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Iowa Jersey breeders are excited to welcome everyone to their home state to resume face-to-face meetings for the AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings.
As Jersey enthusiasts convene later this month in Bettendorf, Iowa—located in east central Iowa and right on the Mississippi River—they will be treated to some of the most diverse agriculture areas of the United States.
In addition to the diversity of the agriculture industry in the state, here are some interesting facts about the host state. Did you know: • Iowa means “Beautiful.” The state received its name from the loway people, one of the region’s native tribes; • Hogs in the state outnumber people four-to-one. With approximately three million people in the state, it means there are around 12 million hogs; • The red delicious apple originated in Peru, Iowa; • Iowa has its own island. Despite being landlocked, Iowa has its own island—Sabula—located on the Mississippi
River and is home to more than 500 people. • Iowa has produced 21 Olympic athletes to date; • Iowa is the largest producer of pork, corn and eggs in the nation. They are also the largest producer of wind energy; • The first computer was created in Iowa. The AtanasoffBerry computer was created at Iowa State University in 1937. It was the first automatic electronic digital computer.
Attendees will be present for the organization’s membership meetings and recognize the 2021 award winners for Master Breeder, Distinguished Service, Meritorious Service and three Young Jersey Breeders. Award winners from 2020 who have opted to receive their awards this year will be recognized. The AJCC Research Foundation Benefit Auction will also be held.
Jersey Marketing Service will host the 64th National Heifer Sale at Cinnamon Ridge Dairy in Donahue. Following the sale, guests will be treated to a fireworks after the sale.
Included are farm visits to Cinnamon Ridge Dairy; Wapsiana and Fairholm Jerseys; and Kunde Jersey Farm. Trips are planned for Field of Dreams, National Toy Museum and Antique Outlet Mall. Attendees are invited on a riverboat cruise down the Mississippi and to participate in a round table discussion with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.
Youth events include a pizza party, an Ag in the Classroom session, and a visit to a fun park. The week will be capped off with a youth banquet.
We hope to see you in Bettendorf June 23-26.
Iowa Jerseys
The Maxwell Family
Donahue, Iowa
Cinnamon Ridge Dairy
Owned by John, Edwin, Amy and Kara Maxwell 500 Milking Jerseys Tour stop during AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We want to maintain high production forour herd and process more of our own milk on the farm.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? High fat, protein and milk production. As well, we use education to promote agriculture and food production through farm tours.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? The production achievements of our herd. #1 in the nation for milk and protein. We are equally proud of our cows with National Class Leader records, Hilmar Cheese Yield winners, President’s Trophy winner.
What AJCA programs does your herd use? REAP, JerseyMate, Equity, Jersey Journal contract advertiser, Young Sire Sampling 10600 275TH ST., DONAHUE , IA 52746-9705
View of Golden Dream Jerseys
Decorah, Iowa
Golden Dream Jerseys
Owned by Dennis, Cheryl and Nathan Cline
80 Milking Jerseys
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? In the next five years we would like to have a herd of all polled, A2A2, pure Jersey cows.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? A fact we are proud of is that we are a fourth generation family farm. We ship our milk to Wapsie Valley Creamery, where our milk is manufactured into cheese. The herd is intensively grazed on pasture.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? The strong, long-lived cow families we have bred. We have had many Excellent cows through the years and we strive to have each cow reach 100,000 lbs. milk.
What AJCA programs does your herd use? We have been Equity members for more than 40 years and we utilize the REAP program as well.
2510 170TH AVE., DECORAH , IA 52101
The Covington Family Leon, Iowa
Covington Jerseys
Owned by Tim Covington, Titus Covington, and Hannah Main; Mike and Janice Covington
120 Milking Jerseys
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We plan to continue breeding high-quality purebred Jerseys with an emphasis on polled and A2 genetics.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? Our emphasis on high scoring cows along with breeding for polled and A2 makes our herd standout.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? Seeing our genetics do well in other herds—whether it is cows we have sold or bulls we have put into A.I.
What AJCA programs do you use and which has helped you the most? REAP, type appraisal, production testing and Jersey Journal advertising. Type appraisal has had a significant impact in our herd.
The Sparrgrove Family
West Union, Iowa
Granite-Road Jerseys
Owned by Ryan and Brianne Sparrgove and Family
18 Registered Jerseys, 200 head other breeds
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We hope to continue to add many more wonderful Jersey ladies to our herd. We also are looking forward to our children getting to show our Jerseys at a major show.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? We are family-owned and run.
What is the most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? We appraised for the first time last December. We had a 90-point four-year-old and two 86-point two-year-olds. We want to continue to breed long-lasting, productive cows from the ground up.
8437 GREAT RIVER RD., WEST UNION , IA 52175
The Lantzky Family
Hawkeye, Iowa
Hei-Bri Jerseys
Owned by Brian and Heidi Lantzky
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We want to continue to breed elite, purebred Jerseys.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? We have always believed in breeding well-balanced cows, combining type, production and components.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? All of the tremendous positive feedback we have received from buyers all over the United States and Canada. We love to see our genetics flourish.
What AJCA programs does your herd use? We have used REAP and Jersey Marketing Service.
22254 W AVE., HAWKEYE , IA 52147
The Hettinga Family Orange City, Iowa
Hettinga Dairy
Owned by Jason and Mary Hettinga and Family
166 Milking Jerseys
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We want to continue to improve and prepare for possibly welcoming the next generation back to the farm.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? We are a small commercial herd that started from scratch in 2001.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? Watching small improvements and changes yield results. Also watching our children continue to develop their interest in the herd and industry.
What AJCA programs do you use and which has helped you the most? JMS, REAP, Equity, JerseyMate, Genomic testing Using the programs we do, complement and piggy back on one another to give the greatest advantage to our herd.
Calmar, Iowa
Iowa’s Dairy Center
125 Milking Jerseys, 350 Holsteins
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? Our goal is to monitor feed efficiency in the production of combined fat and protein when compared to our Holsteins.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? We are operated by the Northeast Iowa Dairy and Agriculture Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides progressive outreach for youth, students, farmers, industry and consumers to strengthen and support a strong agriculture community. The dairy farm is used for education and demonstration of modern farming practices and our Jersey herd is milked with robots.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? Consistently ranking as one of the top producing Jersey herds while maintaining a 5.0% butterfat test. What AJCA programs do you use and which has helped you the most? REAP and Type Appraisal. The uniform identification with the Holsteins has been a help with our mixed herd.
PO BOX 400, CALMAR , IA 52132
The Knapp Family
Larchwood, Iowa
Knapp Time Dairy
Owned by Kevin and Cari Knapp
130 Milking Jerseys, 25 Registered Holsteins
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We hope to stay in the business and bring the next generation in to the farm. We are also looking in to installing robots on the farm.
What AJCA programs do you use in your herd? REAP, JerseyTags, Appraisal, JerseyMate
What AJCA program has helped your dairy the most? It is hard to pick just one, as all have been very beneficial. As our herd has grown, JerseyMate is becoming more and more critical to us.
2227 120TH ST., LARCHWOOD , IA 51241-7527
The Metzger Family Lester, Iowa Summit Farm Inc.
Owned by Rodney and Polly; Vance and Janae; Eric and Abby; Neal and Mattie; and Toby Metzger; and Tyler and Emma Moser
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? Over the next five years we are planning for a herd expansion and to build a new facility.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? Our herd is built on a very strong genetic base that we have spent time building. We have also been able to adapt over time to a changing dairy industry.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? The consistency of the cattle we breed and the success we have had over multiple generations.
What AJCA programs do you use and which has helped you the most? REAP, Equity and JerseyMate. JerseyMate has benefitted our herd the most over the years.
The Kunde Family Manchester, Iowa
Kunde Jersey Farm
Owned by David and Donna Kunde; Jennifer Zumbach; Michael Kunde; and Dan Kunde
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? Our goal for the next five years is to continue to raise healthy calves and sell excess breeding stock while maintaining efficient feed usage and increase cow milk production.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? Kunde Jersey Farm was purchased with a down payment earned from the sale of Sleeping Rosanna in the 1974 All American Jersey Sale. That year, she was the Reserve National Grand Champion for our family and sold for $10,700 to Happy Valley Farm and Briggs and Beth Cunningham, Ky. The next two years, she was named Reserve National Grand Champion as well and stood first in her class at the All American Jersey Show four times in her lifetime. We strive for sound cows with excellent udder traits that earn their place in the milking barn. We market young milk and show cows, breeding bulls and raises steers to sell through local lockers. We take pride in seeing our cows continue to strive for their new owners.
2029 275TH ST., MANCHESTER , IA 52057
The Bagge Family
Worthington, Iowa
Sandy Knoll Dairy
Owned by Loras, Brian and Nick Bagge
20 Milking Jerseys
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? To expand our herd and build new facilities to allow the cows to express their full genetic potential.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? We rotationally graze.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? Breeding an Excellent-92 point cow.
What AJCA program has helped your dairy the most? REAP, Appraisal helps us identify the weaknesses we need to improve on when we are selecting bulls.
2257 320TH AVE., WORTHINGTON , IA 52078
Anamosa, Iowa
Wapsi Ana
Owned by Doug and Jody Fairbanks
What are the five-year goals for your dairy? We want to maintain our current cow numbers, but continue to improve total solids while having an emphasis on type.
What sets your herd apart from other herds near you? Our herd is approximately 400 milk cows consisting of Jerseys, Brown Swiss and Holsteins. We have been fortunate to be able to have good production while paying close attention to type. As well, we market around 100 breeding bulls a year to other dairy producers.
What is your most satisfying accomplishment with your herd? We enjoy working every day with cattle and raising our family on the farm.
Which AJCA program has helped you the most? REAP has. It is economical and we have taken advantage of timely registrations, appraisal and advertising through this program. 20755 90TH ST., ANAMOSA , IA 52205
The All American Junior Jersey Show is scheduled for Saturday, November 6, 2021, in Louisville, Ky.
The eligibility and ownership rules were approved by the AJCA Board of Directors upon recommendation of the All American Planning Committees. Junior Jersey owners need to read these carefully and take appropriate action now to ensure that they are eligible to exhibit in the 2021 show.
Rule 1, Exhibitors. Exhibitors must be no younger than nine (9) and no older than 20 years of age as of January 1, 2021. U.S. residents must be members (junior or lifetime) of the American Jersey Cattle Association.
Rule 2, Entries. Animals are eligible when recorded by the American Jersey Cattle Association in the Herd Register or with Generation Count 4 or greater, or by Jersey Canada with registry status of 93.75% and greater.
The exhibitor must be listed as Recorded Owner on the registration certificate, either (1) as the sole owner or (2) by his/her name in joint ownership. If the joint ownership includes more than one person meeting the eligibility requirements of Rule 1 (above), one of them must be declared as the exhibitor during check-in.
Animals must be registered and/or transferred to meet one of the above ownership requirements on or before August 1, 2021. The date of registration and/or transfer is the Date Recorded printed on the registration certificate.
Rule 3, Participation. Entries must be shown by the exhibitor, except by prior written approval from NAILE. Alternate leadspersons must (1) be associated with the Herd Unit and also eligible to show by age (Rule 1, above), or (2) if not, be the same age or younger than the exhibitor of the animal being shown. Requests for alternate leadsperson must be submitted for approval by the NAILE dairy show superintendent on forms provided by the AJCA not later than 12:00 noon the day before the show.
No more than two (2) animals may be shown by one exhibitor in any one class. The exhibitor must lead the first entry and the second entry must be led by an NAILE approved alternate leadsperson.
Adults are not allowed to show in any case.
Rule 4, Breeder Status. In order to qualify for Premier Breeder points and Best Bred and Owned awards, the exhibitor declared at check-in must have his/her name recorded as a Breeder on the animal’s registration certificate. These awards will be made only to the individual exhibitor in the case of partnership animals.
For more information, contact the Communications Department at 614/3224451 or email info@usjersey.com. Visit the official All American website at https:// theallamerican.usjerseyjournal.com.
Junior Awards Available
Throughout the year, awards for shows and production and judging contests are provided by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) at events specifically for Jersey juniors.
For junior shows at county, district, and state levels, the AJCA will provide ribbons for the first, second, and third place animals, plus a Grand Champion rosette. In addition to the rosette, a special award is provided for the Grand Champion at state fairs and AJCA-designated regional shows. Awards are also provided for showmanship contests exclusively for Jersey juniors.
Awards must be requested annually. Contact the AJCA Director of Communicaitons at 614/322-4451, at least two weeks in advance of the event. Regretfully, requests made within two weeks of the show date cannot be filled.
Avon Road Jersey Farm
FOwens arms, Inc.
315 355th Ave., Frederic, WI 54837 owenswlsd@yahoo.com
Wilfred & Linda 715/653-2663
Roger & Kim
715/653-2566
Walter & Joyce
715/653-2637
Steinhauers
Jerseys
Karl Steinhauer
P.O. Box 259, 205 Railroad Ave. Mattoon, Wisconsin 54450-0268 715/489-3112 • 715/489-3696 (barn) hounddogkarl@yahoo.com
D.L. Strandberg and Sons
P.O. Box 185 Alma Center, WI 54611 Judd: 715/964-8135 Email: shoal@triwest.net Member of Dairyland Jersey Sires, Inc.
