Average Up, Volume Down for Jerseys at Public Auction
In its annual public auction summary, the American Jersey Cattle Association reports 562 lots of Registered Jerseys sold for an average of $4,316.95—a historical high—and gross receipts of $2,426,125. Versus the statistics from 2023, the average climbed more than $300 and the lots sold decreased 370-plus. The analysis is based on sales conducted last year and submitted to the Jersey Journal.
It should surprise no one that the average is way up, and the numbers way down as they represent a trend that has been gaining momentum for some time. The market for dairy cattle of all makes is in a place it has not been in eons, if ever.
Dairy replacements across the country are in high demand and short supply, fueled by the beef-on-dairy movement and the ability to create only the replacements one needs—no more—using sexed semen. In a cyclical pattern, the scarce, high-priced replacements prompt dairy producers to retain mature cows longer to reduce costs and maintain levels of production. Fewer culls results in less beef for the consumer and sustained high prices for beef calves. Experts predict this protocol will continue, but there could be a shift as dairy producers push the pencil to determine whether it is more profitable to breed for dairy replacements or beef calves.
| 64 | Cows, two years and over | $4,562.50 | $292,000 |
| 2 calves under three months, sold with dam | 2,475.00 | 4,950 | |
| 99 | Bred heifers | 3,112.12 | 308,100 |
| 44 3rd trimester bred heifers | 2,656.82 | 116,900 | |
| 29 2nd trimester bred heifers | 3,534.48 | 102,500 | |
| 26 1st trimester bred heifers | 3,411.54 | 88,700 | |
| 37 | Open yearlings | 3,266.89 | 120,875 |
| 309 | Heifer calves | 4,583.50 | 1,416,300 |
| 27 | Embryos or flush packages | 1,442.59 | 38,950 |
| 9 | Choices of calves | 8,733.33 | 78,600 |
| 17 | Rights to flush | 9,785.29 | 166,350 |
| 562 | Lots | $4,316.95 | $2,426,125 |
These overall patterns affect the sales of Registered Jersey cattle as well. The regional volume sales of commercial cattle so popular just a decade ago are now fewer and further between. Dairy producers who are positioned to sell replacements can capitalize from private treaty transactions, selling cattle when the time and conditions are just right for them.
Nevertheless, Registered Jerseys are still actively bought and sold. Jersey breeders remain committed to investing in genetics that will improve their herds and jump at the chance to expand desirable maternal lines. Many of the sales conducted in 2024 were standbys or collaborative efforts that included guest consignments. Others focused on a special segment of the market.
Among the niche market sales in 2024 was the year’s highest-averaging sale, Fun in the Sun-Amplify Edition. High-end genomic lots of Holsteins, Jerseys and Brown Swiss were offered, with the 10 Jersey lots selling for an average of $11,575. The virtual event held on March 1 kicked off the Amplify Event in Hilmar, Calif., the following day. The sale was managed by the Cattle Exchange and cried by Dave Rama.
Another genomic offering—Spring into Opportunity at Pine Tree—was one of the top five sales for gross receipts in 2024. Hosted by the Steiner family of Marshallville, Ohio, it offered elite genomics from some of the breed’s contemporary bloodlines. With an average of $5,185.63 and gross receipts of $207,425 on 40 lots, it ranks fourth for gross and sixth for average. The sale was managed by Jersey Marketing Service (JMS) and cried by Chris Hill.
Two popular series sales managed by Nathan and Jenny Thomas of Thomas Marketing and Consulting were the high-grossing sales of 2024 and ranked among the best for average as well. The Best of Triple T and Friends was the high-grossing sale of the year, with gross receipts of $442,650 on 69 lots. The average of $6,415.22 ranks fourth. Held on June 8 at Triple T Holsteins and Jerseys in North Lewisburg, Ohio, the sale was a continuation of the series established by the Thomases with the late Michael Heath in Columbus, Ohio, in 2014.
The other Thomas-managed sale was the previously mentioned Amplify Event on March 2 in Hilmar. Held two years after Vierra Dairy’s first Amplify event, the sale auctioned 68 lots for a gross of $419,550 and an average of $6,169.85. The gross ranks second and the average ranks fifth among sales held in 2024.
The team in the box at both the Best of Triple T and Friends and the Amplify Event included Chris Hill as auctioneer and Norm Nabholz as pedigree man.
A pair of JMS-managed sales perennially ranked among the year’s top sales—the National Heifer Sale and the All American Jersey Sale—ranked high again this year. The National Heifer Sale sold 30 lots for an average of $7,748.33 and a gross of $232,450 to rank second for average and fourth for gross. The virtual event was held in conjunction with the annual meetings in Springfield, Mass., on June 21. The auctioneer was Chris Hill.
The All American Jersey Sale held on November 9 in Louisville, Ky., struck off 47 lots. With an average of $6,694.68 and a gross of $314,650, the sale ranks third for average and third for gross. Chris Hill was the auctioneer and Herby Lutz read pedigrees.
Jersey breeders and young show enthusiasts had several other opportunities to purchase Registered Jerseys during 2024. The 19 public auctions included in the sales analysis were held in the United States during the calendar year 2024 and submitted to the Jersey Journal by January 15, 2025. Only sales reported with complete catalogs and marked with buyers and prices for all animals are included. Sales with fewer than 10 lots are included in the summary but not ranked among the high-averaging sales. Animals that sold in sales with fewer than 10 head, though, are included in the list of high-selling individuals.
High Sellers
The 15 high-selling lots of 2024 crossed the auction block at one of the six previously mentioned sales. All are females as no bulls were syndicated during the year.
The high selling individual, JX Matos Olivia {6}, was struck off for $77,000 at the National Heifer Sale. The March 2024 daughter of JX Primus Watkins Cabal {5}-ET was consigned by Matos Dairy of Hilmar and purchased by Vierra Dairy and the Semex Alliance of Guelph, Ont. She ranked as high as #4 for GJPI and today ranks #6 with an index of +207. She is plus for components and the fertility traits Cow Conception Rate (CCR), Heifer Conception Rate (HCR) and Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DP) and has a Genomic Predicting Transmitting Ability (GPTA) of +1.9 for Type. Her dam, sired by JX CDF JLS Pilgrim Thrasher {6}, ranks among the top 500 cows for GJPI with an index of +151.
Another genomic standout was the second high-selling individual, auctioned at the All American Jersey Sale for $53,500. Matthew Steiner of Pine Tree Genetics and ABS partnered to purchase JX T-D-I Cerberus Tinkers 17854 {5}-P. Selling virtually, the September heifer calf is sired by JX Primus Monster Cerberus {6}-ET. She has GPTAs of +1.3 for CCR, +2.0 for HCR and +1.3 for DPR and is +0.02% for both fat and protein. She ranks #11 among polled females for genetic merit with a GJPI of +183. She was consigned by The Dairy Inc. of Five Points, Calif.
The high seller of the Best of Triple T and Friends, TJ Classic Chocolate Darby, was the third highest-selling individual for 2024, purchased for $51,500 by Vierra Dairy Farms. The Very Good-88% daughter of Avonlea Joel Chocolatier-ET freshened in March 2024 with her first calf and sold due to WF Joel Goldust in early February. “Darby” is a potential ninth-generation Excellent. She was consigned by Allison, Lane and Callum Francis of Greenville, Ohio.
Select Sires Inc. of Plain City, Ohio, purchased two lots struck off for $34,000, the fourth-high price of the year. Their first purchase, JX Pine-Tree 2764 Weld 1168 {5}-P-ET, was the high seller of Spring into Opportunity at Pine Tree in April. The November 2023 daughter of Dupat Thrasher Weld-ET ranked #13 among polled females on sale day and now ranks #58 with a GJPI of +171. She is +312M, +49F (+0.17%) and +33P (+0.13%) and tested A2A2 for beta-casein. She was consigned by sale host, Matthew Steiner.
The genetics company purchased the other $34,000-priced lot at the National Heifer Sale in June. The lot was rights to an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) session with a choice of females from the herd at Kash-In Jerseys of Tulare, Calif. They chose donor dam Kash-In Becks 72491-P, a daughter of Forest Glen Westport Becks. With a GJPI of +180, she ranks #17 among polled females and #299 among all females with Herd Register or Generation Count 4-6 status. Her dams are both Very Good and have m.e. averages above 21,000 lbs. milk.
Lot 1 from the All American Jersey Sale was the fifth high seller of the year at $32,000. Select Sires joined forces with Jerseyland in the purchase of JX MM Els Island 33945 {6}. The July 2024 daughter of JX Victory Thrasher Els {6}-ET is +552M, +62F (+0.17%) and +43P (+0.11%). She ranks #85 on the list of top Herd Register or Generation Count 4-6 females with a GJPI of +190. She was consigned by Misty Meadow Dairy of Tillamook, Ore.
Following right behind her in the catalog as Lot 2 of the All American Jersey Sale was one of two lots to sell for the sixth high price of the year—$31,000. ABS Global Inc., de Forest, Wis., went solo to purchase JX Roc-Bot Crispin 18451 {6}. On sale day, she ranked #1 for genetic merit among her paternal sisters, daughters of JX Primus Thrasher Crispin {5}-ET. She currently ranks #208 for GJPI on the Herd Register list with an index of +183. She was consigned by Rock Bottom Dairy, Alvord, Iowa.
The other lot to sell for $31,000 was the high seller of the Fun in the Sun-Amplify Edition. Select Sires made the purchase, another IVF session of donor dams at Kash-In Jerseys. With the winning bid, they purchased the right to choose between Kash-In Becks 72491-P or JX Kash-In Callan 72110 {5}-ET. The selection was to be conducted following the April 2024 genetic evaluations.
The seventh high seller of 2024 was struck off in North Lewisburg at the Best of Triple T and Friends. Ron and Christy Ratliff, Garnett, Kan., purchased Mer-James VIP Finny-ET for $23,500. The Excellent-91% daughter of River Valley Venus VIP-ET was All-Canadian Junior Two-Year-Old in 2023. Her Excellent-94% dam, Mer-James Fizz Figgy Azalea, was Supreme Champion of the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show in 2022. The next dam is Excellent-93% and is backed by another nine dams that are Excellent or Very Good. “Finny” was consigned by Crackholm, Richmond, Que.
Jerseyland Sires, Turlock, Calif., purchased the eighth high seller of 2024 at the Fun in the Sun sale for $21,000. The genetics company took home JX MM Blizzard Lizzy 23987 {6}, a June 2023 heifer sired by Valsigna Pine Blizzard. She ranked among the top 200 females for genetic merit on sale day and was consigned by Misty Meadow Dairy.
Two heifer calves sold for $20,000 each as co-ninth high sellers. Vierra Victorious Julep-ET was the high seller of the Amplify Event in March. She was consigned by sale host, Vierra Dairy Farms, and purchased by Mortimer Jerseys of Smithfield, Utah. Sired by River Valley Victorious-ET, the winter calf hails from the “Jamie” cow family bred by Stoney Point Jerseys in Maryland. Her dam is River Valley Colton Juliette-ET, Excellent-94%, Reserve Grand Champion of the 2023 International Jersey Show and second aged cow at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. “Juleps” grandam, Stoney Point Excitation Jamie, Excellent-96%, is the 2013 National Grand Champion.
The other $20,00-priced heifer, Pacific Edge Getaway Damsel, sold three months later to Ron and Christy Ratliff in the Best of Triple T and Friends. The lineage of the winter calf traces to the “Déjà vu” branch of the “Veronica” cow family developed by the Ratliffs. “Damsel” is sired by Rapid Bay Getaway-ET and out of Pacific Edge Premier Diva-ET, the Best Bred and Owned and Senior GJPI Champion of the 2022 All American Jersey Show. Her third dam is Arethusa Primetime Déjà vu-ET, Excellent-95%, and her fourth dam is world-famous Huronia Centurion Veronica 20J, Excellent-97%, winner of the 2015 Jersey Journal Great Cow Contest and 2004 National Grand Champion.
“Damsel” was consigned by Brent L. Rocha, Tillamook, Ore.
Rounding out the top 10 prices paid for Registered Jerseys in 2024 is Vierra Impression Aspen-ET, who sold in the Amplify Event for $18,800 to Tillman and Noel Peters of Danville, Ind. The fall heifer calf sired by Rock Ella Impression-ET is out of J.P.L. Joel Adelia, Excellent-94%, the 2020 Reserve All American Milking Yearling. Three years later, she was Reserve Grand Champion of The Jersey Event, topped the four-year-old class at the International Jersey Show and was Reserve All-Canadian Four-Year-Old. “Aspen” was consigned by Vierra Dairy Farms.
Many Jersey breeders who hosted sales last year or have developed popular series sales are planning events again this year. Make plans now to support these events, spend some quality time with fellow Jersey breeders and bring something special home. And watch for future sales too, posted on the Jersey Journal website calendar.
