Jugiong Celebrates 90 Years

FEATURE

WORDS & PICTURES // MEDIAMASTERS

JUGIONG CELEBRATES 90 YEARS

Bill & Evelyn, Pat & Brendan and Phillip & Amy Nicholson

THE Nicholson family has been digging into the archives as they prepare to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Jugiong Stud. And they’ve uncovered some surprises! Pat and Brendon had always assumed the stud was started by their great-grandfather Phillip but it was actually his wife Veronica who instigated it. “She had always had an interest in cattle and horses and wanted to get a Jersey stud going,” Pat said. “It was Veronica who pushed to buy the first couple of cows. It seems like it was her passion for the Jersey side of things rather than Phillip’s.”

“It was Veronica who pushed to buy the first couple of cows. It seems like it was her passion for the Jersey side of things rather than Phillip’s.”

The stud’s name came from the NSW town Jugiong where Veronica was born and raised. They were living in Ararat at the time and initially they bought just a handful of cows. For the first 20 years, the Jersey stud was just a sideline as they developed a sheep and cropping farm at Tatyoon. Their son Arthur and his wife Iris continued the stud, farming at Moyston near The Grampians, and their two sons, Bill and Phillip and their wives Evelyn and Amy kept the farming tradition going. Pat and his brother Brendon, the sons of Bill and Evelyn, together with their wives Carmen and Tenealle are the fourth generation to run the stud. The biggest change in the 90-year history came in 1973 with the relocation from Moyston to Girgarre, west of Shepparton. At that time, they had a small herd of cows on a mostly sheep and cropping farm at Moyston. “Arthur said to Bill and Phillip that if they wanted to be serious dairy farmers, they needed to get into a dairying area,” Pat said. They sold their milk contract at Moyston which gave them a deposit on the farm at Girgarre. From there, they became full-time dairy farmers, growing from 80 cows to a peak of 550 around 2016-17. Pat and Brendon are now milking about 450 cows. “In 2019 we sold the milking herd but we kept all the heifers and gradually re-built the herd. “Northern Victoria had experienced many years of drought and high water prices and low milk prices; it was very difficult to continue to operate,” Pat said. This year they will be back milking 450 in spring and plan to continue milking 400-450.

FAMILY SUCCESSES Jugiong Stud has had many notable cow families over the years, dominated by Daydream and Leonie.

6th Jugiong Daydream 193 - Melbourne Show

4th Jugiong Leonie 43 - Melbourne Show

The first Leonie cow was bought two years after the stud was established and has been part of the herd for 88 years. The foundation cow for the Daydreams was purchased in 1943. The Daydream cow family is synonymous with the stud and has a lot of success over the years, with wins at International Dairy Week and Supreme cow titles at Sydney and Melbourne. One particular line of the Daydreams has produced a dozen very highprofile cows. One thing that hasn’t changed over the 90 years is the focus on production. “We like good type cows, but we want productive cows that are going to pay the bills,” Pat said. “We like to show cows but we’ve never bred that way. We’ve bred high production cows and if you got a

show cow along the way, that was a bonus.” Pat is confident today’s cow is far superior to her predecessors. “Genetics, management and feeding have all improved,” he said. Jugiong has been a platinum production herd with Jersey Australia over recent years. For the season just finishing, the herd averaged 6800 litres, 320 kg/Ms fat and 250 kg/Ms protein. “We’ve been over 6500 litres for a number of years but that’s probably the highest we’ve been. “We’re using the best genetics and feeding cows better and we have a big emphasis on growing out our young stock well and having our two-year-olds well grown when they calve.” One thing that hasn’t changed over 90 years is the focus on Jersey cows. “We looked at Holsteins in the early 1990s because Jerseys at that stage weren’t giving enough milk,” Pat said. “We had contemplated going to Holsteins and getting out of Jerseys, but once we got onto the North American genetics which had high milk flow and productive cows it really turned the breeding around. “We bought half a dozen Holsteins at that stage but never went any further.” He remains convinced that Jerseys are the best cows. “For total solids produced for the size of the cow and for what they eat, you can’t beat a Jersey for their economy and efficiency,” Past said. “There’s also the management side of it, they’re easier to handle. If the Jersey cow is on the ground, you can roll her over, but you can’t with the Holstein. “They’re better on pastures because they don’t pug it as much when it gets wet and in a wet winter, you don’t get as many foot issues with Jerseys as with Holsteins because they’re not carrying the same weight.”

TIME TO CELEBRATE Although only 10 years from a century, Pat says it’s the right time to celebrate. Pat, 49, and Brendon, 48, both have younger children showing interest but it’s not certain yet if they want to continue farming. “Hopefully we will be here for the century but you never know what’s around the corner,” Pat said. They will hold a celebration day on Saturday November 19 with an open herd inspection, afternoon tea and dinner and band plus an auction for the pick of the herd. “We thought it would be good to celebrate and sell just one cow and let the buyer have the pick of the herd,” Pat said. The history book will also be launched at the event. Pat and Brendon have been searching old family records, Livestock Bulletins and Jersey Journals and talking to his uncle Phillip to get personal insights. “It’s bigger than we first anticipated,” he said. “It will be good to have the history of the stud, the family and some cow families and some of the achievements over the years in print and be able to hand it on to the next generation.”

1st Jugiong Petunia 5574 - Melbourne Show