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Waterman Dairy Jerseys

The Waterman Dairy currently houses about 100 Jersey milk cows with about 65 Jersey replacements. The milking herd is enrolled in the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) Registration, Equity, Appraisal and Performance (REAP) program. According to the August 2011 release of the Jersey Green book (http://greenbook.usjersey.com/Portals/1/2011/August/811_TopHerds_JPI.pdf), The Ohio State Waterman Dairy ranks within the top 25% of all Jersey herds ranked by the average Jersey Performance Index (JPI) of cows with traditional genetic evaluations.

Cows that rank in The top 200 cows for traditionally calculated Jersey Performance Index™ (JPI):

  • 4495 – OHIO LOUIE ARTIS
  • 4203 – NEZINSCOT IMPULS TESS

Nationally ranked cows (top 1.5% in the breed based on Genomic JPI) on site:

  • 3093 – GR HILLVIEW GANNON BLUMOON-ET

The all-Jersey herd has been at Waterman since 2010, when the farm switched from a herd of Holsteins and Jerseys to Jerseys only. The decision to move to an all Jersey herd was difficult because both breeds have desirable traits, but in the end the decision came mostly down to animal size and feed consumption, plus the Krauss Dairy, part of the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, maintains a herd of Holsteins. Jersey cows typically have an average weight of 900 pounds, while Holsteins weigh in at around 1,500 pounds. Since dairy cattle typically eat the equivalent of about 4% of their body weight a day, this switch to Jerseys enables the farm to best match our crop production to the needs of the herd. In August 2010, parts of the facility were retrofitted for the smaller framed cattle. To learn more about the Waterman Jersey story, please see the linked article, “Jerseys: Core of the Waterman Dairy Mission” (Reprinted from the October 2010 edition of the Jersey Journal.)

Although the typical dairy cow image is of a Holstein with her distinguishing black and white markings, the Jersey breed is gaining in popularity across the United States. Over the past decade (2000-2009) the number of registered Jerseys has increased 50% (according to US Jersey; Reynoldsburg, OH). One of the reasons Jerseys are prized as a dairy cow is their milk protein and fat contents. Jersey milk fat content generally ranges from 4.3-5.0%, with the highest average of any breed, while Holstein milk fat content ranges from 3.3-3.9%. As an example of the result of this difference, if you consider 100 pounds of milk, Jersey milk could produce about 12.3 pounds of cheese compared to 10.0 pounds of cheese from average milk produced in the US. Protein content of Jersey milk (3.57%) is also higher than Holstein milk (3.05%). Jersey milk contains higher amounts of calcium and other nutrients than milk from other dairy breeds. As far as efficiency, Jerseys produce more milk per pound of body weight and more milk fat per unit of feed than heavier breeds of dairy cattle. Jerseys also have the longest longevity in the milking herd of any dairy breed. And if we consider cheese again, using Jersey’s for cheese production can conserve resources and reduce environmental impact according to a recent article in the National All-Jersey, Inc. Equity Newsletter (read more).