Address of NAJ President

ADDRESS OF THE NAJ PRESIDENT

The Jersey—Continues to Adapt to Market Prices

Address of John Kokoski, NAJ President to the 64th Annual Meeting of National All-Jersey Inc., June 24, 2022, Portland, Ore.

Good morning and welcome to Portland, Ore.!

As our meetings take place this year, once again, we find ourselves in a totally different milk market scenario. Milk prices across the board have greatly improved over the last couple of months to the point where some records may have been surpassed and more have been nearly broken industrywide.

As for our Jersey milk, components have been higher than ever before and yet the market still wants more. You would think that our financial troubles in milk production would be over, but unfortunately, not so. As milk prices have risen so have the inputs and costs of production. Fuel, fee and labor—if you can get it—are just a few. Seed, fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides have doubled and in some cases, availability in some areas has been a concern as well. All of these factors keep our feet to the fire to continue to be efficient in every step of our production decisions. Thank God we still have a cow that has been a pioneer in adapting to market prices and changes, and still gives us an edge no matter what those challenges are.

Where we have market demands for value-added products like cheese and ice cream, Jersey components are the answer. Jerseys not only answer the call with solids non-fat that appeal to discerning milk drinkers, it’s reputation for producing A2 milk will keep Jerseys relevant to the everchanging market and consumer buying trends.

Besides management and marketing issues on the farm, NAJ still has issues to work on: component pricing in orders in the southeast, more marketing of A2 milk, and I think the whole industry needs to work together on getting the alternative nut and soy products out of the dairy aisle.

Regarding the marketing of Jersey cattle, the demand should improve along with

The National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ), Board of Directors from front left: President John Kokoski; Vice President and chair of the Finance Committee James Huffard; Garry Hansen; John Marcoot; and Executive Secretary Neal Smith. In back: Jason Cast; Corey Lutz; Bradley Taylor; Roger Herrera and Walter Owens. Not pictured is Sam Bok and American Jersey Cattle Association President Alan Chittenden.

prices. I attend several weekly dairy and beef auctions and have seen prices for cows and bred heifers improve. Our example is 6-8 months ago fresh cows milking 80100 pounds were only bringing $1,400$1,600 and last week they were $2,000$2,500. Three quartered and blemished uddered cows that were going to beef were commanding $1,600-$1,800.

The future can still look bright, we just have to trust our cow and her ability to continue improving and adapting to market changes.”