Tennessee Meeting 2019
The Tennessee Jersey Cattle Club held its annual meeting on January 26, 2019, at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Members convened for discussion, to hear from American Jersey Cattle Association and industry guest speakers and to celebrate accomplishments in the past year. The Tennessee Jersey Cattle Club is the oldest state club in the nation and was founded in 1876. The first Registered Jersey in Tennessee was entered into Herd Book I in the year 1867.
Howard and Polly Moore of Hickory Grove Jerseys accept the Adult of the Year Award for their dedication and service to juniors.
Business Meeting
The keynote speaker for the meeting was Danny Sutton, dairy administrator for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. He explained the goals of the state’s new Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Charles Hatcher and also discussed the ways his office can service and advise producers in a challenging dairy economy.
AJCA-NAJ area representative Jason Robinson gave a report on the national association.
It was the second best year in history for animals enrolled in performance programs with 167,326 animals in 1,045 herds. It was also the sixth consecutive year that over 100,000 animals were appraised with a grand total of 105,336. He also spoke about the upcoming online President’s Day Sale where purchases could be made at JerseyBid.com.
Junior Awards
Lindsay Nicholas, Ethridge, lead the reports on junior activities and awards. She made mention that the juniors now have their own Facebook page to stay up to date on news and activities.
Juniors received several awards for accomplishments throughout the year, including premier exhibitor of the pre-4-H division, Hayden Nicholas, Ethridge; junior division, Kaitlyn Snodgrass, Morristown; junior high division, Branson Smithson, Bradyville; and senior high division, Perry Baird, Readyville.
The honors for Outstanding Jersey Girl were also recognized. These went to Kaitlyn Snodgrass; junior high, Alison Graves, Talbott; and senior high, Ashley Bell, Palmersville.
The Outstanding Jersey Boy honors went to junior, Braydon Smithson, Bradyville; junior high, Branson Smithson; and senior high, Jayme Ozburn, Lewisburg.
Boyd-Lee Jerseys, Parrottsville, sponsored the junior production awards. The winning two-year-old cow was a Very Good Dutch Hollow Charlemagne, GJPI +81, daughter, Aspen Grove Charlemagne Dixie, owned by Lauren Graves, Talbott, who produced 17,280 lbs. milk, 1,097 lbs. fat and 626 lbs. protein. Rebel Farm Zuma Xylinda 329, owned by Ashley Bell, was the winning three-year-old. She produced 15,280 lbs. milk, 812 lbs. fat and 628 lbs. protein. Alison Graves had the winning four-year-old with Aspen Grove Hostage Cindy. The Excellent-90% daughter of Sun Valley Zuma Hostage-ET, GJPI +84 had 16,250 lbs. milk, 1,089 lbs. fat and 607 lbs. protein. Graves also won the aged cow division with Aspen Grove Lasting Fawn, Excellent-92% who had a record of 19,670 lbs. milk, 1,231 lbs. fat and 691 lbs. protein.
Production Awards and Recognition
Juniors voted on the Adult of the Year Award, announcing recipients Howard and Polly Moore of Hickory Grove Jerseys, Cleveland. The Moore family has a long history of owning Jerseys beginning in 1942. They currently participate in the REAP program. For years they have opened their herd to local 4-Hers giving them the opportunity to show their heifers at such high-profile events as the national Jersey shows in Louisville, Ky. They were recognized with a hand-painted and engraved cookie jar crafted by Lindsay Nicholas.
The adult production award winners were also recognized. The top two-year-old cow was Tenn Axis AOD Maid with 19,733 lbs. milk, 724 lbs. fat and 605 lbs. protein owned by the University of Tennessee Dairy Research and Education Center, Knoxville. The University also had the first place three-year-old JX Tenn Syrious AOC Maid {5} with 14,096 lbs. milk, 586 lbs. fat and 471 lbs. protein. Fritzglen Impuls 1763 was the winning four-year-old for Fritzglen Dairy, Springfield, and produced 27,120 lbs. milk, 1,331 lbs. fat and 1,060 lbs. protein. Fritzglen Dairy was also the top producer in the state within 10-49 cow herds. They produced an actual average of 18,607 lbs. milk, 863 lbs. fat and 648 lbs. protein with an m.e. average of 30,708―941―712.
Charles Steer of Sunbow Jerseys, Cottage Grove, won the aged cow division with JX Sunbow Hendrix Hope {4} who produced 24,320 lbs. milk, 1,327 lbs. fat and 839 lbs. protein. Steer also had the leading lifetime production cow Sunbow Abe Trust who accomplished an eight lactation m.e. of 20,403―824―691. Sunbow Jerseys was recognized as the top production herd in the state for their size (100-149 cows). Their 2018 actual average was 17,572 lbs. milk, 851 lbs. fat and 600 lbs. protein. Their m.e. average was 19,684―944―673.
Other herds recognized for top performance in accordance to their herd size were Harold, Lloyd and Glen Bell, Dresden, (50-99 cows) with an actual average of 14,045 lbs. milk, 703 lbs. fat and 531 lbs. protein with an m.e. of 17,313―852―654 and Barham Jerseys, Athens, (over 150 cows) with and actual average of 15,807 lbs. milk 809 lbs. fat and 560 lbs. protein an m.e. average of 18,021―910―637.
Production Awards and Recognition
Board members elected to three year terms were Daniel Parks, Morristown, Neal Smith and Lynn Lee, Chapel Hill. The officers to serve in the coming year are Deborah Boyd, Parrottsville, president and Daniel Parks, vice president and Jennifer Blankenship, treasurer.