still in business
Informations collected by Hans Nørgaard
Homestead of St. Peter, Jersey Island
On October 18th 1996 Thomas Francis Le Ruez invited me
to have dinner at Homestead in St. Peter on Jersey Island. It was quite
a special event to me, as we were celebrating the centennial for the first
shipment of Jersey cattle meant for Denmark. The steamer "Jyden"
left St. Helier on October 15th, 1896 with 84 Jerseys on board, bought
by the Danish pioneer Jørgen Larsen, Gårdbogård.
Thomas Francis
Le Ruez
Thomas Francis`s grandfather Francis Le Brocq pioneered the export of
cattle to England and America. During his lifetime he bought and shipped
more than 30.000 head of stock - an amazing number, when one realises that
the total stock in Jersey at that time, as now, was less than 8.000, though
it rose to over 11.000 in the 1930s. He was also responsible, at the turn
of the century, for the export of many hundred animals to Denmark, to form
the nucleus of the breed now famous in that country.
Two of
the most famous breeders and cattle dealers in the island of Jersey, Francis
Le Brocq and John A. Perrée in front of Niagara Falls in US.
Francis Le Brocq married off his daughter Adele to Henry Prouings Le Ruez, son of Thomas Le Ruez, a Constable of St. Mary. He started a herd with the purchase of a cow called Sainte Louise 6th. She was a heavy milker and, bred to a famous bull, Majesty, she produced Majesty`s Louise. The Louise line has ever since been much sought after.
Henry Prouings Le Ruez, son of Thomas, and father of Thomas Francis came to Homestead in St. Peter from his father`s farm, Westfield, in 1923. He brought with him two cows and two yearling heifers Summer Louise and Dairy Gambogia, both of the Louise strain. The latter produced a daughter, Sweet September, which caused a sensation when she appeared before the Herd Book judges. Though she was early exported and never shown, she established the reputation of the herd. Her son "Right Royal" commanded the highest stud fee of the time in Jersey, and was later very successful in the U.S.A. and Canada.
According to Jersey Evening Post on December 24th 1999 "Francis
Le Ruez has been made an honorary life member of the Royal Jersey Agricultural
and Horticultural Society - only the sixth person in the society's history
to be so honoured.
Mr Le Ruez (85) was described as 'a master breeder and great ambassador
for the Jersey cow worldwide' by the society's president, Lewis Rondel,
at a gathering of some 50 members, held at Les Charrières Hotel.
The meeting followed the recent announcement of Mr Le Ruez's honorary
life membership to the society's annual general meeting.
Delivering a tribute to Mr Le Ruez at the meeting, RJAHS vice-president
Derrick Frigot said: 'Francis has always been a shy man, never someone
to push himself forward. This was highlighted when he was told about this
award. In typical fashion, his first remark was, "But there must be someone
more deserving than me!'' '
Mr Le Ruez, who was at the reception with his wife, Elin, his children,
Henry and Elisabeth, brothers, sisters, and other relatives, replied to
Mr Frigot's tribute by saying simply: 'I don't deserve anything; I do appreciate
it.'
In his address, Mr Frigot said that as important as the breeding of
cattle was in Jersey, it was evident
that this could also be said of cattle breeding families, and Mr Le
Ruez's own bloodlines were 'steeped in the purple of cattle breeding families'.
Mr Le Ruez's paternal grandfather, Thomas, started the family herd,
and his grandfather on his mother's side, Francis Le Brocq, pioneered the
export of cattle from the Island to England, the USA and Denmark. He shipped
in total more than 30,000 head of stock, and established the Jersey breed
in Denmark.
Thomas Le Ruez's sons, Henry and Ernest Le Ruez, were both expert cattle
breeders, as, in the next generation, were three of Henry Le Ruez's eight
children - Francis, and his two brothers John and Laurence"
.
The Royal Jersey Herd at Windsor, England
Kensington Palace What to see: The rooms is hung with
paintings collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, including,
The Victoria Cow by Thomas Sidney Cooper. The cow was sent to the Queen
from Jersey in 1843 and was said to have been named ‘Victoria’ from the
‘V’ shaped mark between its horns. The picture was commissioned by the
Queen who was said to be delighted with the finished work.
In 1837 Her Majesty Queen Victoria ascended the Throne, and shortly after graciously granted Her Royal Patronage upon the Jersey Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society. She visited the Island of Jersey with the Prince Consort in 1846, when a gift of fruit was presented to her. The following year the Society sent a two year old heifer (bought from Mr. Thomas Filleul for £23) and a yearling bull with another heifer, both given by the Society`s President, Sir John Le Couteur, to Windsor, where Sir John, representing the Society made a gift of the animals to Prince Albert.
Sir John Le Couteur tells in his diary: "Took a mail train from
Paddington to Slough, got there and on to Windsor by 10. Called to see
Lord Spencer, the Lord Chamberlain...who oblingly sought for Colonel Phipps.
He being away, the Earl referred me to General Wemyss at the home farm,
where the appointment was made, and here I repaired.
Unluckily for me the Queen had just driven to see the cattle...and
had just left, otherwise I should have explained matters to herself in
person unattended, for Her Majesty happened to be in her pony chaise. I
sent my card to the Prince, who sent for the cattle to show them to the
Duchess of Kent at Frogmore.
There we found the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, the Prince of
Saxe Weimar, the Prince of Saxe Leningen, Prince George of Cambridge and
a host of attendants. All the royalty came out with Prince Albert, who
spoke to me in the most kind and affable manner, even so much so
as to reach out his hand, then to recollect etiquette: and very kindly
and politely expressed his sense of the compliment, a very acceptable one,
of the very beautiful cattle which the Jersey Agricultural Society had
made to him: and desired me to make suitable thanks to the society in the
most gracious terms. The animals were greatly admired. The Grand Duke asked
the Prince what were their valuable points beyond their beauty. The Prince
of Saxe Weimar put me the same question, which I explained. The Prince
then handed Tocque and I to General Wemyss and charged him, as he afterwards
told me, to show us every civility and attention. The kind General then
took us all over the royal aviary, dairy farms etc., where everything is
nearly "comme il faut". His farming is really good, and real improvements
have taken place since old K., the late King`s farmer had them".
Victorian Voices. An introduction to the papers of Sir John Le Couteur,
Q.A.D.C., F.R.S. by Joan Stevens.
Both the Queen and Prince Albert were extremely interested in agricultural
reform, setting up a model farm on their new estate at Osborne and enlarging
and improving the farms at Windsor and Balmoral.
Their involvement lent further momentum to the national agricultural
movement. Cattle Show was held at Windsor Home Park. The Queen named
her favourite farm animals after members of her family and employed
several artists to paint them. In 1848 the famous animal painter Thomas
Sidney Cooper was summoned to Osborne House in Isle of Wight to paint Queen
Victoria`s Jersey Cow "Buffie" which had been presented to her by the Island
of Jersey.
Most of the paintings of royal farm animals have been dispersed or
destroyed, but fortunately
photographs of several of them survive in the Royal Collection inventories.
More sophisticated farm animal paintings, such as Keyl`s Among the Southdowns
or Thomas Sidney Cooper`s Jersey Cow, were hung inside the Royal Palaces.
There are two diary herds at the Royal Farms, which date from George
III's reign. The farms were at a low level during subsequent reigns due
to lack of interest, until Prince Albert raised the farms again to the
status of model farms.
In 1849, Prince Albert arranged for the pasture land to be stocked
with dairy cows, mainly Dairy Shorthorns but also some Jerseys (known contemporarily
as Alderney cows), which were the foundation of the existing Jersey herd.
The other dairy herd at the Royal Farms is an Ayrshire herd, formed
in 1951 in the last year of George VI's reign. Each herd numbers 150 cows.
By tradition, the herds have been kept to Jerseys and Ayrshires.
Milk was and is still supplied from the Jersey herd to the Dairy (built
in 1858 in Windsor Home Park under the personal direction of Prince Albert);
while the creamery remains unchanged, the outbuildings have been equipped
with up-to-date dairy machinery. The Dairy used to supply not only the
Royal family but also a large number of Castle and Home Park residents,
but it began to run at a loss. Since 1975, it has supplied dairy produce
only to The Queen, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Prince of Wales
and Princess Margaret; the rest of the milk is sold to a national wholesaler.
By 1863, there were 80 Shorthorn and 12 Alderney cows being milked at
the farm and total stock totalled 240 head. The first Jersey cow recorded
on the farm was in 1871 with the arrival of Pretty Polly from Osborne House
on the Isle of Wight, where Her Late Majesty, Queen Victoria had a small
herd. There are 10 cows in the herd today which can be traced back to Pretty
Polly.
Fauvic`s Juanita was bought in 1931 and Coronet`s Grace and Lionheart
Grace are direct descendants in the herd today. Queen Lavender 1913 has
five progeny milking at this time.
There appears to have been a period of establishment with no further
female additions recorded until the early 1950s when the Sandringham herd
was dispersed. At this time the Sandringham Jade, Galaxy and Nan families
were added. In 1959 two Hursley cows, Riff and Reverie, were purchased
and made a strong impression on the herd. Riffs breeding features in the
cows Polyanthus, Cyclamen and Gillyflower. Reverie produced Cardinal`s
Kerrie and Lousise`s Prophecy and has more than 20 offspring in the herd
today.
Purchases from the Jersey island and the mainland in the 1960s and
70s extended the female base. The Natalie family through Golden Natali`s
Maid, Sparkling Natalie and Surprise Sparks Natalie have made significant
contributions being descendants of Natalie`s Nell.
In 1977 the Crocus and Haughty families were introduced from the world-famous
Ferdon herd in New Zealand. Since this time further families have been
added to strengthen the female side.
On the paternal side some notable sires have been used. Browny`s Louise`s
Sparkler and Itaska`s Fillpail King from the Island of Jersey both made
significant contributions with Sparker siring many Royal Show champions.
With the introduction of New Zealand blood into the herd there is no
doubt that Ferdon Glens Coronet and later, Ferdon Tandra`s Elton both left
their stamp. It is interesting to note that the winning Burke Trophy pair
at the Royal Show 1982 were sired by Coronet and out of cows sired by Sparkler.
To complete the international contribution, Canadian bloodlines have
been introduced through the legendary Meadowlawn Bright Spot and Valleystream
Silver Jay. An outstanding example of the latter sire is seen in Windsor
Silver J. Octobergirl 3 EX92 out of a Coronet cow. Currently, Meadowlawn
J Imperial is being used.
The Royal Jersey Herd Windsor. Brochure, 1992.
Brighstone Jerseys, Isle of Wight
The value of the Jersey breed for dairy produce seems to have been
known on the Isle of Wight from the earliest periods. The Rev. Mr. Warner
wrote the Agricultural Survey of the Island in
1794, and remarked that "the cows are mostly of the Alderney breed,
though mixed with English sorts. They are extremely profitable, some of
them giving during part of the summer 10 lbs. of butter per week. It is
a matter of surprise that this breed is not more generally known in other
parts of the kingdom than appears to be the case. The original price of
a good Alderney cow, at the place where she is imported, is seldom more
than 8 guineas; she is equally hardy with our own breed, consumes less
provender, and certainly yields as rich milk, the cream of which gives
a richness to butter not observable in what is made from the English cow".
Her Majesty`s herd at Osborne has been supplied by Mr. Michael Fowler;
bulls have been imported and also used from Col. Cavendish`s and Mr. Fuller`s
herds. Mr. Pittis had for some years a herd near Newport; Mr. J.R. Fisk
also keeps a herd at Brighstone, to which the Town Hill stock has been
used; and Mr. Hammick`s at Mirables is bred entirely from animals specially
selected on the Island.
Mr. Fisk, at Brighstone, in the Isle of Wight, has a good and wellmanaged
herd. To imported cows he uses mostly bulls bred in England; and he finds
the Jerseys quite as hardy as crossbred animals. The calf is allowed to
remain on the dam about a week, according to its strength; it is then weaned
on new milk for a month, afterwards on warmed skim milk with beans or peas
and hay until four months old. The quantity of milk is then reduced and
sliced mangolds substituted; and, if the season is mild, the calves are
turned out to grass, with a shed to run in, getting a little cake or corn.
At eight months old they keep themselves on pasture; but if late calves,
and the weather is severe, they are housed at night and fed with roots
and hay. As yearlings they are wintered in an open yard with a shed, getting
a few roots or cake and hay. If the hay crop be short, straw is substituted
with a little extra cake, meal or roots. The meal is mixed usually with
chaff. The bull is turned in with them when they are about fifteen months
old.
Mr. Fisk attributes much of his success to the manner in which he manages
his stock. The cow calves in a loose box, and receives a bran mash twice
a day and lukewarm water, and on the third day i allowed, if the weather
is fine, to go into a sheltered yard for a few hours in the middle of the
day. On the seventh or eight day she is put into the cowhouse, and fed
on meal and chaff or cake with hay. The meal is usually a mixture of barley,
pea, and maize, of which about 10 lbs. is given in winter and 6 lbs. in
summer. Every day the cows go out in a sheltered yard, and if the weather
is fine on a dry pasture. In warm weather they lie out at night; but the
meal or cake is still continued until the cow is let dry, which is generally
six weeks before calving. During these six weeks she is allowed
to run into a sheltered yard, with rough hay or a little barley or oat
straw. Mangolds are never given until late in the spring; and it is found
that they increase the flow of milk, but do not increase the yield of butter.
Under this system Mr. Fisk has never lost a cow from milk fever. The yield
of butter is considered to depend not only upon the cow is kept at any
one time, but upon the general management. The greatest return from 15
cows was 10 lbs. each weekly for several weeks; the heifers made 6 lbs.
The milk is allowed to remain, according to the weather, from 24 to 36
hours. The cream is then taken and churned twice a week. Compared with
that from other animals, the cream requires less working.
Owing to the closeness of the texture of the butter there is a very
small quantity of whey; and the butter keeps firmer and sweeter and longer
in hot weather than that made from other cows under the same system.
The Brighstone herd has been owned by the Fisk family for well over 100 years and a reference to Jersey bulls (or Alderneys as the breed was otherwise known) registered by Mr. J. R. Fisk was mentioned in the first volume of the English Herdbook of Jersey Cattle .
Volume I was published in 1879 and contained, amongst other subjects
such as a history of the breed, prize winners and auction results, a list
of bulls born before 1 January of that year, with their first Jersey bull
being bought on the island from Queen Victoria`s herd sterns from such
stockbulls as Baronet (from 1878), Chandor 2 (born 1876), Felix (born 1878)
and Snowball (born 1877), all listed in that first issue of the herdbook
and tracing within one or two generations back to stock imported from the
Island of Jersey itself.
Richard Fisk is the fourth generation of his family to farm at both
Slate and Marsh Green Farms, purchased back in 1866 and has been running
the business since he left ??? Agricultural College in 1970.
The total area farmed now accounts for some 600 acres of which the dairy unit lies on a day-loam type soil with the arable land being predominently greensand.
Other than the farm, the family also has a thriving self-catering holiday unit which is run by Richard´s wife, Susan.
The Fisk family have traditionelly stayed loyal to the Jersey breed over the years of change as in Richard`s word "the Jerseys have always served us well, and I believe the breed has done a great job in noot kust maintaining its status", and he continues, "In the future I personally feel that the Jersey will increase its potential and relevance to modern farming trends by continuing to improve, especially when treated as a true alternavtive to the predominant black and white breed.
The herd is milked through a 16/16 herringbone parlour and housed in
kennels with a complete diet leeding system being urilised in a covered
feed area.
It is hoped that the number of milking cows, currently around the 180
mark and yielding about 1600 kgs milk( 5.53% bf 3.80% ptn) from 1.7 tonnes
of concentrates will gradually increase to a herd of 250 milking cows plus
youngstock. With all milk produced being sold through Milk Marque on a
5.85% bf base quota, this forward looking herd will be yielding for excess
of 5.500 profitable litres per cow. Following a few more refinements, the
complete dier feeding programme currently utilising grass and maize silage
? barley and a soya/rape meal blend should enable the ? yields to increase,
in random with a slight lowering of butterfat levels in relation to protein
production.
Even with the continuing changes to the milk pricing structure Richard
Fisk is firmly convinced that his Brighstone herd can at the worst match
the other dairy breeds on either a margin per litre or margin per hectare
basis, although the aim is to outperform.
The breeding plan of the herd has always leaned predominantly to the
use of UK bulls, although over the last four years this has swung across
the water towards the USA. The first main ? of heifers to complete lactations
resulting from this change in policy have impressed Richard, commenting
specifically on the daughters of Mollybrook Brass Major which have yielded
well with a corresponding drop in fat percentages. Richard goes on to say:
"Our commitment to this change is such that we are using Highland Duncan
Lester over the herd and Headspring Sooner Champ on our heifers with the
intention of increasing yields." Lower yielding cows are bred to a Belgian
Blue bull with the resultant beef cross calves being reared on and fattened
at 18 to 24 months on a grass silage and barley diet.
Looking further into the future and more to his own aims rather than
those of the Brighstone Jerseys, Richard is hoping to be semi-retired with
his son, the fifth generation running the farm, sure of the fact that "with
contiuning attention to detail, the Jersey breed will succeed", and the
long established Brighstone herd will move on into the 21st century when
"the quality producer will come back into voque as everyone will become
disillusioned with the health kick approach to life".
Osberton, Worksop, Nottinghampshire, England
The Osberton herd is one of the oldest Jersey herds in the country as
it was started by the Rt. Hon. F.J.S. Foljambe in 1869 mainly to provide
milk and butter for his household and employes. The herd gradually increased
to a maximum of 120 cows in 1967 by the founders great grandson, Mr. G.M.T.
Foljambe. Although the milking portion of the herd was effectively dispersed
in 1988 following the sale of Osberton Hall, Mr. Foljambe retained the
youngstock which provided the foundation of today´s herd.
The breeding of the Osberton herd is steeped in England´s traditional
bloodlines and prior to the sale in 1989 a number of selected females had
been introduced to strengthen the herd from leading U.K. herds such as
Hungerton, Trafford, Histon, Powerscourt and Hockesley.
The breeding policy at Osberton has included the use of the leading
sires of the breed and since the introduction of international semen, the
herd has been influenced firstly by the early Canadian sires, followed
by a strong influence of New Zealdnd breeding, and, following the reestablishment
of the dairy herd in 1989 at Mill Farm on the Osberton Estate a blend of
U.S, Canadian and New Zealand breeding.
Woolcombe
Rob´s Angel
It was during this time of starting again at Mill Farm that the four-year-old
cow, Woolcombe Rob´s Angel was purchased at the dispersal herd of
breeder, Jim Morrish. At the time of the sale, she was milking in the ninth
month of her second lactation, and carrying calf to Danish Ibsen. The sire
of Rob´s Angel was Auchlea Quant´s Rob Roy and her female line
descended from the noted Bollhayes herd.
She is milking well again in her eighth lactation, peaking at just
under 40 kgs daily. The calf she was carrying at the time of the sale turned
out to be a heifer, born in December 1990 and named Osberton Angel. She
has now matured into an excellent production cow.
A second daughter, Osberton Angel 3, by Ferdon Glens Coronet, is the highest classified heifer in the herd and is projected to well in excess of 5.000 kgs milk in her first lactation. A third daughter, by Meadow Lawn J. Imperial is also milking with her first calf at a similar level.
Today at Mill Farm, the Osberton herd is making steady improvement all
the time, evidenced by the successes in the Nottinghamshire National Milk
Records Herd Competition in the past four years. They have consistently
won the Channel Islands section and Rob´s Angel won the All-Breeds
Senior Cow class in 1994.
The herd´s annual rolling average is currently 4816 kgs milk
5.84% fat 3.79% protein on 96 cows with a milk value of £1500 per
cow. The margin over purchased feed is £1269 per cow.
The 74 ha Mill Farm nestles in a very attractive area of northern Nottinghamshire, and the facilities include a loose-housed system with self-feed silage. The cows are milked through a Gascoigne 12/12 herringbone computerised parlour. The basic feed used is grass silage mixed with brewers´grains and beet pulp. Feed to milk is closely monitored by computer with a 22% protein, starch-based dairy cake fed in the parlour and in out-of-parlour feeders.
Future plans include increasing the milking herd to 120 cows and since
1989 when the milking herd was reestablished at Mill Farm, it has been
managed by the husband and wife team of Mick and Ruth Watson, whose dedication
and interest in the development of the herd is evident in the results achieved
and when visiting the farm.
Billings Farm and Museum of Woodstock, Vermont,
USA
The Billings Farm was established
in 1871 by Frederick Billings, a native Vermonter who became known for
his work as a lawyer, conservationist, pioneer in reforestation and scientific
farm management, and railroad builder.
Billings set out to make his 270-acre farm a model dairy operation.
In 1884 he hired George Aitken, an innovative and successful professional
farm manager. The farm imported cattle directly from the Isle of Jersey,
kept careful records of milk production, and bred selectively to improve
the herd.
Deeply concerned with the desperate condition of Vermont's forest cover,
Billings planted more than 10,000 trees in the Woodstock area, putting
into practice ideas that were proposed by an earlier resident of the farm,
George Perkins Marsh. Marsh is widely recognized as one of this country's
first conservationists.
By 1890, the year that Frederick Billings died, the Billings Farm had
been expanded to nearly 1,000 acres, and was widely acknowledged for its
premier Jersey herd, Southdown sheep, and Berkshire hogs, as well as its
extensive butter-making operation which produced 5,000 pounds of butter
annually.
Three years later, at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, cows from
the Billings herd took top honors in the dairying divisions. Billings'
Princess Honoria, was crowned the champion Jersey three-year-old and reserve
champion for cows of all ages. Lily Garfield, winner of the butter test,
left Chicago with the designation "Champion Heifer of the World." The herd's
performance at the exposition was the ictorious culmination of the Billings
Farm's early years.
Following the Billings/Aitken era, the farm experienced several periods
of change, including a successful commercial dairy operation beginning
in the 1940s. In the mid-1970s, the breeding of championship-calibre cows
resumed. A string of regional show winnings throughout the 1970s and '80s,
culminated when Billings Top Rosanne won top honors in both American and
Canadian competitions, making her perhaps the finest Jersey in North America.
During the last decade, the farm has developed an educational mission
in conjunction with the Billings Farm & Museum, a museum devoted to
rural life in east-central Vermont. The farm and museum have been merged
into a single entity, sharing the mission of preserving this historic farm,
as well as educating the many thousands who visit annually.
In the coming years, visitors will see greater emphasis placed on the
history of the farm, historical farm technology and techniques, crop rotation,
and a greater diversity of livestock (along the lines of Frederick Billings'
farm of 1890) while still maintaining a high-quality herd of Jerseys. Our
goal is to reach significant numbers of Americans to convey an understanding
and appreciation of the importance of dairy farming and rural life.
http://www.billingsfarm.org/farm.html
The Berwick Herd, Shropshire
in the Northwest Midlands of England
Mr. James Watson, great grandfather of Mrs. Angell-James, bought Berwick
House and estate,in 1875.Between 1875 and September 1879, when Mr. and
Mrs. Watson and their daughter, later to become Mrs. Phillipps, moved from
Birmingham to Berwick, a major reconstruction of the house, stabling and
Home Farm had taken place.
A Jersey house-cow arrived
at Berwick,with the family,in 1879 and in the following year(1880) the
English Jersey Cattle Society records the sale of "Moth" for 24 gns. to
Mr. James Watson.By 1885,as can be seen in the photograph,the nucleus of
a herd existed on the Home Farm,although there is no further transfer recorded
until 1933 when Mr.Watson's son in law Mr.W.W.G.Phillipps)registered
the herd pre-fix 'Berwick'.
The first animal to be ear marked,with PW1,was Berwick Lad,out of Scorching
Louise by Louise's Wonderful. Scorching Louise was purchased from Mr. John
Le Brocq of St Mary, Jersey.At about the same time Mr. Phillipps also imported
Pertinax from Mr. P.P.Laisney of Trinity to use on the un-registered animals.Mr.Phillipps
maintained his membership of the English Jersey Cattle Society until 1940
and during that time purchased Charlton Abbotts Standard 18164 from Mrs.Hayes-Sadler
in November 1934 and Easton Siberite 20332 in April 1938.Berwick Scorching
Prince 19126 had also been used in the herd. In 1942 Mr. F.S. Neale,son-in
law of Mr. Phillipps and father of Mrs. Angell-James,became a member of
the society,and took over the Berwick prefix,and purchased a number of
animals to strengthen the herd.The first bull bought was Scarlett Fancy
Design 21956 (September 1943),and Mr.Neale subsequently purchased Voelas
Glorious Gnome 23581 from Mr.Pugh,one of the founder members of the the
Welsh and Shropshire Jersey Breeders' Association.In 1944, Normanby Ortona
2nd's Designer, in 1947, Surville Design's Philip 27164, Hanley Cyclist
29994, Pool House Visitor 35342, Longmynd Gamboge's Victor 37537 and Everdon
Royal Prince 39956 in subsequent years.Hanley Vandal 40053 was, in 1968,
the last animal to be purchased for many years.
The herd is the third oldest in England predated only by the Windsor
herd of the Queen and one other.The farm is situated about 2 miles from
the town of Shrewsbury. At present the herd consists of 100 milking cows
plus some 90 followers.There are also 2 stock bulls.The herd calves all
the year round. The cows are milked twice daily through a traditional 8
abreast parlour.In winter the cows are complete diet fed using a mixture
of maize and grass silage with fodder beet.Summer feeding is based on set
stocking of pasture with buffer feed of maize silage on offer.All lactating
animals are fed in the parlour according to yield. Current herd average
is 5250 kg milk at 5.75% fat and 4.12% protein.The calving index is 367.Breeding
is predominantly USA with some Canadian,Danish and New Zealand
influence.Our oldest cow is Berwick Flashpoint Remuil now 11 years old
and still going strong !
Our next generation of young bulls are on the way with sons of Greenwood
Sooner Khan,Comfort Royal Alf & Althea's Select.
http://www.jerseycow.ndirect.co.uk/berwick.htm
Kameruka Estate near Bega on the Sapphire
Coast of NSW - Australia
Kameruka An attractive and unusual village famous for its long association
with cheese production. Kameruka is a village and historic estate 449 km
south of Sydney via the Princes Highway and 21 km southwest of Bega.
Europeans moved into the Kameruka area in 1834 when the Imlay Brothers
took up a 200000-acre cattle run. The depression in the early 1840s saw
the Imlays forced to hand their land over to the Walker Brothers, Sydney
merchants in 1844. It was the Walkers who established the homestead at
Kameruka.
Born in Scotland the Walker Brothers attempted to replicate the lifestyle
of the eighteenth-century British gentry. They built a four-roomed Georgian
house and indulged in dingo hunting - a kind of local equivalent of an
English fox hunt. An Aborigine named Tom Doolin was their master of the
hounds, and a stone cairn, which still stands, was erected to his memory.
William Walker (1787-1854) was the son of a Scottish laird who joined
a firm of merchants operating out of Calcutta. In 1813 he was sent to Sydney
to collect debts owed by Robert Campbell, a merchant and the co-founder
of the colony's first savings bank.
The Walkers sold their properties to the Twofold Bay Pastoral Association
in 1852, a joint venture of the Manning brothers, the Tooth brothers
(members of the renowned Kent Brewery family of Sydney) and T.S. Mort.
Kameruka was made the head station of a 400000-acre empire. James Manning
acted as resident manager until the partnership was dissolved in 1860.
Manning encouraged German immigrants to settle in the district hence the
number of German names in the district.
Manning bought Kameruka in 1861 but floods, disease and the Land Act
broke up the family holdings and, after losing 7000 cattle through pneumonia,
Manning sold Kameruka in 1862 to Frederick Tooth who, in turn, sold it
to his nephew Robert Tooth (1844-1915) in 1864. It was Robert who began
to develop the largely self-contained community, based on the English agricultural
estate system.
Today the estate covers 5000 acres of undulating countryside. Owned
by Tooth's granddaughter and great grandson it is run, in part, by share
farmers.
In 1880, Robert Lucas Tooth laid down the foundations of the Jersey Herd in the Colonies by importing the bull Lucius and the cows Majestic, Princess Royal and Pretty Queen from England. They made their home at Erridge Park and the herd was then strengthened three years later by the purchase of some Australian born stock, amongst them the bull Sumner and the cow Alderney Queen. In 1888, when Robert made plans to move his family back to England, the herd was transferred to Kameruka and they became the nucleus for the breeding program. The herd at one time included more imported animals than any other in Australia and these early bloodlines still exist in the Stud herd today.
In 1903 Robert Lucas Tooth made a decision to cross breed the Jerseys
with the Shorthorns. ..... 1907 there were two cross bred herds, and Jersey
bulls were being used to start a third herd at Wolumla. Mr. Champneys -
the Manager - was much impressed with Guernsey cattle and recommended the
purchase of a few to form a Stud herd. It was the Jerseys though, which
had come into fashion and many local breeders were raising good useful
herds with the breed beginning to extend all over the district. After entering
the Jersey cattle at the Candelo Show, Mr. Champneys wrote “the men who
could see no good in the breed have turned right around and sing their praises. Some go so far as not to see any good in other breeds which is
very absurd-”
The purchase of the Stud Jersey Bull Combination Jack was to be a great
asset to the Estate, and in addition to this beast a further six Jersey
cows arrived at Kameruka.
Always looking at ways in which to improve the presentation of Kameruka,
Mr. Champneys put foward the idea of building a small Home Farm Butter
Factory for the Jersey`s He suggested small Home Farm Butter Factory for
the Jersey`s He suggested that it be built on the lines of a swiss Chalet
with cement floors and walls tiled up three feet. To add to the attractiveness
all the dairy utensils were to be enamelled. It would be here that the
best Jersey stock would be held, making it more convenient to control their
care, and also more impressive when interested buyers came to view the
herd.
As soon as Sir Robert approved the new outfit, foundations were laid
and the work soon completed. The operations ran very smoothly, and it proved
that the valuable jersey calves, which were fed pasteurised milk and oil
cake, were better reared.
All he calves which had been transferred from Haldon Hill had greatly
improved, and Mr. Champneys felt the whole turn out is one of the most
pleasing aspects on the Estate.
Always looking to improve the Jersey herd another five cows arrived,
and in an attempt to display the best of the stock a Jersey Parade was
organised. Attended by one hundred and forty people, 288 of the best pedigree
Jerseys were put on show enticing many of the onlookers to procure good
bloodlines for their own herds.
The greatest loss to the Estate was the death of the bull Combination
Jack. In 1908 the then studmaster, Jimmy Henwood exhibited Jack on behalf
of Kameruka, at the Royal Sydney show. Mr. Henwood had led he famous bull,
presumably on foot, to Tathra for the steamer passage to sydney and on
arrival, from Circular Quay to the showground. The investment in Jack was
more than rewarded by him winning grand Champion. Sire to many valuable
progeny, the bull succumbed to a bowel inflammation and upon inspection
it was found that a piece of hoopiron, a nail and a lead washer had led
to the downfall of this great beast.
Jerseys to the value of six hundred and thirty five pound were sold to South Australian, Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland buyers and Mr Graham, the Chief Dairy Export of Queensland visited Kameruka and purchased twelve head of young Jersey heifers for the Department of Agriculture and Stock in Brisbane. The Estate also made a purchase of its own when it acquired the bull Mystifier from a clearance sale at Mr Manning`s property for ninety guineas.
In 1935 a ranch of the Australian Jersey Herd Society was formed on
the Far South Coast with Bega as its headquarters. A Field Day was held
at Kameruka with the chief objective being the inspection on the Estates
cattle members of the Society.
It was largely attended by breeders and other interested residents
from a wide area of the South Coast. In all two hundred and thirty two
head of Estate pedigree Jersey cattle were classed and paddocked in seven
small areas, providing an interesting and educational display which was
much appreciated by the visitors.
Kings Vale Stud at Lyndhurst, from 1996 Ripplebrook, Victoria, Australia
100 Years Showing at Melbourne Royal 1896-1996
It doesn`t take much milking of the history books to find the Anderson family of Gippsland is legendary in dairy circles.
The family will consolidate the legend this year when its Jersey stud,
first established in 1886, celebrates exhibiting at the Royal Melbourne
Show 100 years on.
The stud`s story includes connections with governors , cows shipped
from British Islands and five generations later, Andersons still breeding
and milking cows under the original stud prefix Kings Vale.
The innovator was John Anderson. He set sail from famineridden Ireland
on board the James T. Ford with his newly married wife Margaret, arriving
in Australia on May 2, 1851.
It is said the James T`s final stopover was Alderney, a British owned
island off the French coast, where the ship`s four-legged milk suppliers
were collected.
Winsome Anderson, the family historian and wife of John`s now deceased
great grandson, Bert, said the cows were to form the origins of Australia`s
current Jersey herd.
"Hear say says that John also supplied milk and butter to the governor
and we still have the Crown stamp they used on the butter," said Winsome.
"We think that`s where the King`s part of the King`s Vale stud came
from."
It was Johns sons, Joseph and Richard, who first exhibited King`s Vale
stud cattle at the Royal Melbourne Show in 1896.
That year John`s bull, Sylvanus, won first prize in the two-year old
bull category and Richard`s bull, Duke of Barholme, claimed second prize
in the one-year-old bull category.
We still have the first prize card, said Winsome proudly.
"The only reason it was kept was that they drew up their house renovations
on the back of the card."
Over in the dairy produce section, Rebecca Anderson, sister of Joseph
and Richard was doing her bit for the family name. She won first prize
for the best powdered or fresh butter while Joseph fared third.
From th e turn of the century through to the 1930s, the Anderson namewas
synonymous with blue-ribbon Jersey bulls at the show.
In those years Ayrshires and Jerseys drew the biggest numbers of entries,
bulls were big time since there was no artificial insemination, provisions
were meagre at the showgrounds and the family took their own fodder, firewood
and tent.
In the early days Andersons Jerseys walked to the Lyndhurst railway
to be trucked to the showgrounds.
Now, Holsteins dominate the dairy breeds, fodder can be bought at the
showgrounds, cow titles claim bigger kudos than bulls and kitchen facilities
are available.
Joseph`s son, John Sime Anderson, followed him into the ring, while
Richard dispersed his stud and became a show judge.
King`s Vale cattle claimed reserve champion cow titles in 1943, 1950,
1952, 1959 and in 1953 King`s Vale Raider won champion bull.
In the period 1948-1957 Kings Vale was the most Successful exhibitor
at the Melbourne RAS nine times out of the possible ten.
Together John Sime`s sons, John Charles (Jock) and Bert, continued
to run the King`s Vale stud until 1961 when they dissolved their partnership.
John kept the King`s Vale prefix and Bert registered Kings View.
Tradition continues. Today John Charles`s son, David Anderson,
and his wife Sharon continue the King`s Vale herd at Ripplebrook, near
Drouin, and Bert`s three sons, Robert, Lindsay and Ian, have registered
Jersey studs with the Kings prefix.
Robert and Kerry have Kings Ville at Nar Nar Goon, Ian has Kins View,
also at Nar Nar Goon, and Lindsay and Jacinta run King`s Vista at Athlone.
Kings View was most succesful exhibitor 1978 and also in 1879, winning 8 firsts, 2 seconds, 5 thirds and 4 fourths in an entry of 326.
Strong show blood also continues to pump through the different family branches, especially dominating the bull classes.
Since the show resumed after World War II, the family`s studs have claimed
26 champion and reservechampion ribbons at Melbourne. Since 1896 there
have been 10 champion bull and two champion cow titles.
The Australian Jersey Journal, September 1996
Brief history of Kings Vale
1851 Emigrants John and Margaret Anderson arrive in Melbourne and establish
a dairy herd. The Rosella family is reputed to have orginated from Ships
Cows.
1886 Joseph Anderson son of the above establishes Kings Vale at Lyndhurst.
1921 The retirement of Joseph allows his son John and wife Kate to
carry on the family tradition.
1947 After the deathe of John, the stud continues to prosper with John
(Jock) and Bert sons of John and Kate.
1961 The partnership between Jock and Bert is dissolved, the farm and
herd divided. Jock carries on Kings Vale and Bert and Winsome establish
Kings View.
1987. Bert passes away.
1989 The Kings View herd is divided between the 3 sons of Bert
Lindsay Kings Vista at Athlone
Ian Kings View at Nar Nar Goon
Robert Kings Ville at Nar Nar Goon
1988 Jock passed away. Kings Vale is carried on by Ken and David sons
of Jock.
1993. Kings Vale sale of the milking herd. The heifers, young stock
and breeder cows retained.
1996 Kings Vale new farm at Ripplebrook carried on by David and Sharon
Anderson.
Winsome
Anderson
The writer [Winsome Anderson] also has her own Jersey stud Kayvee because
I wanted to retain an interest in the Jerseys. The Kayvee herd is domiciled
at Nar Nar Goon. I bought a Kings Vale Brunette and Linda at the 1993 sale,
both dropped heifers which went on to win 2nd and 3rd ?? At the Royal Melbourne
1996 show.
The estate of Bert R. Anderson still owns 41 hectres of the original
property at Lyndhurst, the portion sold in 1988 is being mined for sand.
We still run the dry Jerseys and young stock on the old farm at Lyndhurst.
Do hope this information is of interest to you, and now you know why
I am so involved with the Jersey Breed.
Letter from Winsome Anderson, dated 15. 2. 1998
Herds in Costa Rica
The first Jersey bulls were imported from California in 1873.
A few years later some more Jerseys from Kentucky were imported. More cattle
were imported from Jersey this same time. Initially, this is how the Jimenez
Maldonado family secured some Jerseys from Don Manuel de Jesus to establish
a farm near San Juan, these farms/herds are now owned by the Robert family.
Other herds located on Coliblanco were those of Jose R. Gonzales Soto (in
1889) and El Planton of the J. Sanchez Jimenez family in 1906. El Planton
used a bull Abigail of Hillside Son in the 1930s. Abigail of Hillside was
a U.S. Champion producer. Another herd "La Giralda" was established in
1909 by Don Rafael A. Fernandez Soto near Barva Volcano.
Reference: http://fly.hiwaay.net/~dastiles/personal/david/davehome.htm
Litt: Jersey in Costa Rica 1991
Highland Farms, Inc., Cornish, Maine, USA
"Highland Farm was established with registered Jerseys in 1886. We are
the oldest registered Jersey herd in the United States. Many of our present
cow families trace back to the original cow purchased in 1886. Highland
Farm is the birthplace of Highland Magic Duncan and Highland Duncan Lester.
..................................................................Sincereky
yours Allaire P. Palmer"
Letter from Allaire P. Palmer
Highland Generator O. Delores - Her son: Highland
Magic Duncan
Two registered Jersey cows were purchased from George Blanchard herd
at Cumberland Center, Maine, to begin the Highland Jersey herd in 1886.
They were Perty W. 41721 and Guilet W 40984.
Six individual farms were conjoined so that today Highland Farms encompasses
1.200 acres, with 980 acres of woodland and the rest in open land used
for corn, hay crops and pasture.
Five generations of the Pike family have owned and operated Highland Farms. Robert S. became the sole owner of HIghland Farms in 1937. His son, Robert L., joined the operation in 1956, followed a year later by his daughter and son-in-law, Allaire and John Palmer. The operation was incorporated in 1962 with Robert S. as president. David W. Pike (Robert L.´s son) and Libby Bleakney and Dan Palmer (children of Allaire and John) later come into the family corporation. The sixth generation consists of five great-grandchildren of Robert S.
The Jersey herd at Highland Farms is unique for the fact that there are twentieth-generation descendants of Perty W. in the herd today. From this fountainhead came six cow families now well-known to Jersey breeders: the Alettas, Jeans, Fernettas, Candys, Miss Lettys and Winnifreds
During the first 50 years of operation, just 49 animals, including the
forerunners of the Kitsy and Radio families, were purchased. The growth
and improvement of the highland herd can thus be directly attributed to
the breeding and management expertise of the Pike family.
Important cow families have since been developed from females purchased
in 1941 Delores, 1966 Sara, 1971 Spice and 1980 Nelly Bly.
HIghland Farms was quick to adopt the USDA predicted difference sire
summaries when they were introduced in 1967. As was noted in the farm´s
september, 1986 Jersey Journal ad, "We desperately needed more milk." The
selection of such highly-rated bulls as H.L. Toronto Secret Orator, Noblemans
Lotus Designer and Normsland Belle Boy headed the breeding program in the
right direction.
Then came Observer Chocolate Soldier. According to that same ad, "He
lifted up Highland Farms with 150 births and they freshened from 1971 to
1981.
Highland continued the use of high predicted difference bulls, and
production gains were impressive. Briarcliffs Brave Soldier, Generator
HL Earl and Quicksilvers Magic of Ogston were heavily used sires of the
late 1970s, to be followed by Briarcliffs Soldier Boy, A-Nine Top Brass
and Yankee FW Chief.
The success of HIghland Jerseys sold through state and regional sales
spread the farm´s reputation far beyond New England.
At the same time, sire proving groups and AI organisations started
to buy Highland bulls for sampling. The oldest of these was a Chocolate
Soldier son from the Winnifred family, HIghland Observer Spirit. Spirit
was proven and released for active service by Eastern AI Cooperative.
The next bull to be proven outside of the herd was Highland Magic Duncan.
Born on September 1, 1980, this calf by Quicksilver Magic of Ogston out of an excellent Generator from the Delores family was selected by Jerseyland Sires in its second group of bulls. His wasn´t the highest Pedegree Index of the 10 bulls chosen that year, but today Duncan is a breed phenomeon. He held first place in every yield trait category on the USDA Sire Summary, and also is the high active AI bull for Predicted Difference for Type (1987).
Highland Duncan Lester and his family. It is exciting to know that Lester´s
maternal line does go back to our original cow family that was purchased
in 1886. Perty W 41721 blessed Highland Farms with 10 daughters and one
son. Her eleventh calf was named Perty Kit and from this line 17 generations
later came Highland Duncan Lester.
Lester´s fame comes from his ability to sire daughters that are
strong, good uddered, high producing, rich in components with excellent
dispositions and generally all that dairy producers desire in their Jerseys.
At Highland there aren´t the one or two great daughters that
really stand out; it´s just daughter after daughter we like that
show Highland Duncan Lester´s strong points.
Highland Farms has had the pleasure to host several groups of national
and international visitors and they all liked their Lester daughters.
Biltmore Farms, North Carolina, USA
William K. Vanderbilt a grandson of old Commodore Vanderbilt, was admirer
of the Jersey breed. He joined the American Jersey Cattle Club in February
1883. His farm was at Oakdale, New York. He was born on Staten Island on
Dember 12, 1849, and he died in Paris July 22, 1920. He had been president
of the New York Central Railroad, but towards the end of his life he devoted
much of his time to philanthropy, doing, with his wife, much hospital work
abroad during the first world war. He contributed $40.000 to the Neuilly
Hospital, and $200.000 towards war relief in Italy. In 1909 he gave $1.000.000
to build model tenement houses in New York City for tuberculosis sufferers.
In 1913 he gave $100.000 to the Young Men´s Christian Association,
and in 1914 $113.750 to Columbia University to buy half a block for additional
University grounds. He, with others of the family, founded the Vanderbilt
Clinic in New York City, at a cost of $500.000. These are only a few of
Mr. Vanderbilt´s beneficences in his lifetime. The name Vanderbilt
has long been associated with great wealth, and the owners of much money
are usually regarded as the fortunate and happy people of the world. William
K. Vanderbilt said in 1905: "My life was never destined to be quite happy.
It was laid along lines which I could not foresee, almost from earliest
childhood. It has left me with nothing to hope for, with nothing definite
to seck or strive for. Inherited wealth is a big handicap to happiness.
It is as certain death to ambition as cocaine is to morality." Several
members of the Vanderbilt family have been members of the American Jersey
Cattle Club at different periods from 1883 and forward.
William K. Vanderbilt´s brother George W. was the builder of
Biltmore in North Carolina and founder of the Biltmore herd.
George Washington Vanderbilt Born in 1862, George Washington Vanderbilt showed an intellectual and quiet disposition at a young age. His curiosity and cultural interests took him across the globe, and it is during his travels that he came to Asheville, North Carolina, in the late 1880s. Enchanted with the area, he acquired land for the future Biltmore Estate, and contracted architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to collaborate on the ambitious project. Married three years after the completion of Biltmore House, George Vanderbilt brought his bride, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser to her new home in 1898. A daughter, Cornelia, was born in 1900. George Vanderbilt was active in the maintenance of the Estate until his untimely death following an appendectomy in 1914.
When George Washington Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends to Biltmore
Estate on Christmas Eve in 1895, his holiday celebration marked the formal
opening of the most ambitious home ever conceived in America. For six years
an army of artisans had labored to create a country estate that would rival
the great manors of Europe and embody the finest in architecture, landscape
planning, and interior design. The results were astonishing.
Boasting four acres of floor space, the 250-room mansion featured 34
master bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens, and an indoor
swimming pool. It was appointed with a priceless collection of furnishings
and art works and equipped with every conceivable amenity, from elevators
to refrigerators. The surrounding grounds were equally impressive, encompassing
a 125,000-acres of forest, park, and gardens.
The youngest in a family renowned for building palatial homes, 33-year-old
George Vanderbilt had outdone them all.
In addition to being used for entertaining, Biltmore was very much
a home. It was here that George pursued his private interests in art, literature,
and horticulture, and also started a family. He married the American socialite
Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873-1958) in June 1898 in Paris, and the couple
came to live at the Estate that fall after honeymooning in Europe. Their
only child, Cornelia (1900-1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore.
But what a brave new world it was in 1890 when George Vanderbilt began
planning for his 250-room Biltmore Estate, situated on 125,000 acres of
over-farmed Blue Ridge terrain. He had grown up along New York’s Fifth
Avenue and had already, at age 28, traveled the world. In 1892 at the Columbian
Exposition in Chicago, he witnessed firsthand an explosion of ideas. He
had, in other words, stood at the edge of a new century and seen the future--a
world propelled by technology and invention.
Vanderbilt’s belief in the technological achievements of his day is
evident throughout Biltmore Estate, where he employed the latest, most
up-to-date systems and innovation. From the incorporation of electricity,
central heat and indoor plumbing to the inclusion of some of the earliest
Otis elevators in America, a sophisticated call system for servants and
an indoor drying chamber for laundry. Vanderbilt’s mansion showcased the
best thinking of his time.
Beginning June 12, an exhibition entitled The Comforts of Home: Turn
of the Century Technology at Biltmore Estate will let modern-day guests
examine the ingenuity which made Biltmore House a wonder when it was completed
in 1895.
Mr. Vanderbilt’s guests were largely unaware of the many innovations
of the Estate. They simply enjoyed their benefits. One such guest was Mrs.
George Vanderbilt’s sister, Pauline Dresser Merrill, who visited Biltmore
often. In March 1905, she posted a letter to a close friend who lived near
Mrs. Merrill’s home in Buffalo, NY. the letter describes in vivid detail
her time at Biltmore—where she stayed what the course of her day was like,
the specifics of dining in the huge Banquet Hall.
This letter, recently acquired by Biltmore Estate, becomes a fascinating
storytelling vehicle for The Comforts of Home exhibition. By tracing the
day she describes, guests to the exhibition will be able to glimpse behind
the scenes at the various technologies implemented both in preparation
for her visit and during her stay—all designed to make her time with her
sister, Edith, and her brother-in-law George Vanderbilt, a pleasurable
experience.
The exhibition, located on the third floor of Biltmore House, will
feature examinations of the various systems in the home, including the
electrical, heating and plumbing systems. Replications of several rooms—the
laundry, the bedroom where Mrs. Merrill was a guest, the Banquet Hall and
Butler’s Pantry—as well as interpretations of the Otis dumbwaiter and the
two Otis elevators in the house, are in the display. The elevators, one
passenger and the other a freight elevator, are thought to be the oldest
operating electric models in the U.S. Otis Elevator Company the American
company which pioneered the development of vertical transportation systems,
is sole sponsor of the exhibition at Biltmore Estate.
The exhibition is offered as part of a regular visit to Biltmore Estate,
which includes a self-guided tour of Biltmore House, a visit to Biltmore
Estate Winery, and access to the grounds and gardens, the work of America’s
premiere landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.
Biltmore Estate, a National Historic Landmark, is a private home, still
owned by George Vanderbilt’s grandson, William Cecil. It is open to the
public year-round except on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.
Biltmore
Farm
In 1891 George Washington Vanderbilt became a member of the American
Jersey Cattle Club. He registered his first animal Duke of Biltmore in
1891. Until Biltmore, in North Carolina was completed he maintained his
Jerseys in New York. Production started to increase beyond what could be
given away, so he began bottling and selling milk also butter. The butter
was churned by a bull walking on a treadmill.
The herd was moved to Biltmore a few years later, with the main barn
being completed only in 1902. Other than Jersey, no where were there more
offspring of Golden Lad than in the Biltmore herd.
Over the years the dairy business became larger and more modernized.
The quality of Biltmore ice cream was outstanding. Eventually the milk
operations were sold to Pet Milk Inc. in rail cars. They had both Grand
Champion cow (Signal Bess Jane) and bull in 1952, the last year they showed.
Biltmore
Signal Bess Jane
After a corporate reorganization in 1979, most of the herd was sold.
Two hundred head were retained by Mr. George Cecil, Mr. George Cecil, Mr.
Vanderbilt´s grandson, for establishing a Jersey herd off the Biltmore
Estate. This herd continues to flourish and Mr. Cecil´s daughter
has also established a new herd of Jerseys.
As the other 100 year plus Jersey herds had an impact on the breed,
so did Biltmore. A cow Biltmore Earl Bee was sold carrying a calf who became
Soldierboy Bloomer Sooner of CJF, the production sire of the 1990s. Bee
was a direct female descendant of Signal Bess Jane and also of Nelly the
14th Jersey recorded in the AJCC herd book.
Bee” was purchased in the 1982 Lifetime Opportunity Sale as a 2-year-old
by Ellis Woods and Sons. She was carrying “Sooner.” She was always a very
aggressive cow, never afraid to push her way through to the feed bunk.
This shows through her +9,000M deviation over herdmates in the Biltmore
herd of 700 cows! This has transmitted through the generations!
Biltmore Earl Bee has touched nearly every herd in the United States
–With over 19,000 granddaughters just through her son “Sooner” and nearly
12,000 greatgranddaughters through his son, “Berretta” – “Bee” has proven
to be a transmitting giant.
Her offspring at Biltmore:
Biltmore Brigadier Bee Excellent-90%
6-7 305 20,430 733 724 And her daughter:
Biltmore Barber Bee Very Good-85% On her first lactation and milking
extremely well!
Meadow Lawn, Markham, Ontario-very close
to Toronto, Canada
With regard to long-established Jersey herds in Canada we are quite
sure that the Meadown Lawn herd owned by Barry Little of Markham, Ontario-very
close to Toronto is the oldest herd still in existence in Canada. The herd
was established by members of the family of Mr. Little's mother in 1891.
Meadow
Lawn J IMPERIAL
Schoongezicht Jersey Herd, South Africa
Rustenberg has a wine-growing history dating back to 1682, when Roelof
Pasman from Meurs, near the Rhine, recognised its wine-growing potential.
By 1781 some 50 leaguers of wine were produced on the farm (1 leaguer
= 570 litres), doubling to 100 by the end of the century, when a new cellar
was built. Wine has been bottled at this cellar for an unbroken period
since 1892.
In the early 1800's Rustenberg was divided by owner Jacob Eksteen and
a section given to his son-in-law, who named it Schoongezicht and sold
it soon after.
Rustenberg and Schoongezicht were at their peak around 1812, with beautiful
homesteads and flourishing vineyards. But by mid-century, recession coupled
with disease in the vines, brought bankruptcy and dispossession.
Since 1682, when the land was first granted, Rustenberg has been a
working farm, linked to soil and pasture.
Apart from wine, Rustenberg is also known for its champion jerseys.
Our Schoongezicht jersey herd dates back to 1892 and is the oldest
registered herd in South Africa.
Their names are chosen by Pamela Barlow, who with her late husband
Peter, established the pedigree herd from Jersey, Canadian, American and
New Zealand bloodlines.
The trophy-winning Schoongezicht herd now numbers 570 animals, with
the bulls in demand for stud and the cows known as high producers:
a daily average yield is 19 litres of milk per cow.
The new streamlined, specially-designed milking parlour boasts the
latest automated milking equipment, while a gallery allows visitors to
watch the cows file unerringly into their accustomed places. This vantage
point also provides a spectacular view of the Rustenberg vineyards.
Mr. Douglas Houston states in a brochure of the Schoongezicht Jerseys:
"The Schoongezicht Jersey herd was born when in 1892 the late Alfred Nicholson
joined John X. Merriman. From that time until today, though wine and fruit
too have helped to make the name of Schoongezicht famous throughout South
Africa, the Jersey has played a vital role in the economy of the farm".
Mr. Houston continues: "There are few records of the first Jerseys,
but it is of interest to note that the earliest records refer to a bull
called Adrian, bred by Adrian van der Byl. He arrived at Schoongezicht
in 1904, and has therefore the strongest claim to be known as the father
of the herd."
According to W.A.K. Morkel: "Messrs J.X. Merriman and A. Nicholson
built up their Schoongezicht herd on the original stock obtained from Adrian
van der Byl."
Among the cows became Schoongezicht Paulette 6667 famous, she was the
first Jersey cow in South Africa to have been awarded the 100.000 lb milk
club certificate and the three-ton-of-butterfat award. She also held the
lifetime champion certificate for both milk and butterfat.
The object has always been to grade up the herd to one of pure Jersey
breeding. Messrs. Merriman and Nicholson registered 13 cows, born during
the period 1913 to 1921, in the Appendix Section of Volume 1 of the South
African Jersey Herd Book.
This herd was consequently also bred up through the Appendix Section
into the Stud Book proper with very good imported, and Elsenburg and Willowtree-bred,
registered bulls. It numbered cows in 1924, with quite a number in the
appendix section.
Their main object has been high milk and butterfat production combined
with trueness to breed-type. They never bred for show purposes.
Mr. Houston records: "In 1946, on the death of Alfred Nicholson, Mr.
Peter Barlow purchased Schoongezicht and reunited the farms Rustenburg
and Schoongezicht which had been separate ownership since the division
in 1812. Rustenburg up to 1945 var building up a new Jersey herd under
the prefix Simonsberg, but in view of the farm merger, the two herds were
fused and the new Schoongezicht herd developed."
Mr. Douglas Houston took over the managership of the new Schoongezicht
herd, and the great success this herd has attained and its position amongst
the leading Jersey herds in South Africa, can be largely attributed to
his knowledge and unselfish devotion to the herd and its progress.
The Rustenburg herd, at the time of merging, consisted mainly of grade
cows and was using the bull Schoongezicht Caesar 3004, which was used at
first only on the grades but later also on the pedigreed stock and almost
invariably raised the milk and butterfat in his daughters. His daughters
developed into long-bodied, sligtly lanky cows with roomy, quality udders,
but rather plain heads. Schoongezicht Caesar 3004 had big influence on
the herd through many years.
Many of the Schoongezicht cows qualified for several awards and a number
held South African production records. This herd has certainly proved of
great value in the establishment and progress of many Jersey herds as well
as to the Jersey industry in South Africa. It was the second-biggest pedigreed
Jersey herd in the South Africa on 1/9 1965.
Schoongezicht bulls are found, as herd sires, in many herds all over
Southern Africa.