Address of AJCA President

ADDRESS OF THE AJCA PRESIDENT

Maintaining Her Advantage as the Industry’s Best

Address of Jonathan Merriam, President to the 154th Annual Meeting of the American Jersey Cattle Association, June 25, 2022, Portland, Ore.

Let us start today by expressing appreciation to the Oregon Jersey breeders for hosting the convention this year and welcoming us to their beautiful state. The Jersey cow is why we have gathered for this convention.

We have the most efficient, environmentally friendly cow that also happens to produce the most nutrientpacked product of all dairy breeds. We must continue to utilize these benefits while working to advance her genetics to a higher level. We must maintain her advantages of higher components, better reproduction, and more efficient conversion of feed to milk. To do this, we must continue to improve her genetics and not just rely on her current benefits. While we increase overall production, we need to also increase component percentages and improve reproductive efficiency. This is what has set the Jersey above the rest and will continue to set her above the rest if we continue to move forward improving her genetics.

As an association, we must research and gather information to keep the Jersey cow at the forefront of sought-after dairy genetics. We are currently supporting research by updating the sustainability study to clarify the environmental impact advantage of the Jersey cow. We are also supporting research to verify which

The 2022-2023 Board of Directors of the American Jersey Cattle Association. Pictured front row from left: Executive Secretary Neal Smith; Rebecca Ferry; Vice President and chair of the Breed Improvement committee Joel Albright; President Alan Chittenden; John Maxwell; Garry Hansen, chair of the Development committee; and Tyler Boyd. Second row from left: Joe Vanderfeltz; Ralph Frerichs; Donna Phillips; Jason Johnson; Bradley Taylor, chair of the Finance committee; Karen Bohnert, chair of the Information Technology and Identification committee; and Cornell Kasbergen.

traits are most closely related to lifetime profitability of the Jersey cow. The results of these research projects will help the Jersey breed to maintain her advantage as the best dairy cow for efficient, nutrientrich milk production.

I challenge the AJCA and breeders to continue to emphasize these benefits and improve the Jersey cow. I would like to finish by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to serve as president of the association for the past four years.

I would also like to thank the staff for their continued dedication to the association, its membership, and the Jersey cow.

Finally, I would like to thank the breeders for their support and dedication to the cow that we all love and who is responsible for bringing us together at events like this.

Thank you again for your participation in the annual meetings this week, your attendance in today’s meeting, and your dedication to the Jersey cow.