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AJCA-NAJ Annual Meeting Registration
Online registration is preferred at usjerseyannualmeeting.com (credit card payments accepted). Registration can also be completed by mailing this form and payment to: Iowa Jersey Cattle Club, Attn: Jennifer Zumbach, 2037 330th St., Coggon, IA 52218; Forms must be postmarked by May 31 to be eligible for early bird rates. Make check payable to IJCC 2021 National Convention.
Early Bird Rates on or before May 31
Ages 5-15 _____ Golf Outing 75 $ _____
Do you need clubs? Yes No
Total
Thursday
____Tour A (Field of Dreams) ____Tour B (National Museum)
Busing Thursday Yes No Busing Friday Yes No
Rates after May 31
Ages 5-15 _____ Golf Outing 75 $ _____
Do you need clubs? Yes No
Total
Thursday
____Tour A (Field of Dreams) ____Tour B (National Museum)
Busing Thursday Yes No Busing Friday Yes No
Additional tickets can be purchased upon request for the Young Jersey Breeders Banquet, AJCC Research Benefit Auction and Dinner and the Breeders’ Banquet. Contact Jennifer Zumbach for more information.
Registration Form
______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ NAME(S) OF ADULT(S) FARM NAME
______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ NAMES, AGES AND TSHIRT SIZE NEEDED FOR CHILDREN NAMES, AGES AND TSHIRT SIZE NEEDED FOR CHILDREN
______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ NAMES, AGES AND TSHIRT SIZE NEEDED FOR CHILDREN NAMES, AGES AND TSHIRT SIZE NEEDED FOR CHILDREN
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If someone with disabilities will be attending, please describe special needs.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP CODE
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PHONE NUMBER CELL PHONE NUMBER EMAIL ADDRESS
Watch for updates on Facebook "Fields of Jersey Dreams - Iowa 2021"
Lori Sollenberger, Everett, Pa., has officially been nominated for Director of the Third District of the American Jersey Cattle Association.
Bradley Taylor, Boonesville, Miss., has officially been nominated for Director of the Fifth District of the American Jersey Cattle Association
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Stella Rose Black-Venegas was born on February 19, 2021, to Steven and Lauren (Black) Venegas, Saluda, S.C. The couple’s first child weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. Maternal grandparents are Joel and Gail Black, former owners of Jo-Ren Farm, Saluda. Lauren is a member of the Jersey Jug Futurity Committee.
Reporters for Fox 18 KLJB recently interviewed John Maxwell, Donohue, Iowa, to learn how Cinnamon Ridge Dairy cares for its cattle in cold weather. The video clip aired on February 11, 2021, in the height of a cold snap that brought the Quad City area some of its lowest temperatures in recent years.
Maxwell explained that precautionary measures are taken heading into winter. Then, when temps drop, cows are protected from drafts and fed extra energy (corn) to enable them to generate body heat. Maxwell also put in a plug for Jerseys, the dairy breed that produces the richest, most nutritious milk.
AJCA Director Maxwell and his family milk about 240 Registered Jersey cows. The herd is enrolled on REAP and leads the nation for milk, protein, and cheese yield production on both an actual and standardized basis.
The Maxwells also produce cheese and raise Jersey beef. They milk the herd with Lely robots and operate an agri-tourism business on the farm. The dairy is FARM certified and works with the Food Rescue Partnership to prevent outdated food from entering landfills.
Alan and Stephanie Hughes, Sunsett
Dairy, Pittsville, Wis., were featured in a television commercial that ran in advance of Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021. The three-minute spot named “Essential” paid tribute to the heroes who help to keep life going through the pandemic.
The Hugheses had an in with the creative director, CBS sports producer and seventime Emmy winner Gareth Hughes, as he is a cousin to Alan. And though most would jump at the chance to be a part of the commercial, it was Gareth’s roots in agriculture and appreciation for their occupation that sealed the deal for Alan and Stephanie. “When you get opportunity to speak on behalf of agriculture as a whole, we couldn’t say ‘no,’” Stephanie commented.
Alan wears another hero hat too as a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2019 and recently assisted with the inauguration of President Joe Biden and the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wis.
While Alan is away, the couple’s three sons, Bryce, Gavin, and Derek, help Stephanie hold down the fort. They began dairying on rented facilities in 2007 and purchased their current farm in 2015. The family milks a 65-cow herd of Jerseys, Holsteins, and Milking Shorthorns and ships to Dairy State Cheese. Sunsett Dairy will be running a stand at the farm this summer.
“Chrome” Semen Sales Surpass 500,000 Units
7JE5004 River Valley Cece Chrome-ET, GJPI +106, has become the second Jersey bull at Select Sires Inc., Plain City, Ohio, to surpass the milestone for half-a-million units of semen sold. He now ranks second to the organization’s lifetime Jersey sales leader, 7JE1038 All Lynns Louie ValentinoET, GJPI +9.
Sales of “Chrome” surpassed the milestone in January 2021, when the son of Schultz Legal Critic-P, GJPI +48, was seven years, nine months-of-age.
He has impacted the breed worldwide through his daughters and sons. “Chrome” was the second most heavily used Jersey sire of 2019. He topped the leader board in 2020 with 138 registered sons. Included in this group is the breed’s high-selling individual for 2020, BW Graduate, GJPI +144, who was syndicated at The All American Jersey Sale for $90,000 by Select Sires and the Graduate Syndicate. A “Chrome” daughter, JX Pine-Tree Freedom {4}, was the high seller at the Top of the World Sale last year at $32,500.
“Chrome” entered the progeny test program at Select Sires through a partnership with his breeder, River Valley Farm of Tremont, Ill. They had purchased his dam, Lyon Celebrity CeCe-ET, from AJCA Master Breeder, Lyon Jerseys of Toledo, Iowa.
“‘Chrome’ is the poster child to illustrate how daughter data helps the accuracy of genomic proofs,” commented Herby Lutz, Jersey development manager at Select Sires. “Because dairy producers provided production and appraisal data from thousands of milking daughters, ‘Chrome’ set the standard for the Jersey breed in Jersey Udder Index and Type.”
With the December 2020 genetic evaluations, his proof includes 4,651 daughters in 63 herds. Daughters can be found in seven different countries across the globe.
NAAB to Roll Out New Dairy Breed Web Pages
The National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) is developing a special section on its website to help producers better understand genetic tools available for the six major dairy breeds. The web pages will be launched in late March as links off the NAAB main website.
For each breed, the site will provide information on genetic conditions, genomic testing, and genetic indexes for breed specific tools. Genetic tools for the Jersey breed include Jersey Performance Index (JPI), Jersey Udder Index (JUI), and Generation Count (GC), among others. Frequently asked questions will also be answered.
The NAAB website can be found at https://www.naab-css.org/.
Reaping the Benefits of Identification
“The dairy industry has experienced considerable volatility in the past couple of years and many herds have made the decision to let registrations go to help balance their bottom line. This REAP Registration Catch Up Incentive will allow current herds and those choosing to join or rejoin REAP to catch up their registrations at a 50% savings.” Erick Metzger, USJersey Herd Services Manager
Recognizing the difficult times dairy producers are facing, the AJCA Board of Directors voted unanimously to offer an incentive to Jersey breeders to catch up on overage registrations. The announcement was made February 1 to offer a special incentive to all current, new and herds rejoining the REAP program (oneyear enrollment commitment required). The special incentive program will run through August 31, 2021.
Currently REAP is a tiered structure that includes free registration to calves under six-months of age. With the Catch Up Incentive, the cost structure will be: • Anything under 24 months of age, $0 (both
electronic and keyed by staff) • Over 24 months and carry a Generation Count of 1, 2 or 3 and submitted electronically, $2.50 • Over 24 months and Generation Count 4 or higher, submitted electronically, $5 • Over 24 months and hand-keyed by staff, $5
Now entering its 26th year, the REAP program— acronym for Registration-Equity-AppraisalPerformance—is the most encompassing program the AJCA offers. The package combines these four platforms into one parcel and gives you, the herd owner, the convenience of paying one annual fee to participate in each.
It is easy to budget as you pay on a per cow basis. In addition, as a REAP herd, you receive reduced rates on many AJCA services such as genomic testing, JerseyTags, JerseyMate (free access), transfers, and advertising in the Jersey Journal.
Importance of Information
The AJCA just completed its ninth year of more than 100,000 registrations—121,724 to be exact—which is more than double since 1991. These numbers demonstrate the confidence Jersey breeders have in the services offered by the association. And, indirectly shows the value placed on investing in permanent identification.
These breeders realize the advantages identification offers, least of which is to their bottom line.
By documenting the ancestry of your herd, you can more accurately manage inbreeding, which helps improve production traits, reproductive performance, calf mortality, and other fitness traits—all things that impact your profit margin. In addition, having this information available when you purchase cattle from other herds gets you more for every dollar you spend.
Registrations are similar to an insurance policy— both life and casualty. Every individual will eventually be sold. The certificates of identification are the premium investment that keeps the cash value of the policy current and insures its full value at maturity. At the time of sale, the premiums paid in the form of registration fees will be returned to you with interest.
No one ever knows when a herd may be lost due to some type of disaster. Registration serves as an insurance policy for your herd. The certificate is a documented form of identification that can help substantiate the value of the animal.
If you are behind on your registrations, we encourage you to take advantage of this special and catch up. REAP is a program you will benefit from in many ways. Not only will your insurance policy be up-to-date, but you can take advantage of the many other added benefits the program offers and increase your bottom line in many ways. Animal identification is essential if the breed is to keep improving. The AJCA will continue to be innovative in providing a process that assures individual animal identification. Our #1 goal remains helping Jersey breeders increase profitability.
