Jersey Jargon, November 2019
With the internet readily available on devices ranging from the desktop computer in the barn office to the cell phone, Jersey producers are increasingly relying on this technology to manage their herds wherever they roam.
On the heels of the recently released Jersey Journal website (usjerseyjournal.com), staff members wanted to know other places Jersey breeders turn for information online. The Journal conducted an informal survey asking readers to identify their go-to sites for dairy information.
In this month’s Jersey Jargon column, we will share the top responses. Jersey breeders named official sites, as well as email newsletters, social media and other outlets as sources on which they depend to manage the herd every day.
Business Sites
The following sources were mentioned most frequently as those used to help manage specific aspects of their businesses, like finances or genetics. The sites are listed in alphabetical order.
- Dairy Wellness (dairywellness.com): herd health and reproduction reference from Zoetis.
- Global Dairy Trade (globaldairytrade.com): reference site for worldwide dairy ingredient prices.
- infoJersey (infojersey.com): online service of the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) for registering animals and ordering other products.
- MilkPay (milkpay.com): mobile app; simulator for income data, milk per cow per day, economic impact and more based on herd data and Federal Milk Marketing Order statistics.
- MilkPoint (milkpoint.com.br): international dairy news portal, based in Brazil.
- PocketDairy: mobile app; herd management program for use with PCDART.
- National Weather Service (weather.gov and graphical.weather.gov): websites operated by the National Oceanic and atmospheric Administration for predicting weather.
Jersey producers also heavily rely on websites maintained by state extension services, equipment providers, A.I. organizations and milk marketing cooperatives to operate their dairy farms.
Top Overall Sites
The following were mentioned most frequently as a source of general dairy and social information from the bovine world.
- The Bullvine (thebullvine.com): online dairy community.
- Cowsmo (cowsmo.com): official site for Cowmopolitan magazine.
- Dairy Agenda Today (dairyagendatoday.com): news portal.
- Dairy Herd (dairyherd.com): official site of Dairy Herd Management magazine.
- Dairy Star (dairystar.com): official site of Dairy Star newspaper.
- Facebook (facebook.com): online social media.
- Hoard’s Dairyman (hoards.com): official site of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine; Hoard’s Dairy Intel, the publication’s weekly email newsletter, was also frequently mentioned as a source of information.
- Progressive Dairy (progressivedairy.com): official site of Progressive Dairy magazine.
Jersey breeders also mentioned several sites that provide local agriculture information, such as Morning AgClips (morningagclips.com), and those maintained by local or regional publications.
USJersey.com
The national Jersey organizations have several other online tools to help Jersey producers manage their herds. All can be accessed through USJersey.com.
- Green Book (https://greenbook.usjersey.com/Home.aspx): official Jersey Genetic Summary, includes lists for marketed bulls, genomic bulls and the breed’s top cows and heifers for Jersey Performance Index.
- BullsEye (https://infojersey.usjersey.com/publictools/bullseye/bullseye1.aspx): sire selection tool to sort Registered Jersey bulls in real time based on your criteria.
- Jersey Directory (http://www.jerseydirectory.com): listing of Jersey breeders by state and industry suppliers by area of expertise.
- JerseySites (http://jerseyjournal.usjersey.com/JerseySites.aspx): listing of Jersey breeders with websites hosted by the AJCA.
- Jersey Auction Live (http://www.jerseyauctionlive.com): view sales and place bids in real time with this service managed by Jersey Marketing Service.