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THE SUSTAINABLE BREED

Jersey is the most sustainable of the common dairy breeds.

Jerseys produce more profit (approximately 8%) than Holstein Friesians when stocked at optimal stocking rates. Jerseys are kinder on the environment at the cow, whole farm and industry level. More dry matter consumed goes into milk and less into maintenance reducing the greenhouse gas emission and urinary nitrogen excretion per kg DM consumed.

Nationally, Jerseys have higher genetic merit (BW), which means greater profits and lower GHG emissions and urinary N excrection. Jersey herds require fewer replacements because of less mastitis, lameness and anoestrus. This increases profit and reduces GHG emissions and urinary N excretion at the farm level.

THE JERSEY ADVANTAGE

The economic difference between dairy breeds has never been greater. At a $7.30 payout the average Jersey herd will make a 73-cent margin over their Holstein Friesian counterparts. The margin is a combination of higher milk price, more milk solids per unit of feed and lower replacement costs. Longer term stabilising of the VCR to 0.7-0.8 as many analysts are predicting, will still see Jerseys retain a 60-cent margin.

BENEFITS OF JERSEY GENETICS

Feed conversion efficiency
Jerseys have been proven conclusively as the most efficient of the three main breeds. Jerseys produce an average of 8% more milk solids per kilogram of dry matter – 1-2% more protein and 11-13% more fat – than Holstein Friesians.

Genetic gain & crossbreeding
A strong Jersey breed is critical for crossbreeding programmes and to maintain genetic diversity. Genetic diversity will allow the New Zealand dairy industry to sustain genetic improvement and dairy farmers to adapt their livestock to changing environments and demands.

Heat tolerance
Jersey cattle display superior heat tolerance, through their ability to maintain feed intake, milk production and reproduction under warm temperatures.

Environmental sustainability
Research by DairyNZ has concluded that methane emissions and urinary nitrogen excretions are linked to dry matter intake with, on average, 22g methane emitted per kgDM eaten. Jerseys require less feed to achieve the same milk solids output as other breeds. This, coupled with lower replacement rates due to superior fertility, as well as lower milk volumes requiring less milk cartage and drying, combine to deliver significant environmental advantage. We estimate that Jerseys have a 12% carbon efficiency advantage.

Animal welfare and longevity
The Jersey breed provides animal welfare advantages in the form of longer cow life expectancy through reduced feet and leg problems, fewer collapsed udders, less mastitis, less calving difficulty and significantly lower empty rates due to superior fertility. Jerseys on average require a significantly lower replacement rate than their Holstein Friesian counterparts – 17% compared to 22%.

POTENTIAL

What would happen if your herd changed from black/black & white to golden brown

  • You keep the same number of cows
  • You feed the golden brown cows so they produce the same kg MS
  • By breeding lower liveweight cows, your farm would decrease its methane emissions by 9.5% and will produce the same amount of milk solids but would require less supplement or nitrogen to do this.

COMPARISON

Jersey’s outperform all other breeds in terms of higher kg milksolids/kg LWT. It is also known that Jersey’s are 9% better than Friesian and 3.7% better than cross-breed on a per kg LWT basis using the genetic base cow data.

THE BREED FOR VARIABLE MILKING SYSTEMS

Better udder conformation and higher milk solid percentages make Jerseys more adaptable to the shift from Twice a Day to Once a Day milking according to the findings of Project Dairy 1 at Massey University, Manawatu.

  • The level of milk production drop for Jerseys going onto OAD is always less, with up to 9% less decline for Jersey than Holstein-Friesian.
  • Kg MS/kg LWt is significantly higher for Jersey, with a 13% advantage over Holstein-Friesian and a 6% advantage over Jersey Fresian cross.
  • Jersey in OAD herds are less likely to be culled due to udder breakdown, therefore fewer replacements are needed, creating a sustainable system.

The Jersey’s ability to carry 24 hours milk production (with high milk solids %) is a key attribute. If you are considering changing to a OAD system, then Jersey is your breed of choice as they are best able to cope with the increased milk volume.

FERTILITY

Fertility breeding values are based on 5 calving within 42 days of the start of calving. On average, Jerseys have the highest fertility breeding value. Fertility breeding values (% calving within 42 days of the start of calving) are calculated from information derived from herd recording software such as MINDA and MISTRO, herd testing and Traits Other Than Production (TOP) assessments.

Eight individual predictor traits are currently used to estimate the fertility breeding value:

  • Calving rate in the first 42 days after the planned start of calving (CR42) in lactation 1, 2 and 3
  • Presented for mating within 21 days of the planned start of mating (PM21) in lactation 1, 2 and 3

THE SCIENCE

Jerseys have a slightly different fat metabolism compared to Holstein Freisians. They have more SCFA and MCFA’s (short and mid-chain fatty acids). More de novo fat synthesis is found with Jerseys in early lactation. Holstein Friesians uses more fatty acids from the blood as well.

BREEDING VALUE

The Jersey cow consistently outperforms other breeds in delivering superior breeding values