matt says it’s a taste sensation that is catching on.
Once moving to farming, Matt and Caroline have made the transition from a mostly Holstein herd to Jerseys.
“We’ve been full Jerseys for just over 12 months. I’d had Jerseys for six or seven years and always wanted to be 100 per cent Jerseys, but in my share farm situation we were down the Holstein and Jersey cross to start with.”
They sold most of the old herd and brought in Jerseys, about 70 per cent of the herd coming from Wallacedale Jerseys.
“It’s one of the best herds in the country and they’re a Gippsland cow and work well in Gippsland country,” Matt said.
The shift to Jerseys was for aesthetics and ease of operation.
“I love the look of Jerseys is the first thing, but I find milking them so much easier,” Matt said.
“They are natural milkers. Back when we changed over, we had split herds and were milking two sides of Holsteins and five sides of Jerseys.
“The temperament on the Holsteins meant it took nearly as long to milk them as it did the five sides of Jerseys.”
Although production volumes are slightly down, fat and protein percentages are much higher, at times over 2 per cent higher.
They are now milking about 170 Jerseys on 240 acres.
About 12 months ago they started supplying Gippsland Jersey, while continuing to partially supply Burra Foods.
“Burra Foods take our excess but we’re now close to the point of being 100 per cent to Gippsland Jersey,” Matt said.
“It’s a brilliant system. In the spring our vat capacity meant we could supply all our milk to Gippsland Jersey, but come January when production backed off, the milk cheques in January and February were the same as spring.”
Now well into his new career, Matt says he’s looking to a positive future. “It’s seven days a week but 90 per cent of the time it’s a fantastic lifestyle.
“While we’d like to own a farm, I don’t know if that’s going to be a realistic proposition, but we have a good set up here.” PAUL Lenehan may be likened to a “wise old owl” but his contributions have been widely appreciated in Jersey circles.
Paul received a prestigious Distinguished Services Award during the Jersey Australia awards dinner recognising his six years on the Board, including the past three years as treasurer, along with his broader contribution to his local club and the dairy industry and Jersey cows in particular.
Outgoing president Chris MacKenzie praised Paul’s thoughtful contributions.
“He may not say tonnes of things, but what Paul says is of great value because it is thought through,” Chris said.
“You know the images you get of a wise old owl sitting on a perch…that’s how I think of Paul.”
Chris said Paul’s contributions included his local club and the Board, and it all stemmed from his thoughtful approach.
“At previous AGMs you sit around the tables discussing things and think `this person is talking some sense; they’ve probably got some value to offer the organisation in leadership roles’,” Chris said.
“That’s how Paul got involved – through Jersey fellowship – and during his time he has led some great discussions and been involved in leadership roles in his local club and the Jersey Australia board.
Paul has retired from the Board. He has also been President of the Western District Jersey Breeders Club and a great supporter of new members establishing their herds
Paul admitted the award was a total surprise while adding he had enjoyed his time on the board.
“I was at the Tasmanian AGM and they had vacancies and a couple of people mentioned it to me but I never thought any more of it. Then a few months later I was invited to nominate to the Board. I thought it might be an opportunity to get to know some people and I’ve always been passionate about Jerseys.
“I’ve really enjoyed the role. It has been a great opportunity to meet the top breeders who really put the Jersey cow at the forefront of everything.”
Paul, 69, farms at Crossley near Koroit in south-west Victoria. His son Adam now runs the farm but Paul remains active in most parts of the business and the Murray Brook stud which milks 410 cows on 200 hectares.
Paul Lenehan receives his award alongside wife Lynette.
