Jersey girls proving a ‘very profitable dairy cow’

The makeup of the national dairy herd is not as black and white as it once was with Jerseys comprising more than 17 per cent of the national herd.

Colloquial views that Jerseys are rising in popularity in the nation’s dairy herd have been proved correct in the latest analysis of the industry.

DataGene, which holds Australia’s largest database of performance records for dairy cattle with more than 18 million has just released its findings on the composition of the herd, and Jerseys are on the up.

Jerseys numbers are increasing and the bread now makes up 17 per cent of the national herd.

Information collected in the Central Data Repository has shown a change in the breed standings over the past decade.

Holsteins, which used to comprise 76 per cent of the herd a decade ago have slipped back to 70 per cent, albeit still the major breed.

But Jerseys have been slowly increasing in popularity, up 2 per cent the past decade to now comprise more than 17 per cent of the national herd.

DataGene’s Michelle Axford said the organisation wanted more farmers to record their cows and their breeds to obtain a more accurate picture of the national herd composition.

She said recording the breed, if it’s known, assisted the herd improvement sector.

“If the breed of a calf is known, say for example it’s mostly Holstein, recording the breed increases the precision with which statistics can be delivered,” Ms Axford said.

“It also increases the chance of that animal getting a breeding value of its own, for genetic evaluation.”

But she said it was important to be certain about the breed.

“If a dairy farmer doesn’t know the breed it is better to leave this blank than record potentially inaccurate information or genomic test the animal for an accurate determination of the calf’s breed,” she said.

More dairy farmers are giving Jersey cows a run in their herds.

Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett said it was a pleasant surprise to see the lift in Jersey numbers nationally.

“The proportion of the national herd had been sitting at around 15 per cent for a couple of years so to see it lift shows people are recognizing the strength and role of Jerseys in the Australian dairy industry,” Mr Barrett said.

“A study in 2021 showed there was a profitable advantage in running Jerseys compared to Holsteins and it’s about mid-size and feed efficiency.”

The higher fat content of Jerseys compared to other breeds was another factor which was creating interest in the breed.

“Jerseys are a very profitable dairy cow,” Mr Barrett said.

“At a lot of Jersey sales, we are seeing more and more non-Jersey breeders interested and buying.

“If they buy one cow, it’s a start and while a good cow is a good cow, there are clear profit advantages in running Jerseys.”