Since the cows first arrived in the 1940s, our farm had exclusively milked Holsteins. For most of the farm’s history, the cows were not registered and mostly herd-bull sired, but they were always black and white.

Heim jennifer
Jennifer Heim

Our breeding objectives today, though, include small to moderate stature, improved fertility and calving, and high component production. We believe we can (and intend to) achieve these goals in our Holstein herd through careful breeding, but these objectives also sparked our interest in the Jersey breed. In April 2015, a very well-respected Jersey herd only about two hours from our farm dispersed, and we took the opportunity to purchase two Jerseys. We had some doubts about how successful they might be on our farm, but this was a convenient opportunity to give those big-eyed brown cows a chance. So, how did it go? I’m not sure we can fully answer that yet, but roughly a year after adding those first two Jerseys, we purchased more.

The doubts

Our milk cows are housed in a single group, and space at the feeder is at a premium. Our biggest concern was whether the Jerseys could hold their own in a mostly Holstein herd. From day one, our new additions had to compete with mature Holsteins literally twice their size in some cases. We also worried that milk production would be too low and that the cows would not “fit” our facilities.

Observations after 18 months

The Jerseys are much smaller than the Holsteins, even moderate stature Holsteins. Milk production is lower, but not as much as we expected. Component production is higher, but also not as much as we expected. Both cows and heifers have great fertility, even with gender-sorted semen. Jerseys are laid-back and easy to work with without being excessively friendly, and they have no trouble competing with our Holsteins. Just like a Holstein 2-year-old might, they occasionally get pushed around by an older cow, but the Jerseys generally go right back to eating, drinking or whatever they were doing. They don’t get pushed up in the parlor stalls, and they are always entertaining.

Keys to success

If you’re interested in testing out another breed, it’s important to keep in mind that all breeds are not created equal. We find the Jerseys a little bit quirky, but we’ve been able to learn from others’ experience to troubleshoot and be prepared for Jersey-specific issues. We also used those more familiar as a resource for learning about Jersey genetics. We purchased our Jerseys from registered herds whose reputations we were familiar with, and we selected cows with pedigrees and genomic results that aligned with our goals.

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Was the purchase successful? Ultimately, it’s probably too early to say. What I know is this: Today we are milking four Jerseys and 96 Holsteins, but I expect and intend for those numbers to continue to shift until the Jerseys make up about a third of the total herd. I also won’t be surprised if that projection changes (plus or minus) as we progress, but certainly, it’s safe to say we’re pleased with how this colorful experiment has turned out so far.  end mark

Jennifer Heim

PHOTO: Staff photo.