Jersey Breeders Come Together to Plan All American
Amidst the pandemic of Coronavirus, dedicated Jersey breeders gathered via conference lines and in person on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio, to plan the 68th edition of The All American Jersey Shows and Sales—the three days of All Jerseys, All the Time scheduled for November 7, 8, and 9, 2020, in Louisville, Ky.
Combined, the 2019 All American shows were the largest exhibition of Jerseys in the world. Total animals through the ring were 386 in the open show and National Jersey Jug Futurity, plus 215 head exhibited by 138 youth in the junior show. The Pot O’Gold Sale again offered a strong group of 35 production-bred heifers with an average of $2,190 followed by the highly successful All American Sale of 64 lots averaging $6,110.66.
Forty-three committee members engaged in discussion at the Embassy Suites Columbus-Airport or through conference lines to the meeting rooms. Committee recommendations were presented at the general session called to order by General Chair, Mark Gardner, Dayton, Pa., then forwarded to the AJCA Board of Directors for action.
Executive Committee
Unaudited financial statements for 2019 showed a net loss of ($7,595) before unrealized gain on investments. The 2020 budget was approved, based on revenues of $142,975 and expenses of $142,950.
Sponsorship fees approved for 2020 were implemented: show class sponsorships, $250; banner-trophy sponsorships, $250; and other trophy sponsorships, $150.
Recognition levels for the event are:
• Underwriters, $10,000 and over;
• Primary Sponsors, $5,000 to $9,999;
• Chairman’s Circle, $1,000 to $4,999;
• Sustainers, $500 to $999;
• Patrons, $250 to $499; and
• Friends of the All American, contributions to $249.
Staff note: Sponsorship is now being accepted for the 2020 All American Jersey Show and events. Contact Kim Billman, AJCA Director of Communications, for more information.
Members of the 2020 Executive Committee are pictured above (from left) Mark Gardner, General Chair; Michael Hurst, Associate General Chair; Aaron Horst, Sale Chair; Joel Albright, Associate Sale Chair; John Lemmermen, Open Show Chair; Christine Sheesley Rozler, Open Show Associate Chair; Tyler Boyd, Futurity Chair; Lynda Lehr, Junior Activities Chair; Brittany Core, Associate Junior Activities Chair; and Jonathan Merriam, past General Chair.
Sale Committee
The All American Jersey Sale is scheduled for Sunday, November 8, at 4:30 p.m. The pre-sale social will begin at 3:30 p.m., with pre-sale ceremonies at 4:00 p.m. Pre-bidding would be allowed before both the All American Jersey Sale and Pot O’Gold Sale through JerseyBid.com.
Females. It was recommended to catalog 75 live females, and offer no more than four embryo packages. Females must be recorded with a minimum Generation Count 4 and also have a Breed Base Representation (BBR) of 100. Animals should be parentage qualified. Heifers under six months of age will have the option of being sold by virtual video format.
Males. Two or three high-ranking genomic-tested young bulls will be offered for syndication, based on marketability. They must have a minimum Generation Count 5 with a BBR of 100 to be sold. If available, a bull that meets the same requirements as females will be offered in the live sale as a non-syndicated bull.
No animal may have a declared carrier of Limber Legs (LL) or Rectovaginal Constriction (RVC) in its three-generation pedigree. Declared carriers of BLAD, DUMPS, SMA, SDM or Holstein haplotype 1, 3, 4 or 5 by genotype test will not be accepted. Bulls selling must also be designated free of Jersey Haplotype 1.
Health testing: Beginning with the 2020 North American International Livestock Exposition, all animals entering the grounds will be required to be tested for BVD-PI.
The committee recommended anaplasmosis testing be dropped. Animals eight-months-old and under do not need to be tested for Bovine Leukosis, but will be announced as not being tested. Animals over eight months of age will still have the option of selling with the announcment of a positive test. Clarification was made on the shipping fever vaccination requirement, recommending an internasal injection.
Sale commissions will be at the following rates: females and non-syndicated males, 20% for the first $10,000, then 15% on the amount from $10,001 to $30,000 and 10% on amounts over 30,001; and syndicated males at 33-1/3% for the first $50,000 and 15% at $50,001 and over.
It was recommended to sell 30-35 heifers in the Pot O’Gold Sale, Saturday, November 7. The sale will move this year to the same location as the All American Jersey Sale in the West Hall. The sale will start no sooner than 4:00 p.m. (or 20 minutes after the junior show ends) on Saturday. Commission will be 25%, with 17% set aside for the production contest awards. Females must be a minimum Generation Count 4 with a BBR of 100 to be eligible for the sale, with all heifers genotyped and having official genomic evaluations by sale date.
Open Show
The All American Jersey Show is scheduled for Monday, November 9, with heifers showing at 7:30 a.m., followed by cow classes beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Animals are eligible to be shown when recorded by the American Jersey Cattle Association in the Herd Register or with Generation Count 4 or greater, or by Jersey Canada with registry status of 93.75% and greater.
The committee recommended a $5 increase to the entry fee. This goes hand-in-hand with last year’s $5 increase with the money coming back to help fund the All American Jersey Show. Entry fees will now be aligned with the other breeds at $35 for the open show.
It was recommended to continue to recognize the highest genomic JPI animal in each class with the animals competing against each other in a junior champion genomic JPI class and a senior champion genomic JPI class.
The committee reviewed the best bred and owned rule and recommends updating the wording to read: when (1) the names of the Breeder and Recorded Owner are identical on the registration certificate, or (2) the recorded Owner is a member of the Breeder’s immediate family and herd unit, and has use of the Breeder’s prefix number. If a non-family member partner is added, breeder eligibility is null and void. This will be a lead out class only if necessary.
A $25 fee will be enforced for AJCA staff to tattoo or re-tag an entry to meet AJCA identification requirements.
National Jersey Jug Futurity
“Roaring 20s” will be the theme for the 2020 show on Sunday, November 8, beginning at 1:30 p.m. following the selection of the Junior Show Supreme Champions at 12:00 noon.
Procedures for handling Jersey Jug payments and/or owner requests for late payments were reviewed. The committee endorsed last year’s decision to allow owners that miss the December 31 deadline to submit nominations from January 1 to March 1 at $15 per entry. All other payments not received by the published deadlines will be refused and the animal(s) will be disqualified.
The committee adopted the wording voted on in the open show committee for the best bred and owned rule to keep consistent across the shows.
The Winner will compete for Intermediate Champion and earn first-place points for Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor. The Reserve Winner qualifies for the Intermediate Champion class and will be credited with second-place points for Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor. However, the Reserve Winner is eligible to be shown in her class in the open show. If shown, points for Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor will be determined by her placing in the open show and she will not be eligible for Intermediate Champion unless she places first or second in the class. Cows placing third through sixth in the Futurity that do not show in the open show will be credited with the appropriate points for Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor. In all cases, Premier Exhibitor points are awarded to the Recorded Owner for the Futurity, even if ownership changes before the open show.
There are 265 two-year-olds eligible to make the final payment for the 2020 Futurity. Payment is due in the AJCA office not later than September 20. A total of 719 animals were nominated for the 2022 Futurity.
Junior Show & Activities
The All American Junior Jersey Show will be held on Saturday, November 7, beginning with the cow classes at 7:30 a.m.
The eligibility and ownership rules were discussed and approved for the junior show:
Rule 1, Exhibitors. Exhibitors must be no younger than nine (9) and no older than 20 years of age as of January 1, 2020. U.S. residents must be members (junior or lifetime) of the American Jersey Cattle Association.
Rule 2, Entries. Animals are eligible when recorded by the American Jersey Cattle Association in the Herd Register or with Generation Count 4 or greater, or by Jersey Canada with registry status of 93.75% and greater.
The exhibitor must be listed as Recorded Owner on the registration certificate, either (1) as the sole owner or (2) by his/her name in joint ownership. If the joint ownership includes more than one person meeting the eligibility requirements of Rule 1 (above), one of them must be declared as the exhibitor during check-in.
Animals must be registered and/or transferred to meet one of the above ownership requirements on or before August 1, 2020. The date of registration and/or transfer is the Date Recorded printed on the registration certificate.
Rule 3, Participation. Entries must be shown by the exhibitor, except by prior written approval from NAILE. Alternate leadspersons must (1) be associated with the Herd Unit and also eligible to show by age (Rule 1), or (2) if not, be the same age or younger than the exhibitor of the animal being shown. Requests for alternate leadsperson must be submitted for approval by the NAILE dairy show superintendent on forms provided by the AJCA not later than 12:00 noon the day before the show.
No more than two (2) animals may be shown by one exhibitor in any one class. The exhibitor must lead the first entry and the second entry must be led by an NAILE approved alternate leadsperson. Adults are not allowed to show in any case.
Rule 4, Breeder Status. In order to qualify for Premier Breeder points and Best Bred and Owned awards, the exhibitor declared at check-in must have his/her name recorded as a Breeder on the animal’s registration certificate. These awards will be made only to the individual exhibitor in the case of partnership animals.
Entry forms for Premier Junior Breeder and Premier Junior Exhibitor will be distributed at check-in. Submit forms not later than 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to the show to the Jersey show superintendent.
The committee endorsed that staff look at the possibility of including junior-shown cows in the National Jersey Jug Futurity be included in breeder points for the Junior Show.
The committee recommended actively pursuing fundraising options for the National Jersey Queen contest in 2020 to grow the fund. The committee endorsed that any female Junior or active Lifetime member between the ages of 16 and 22 as of January 1 of the contest year is eligible for the National Jersey Queen Contest.
