Welcome to JISEX

You can now get more comprehensive information on all our sires by viewing our printed catalogue online. Just click on the mini brochure below and a full screen version will open in a new window.

One of the most successful innovations at the 17th World Jersey Cattle Bureau Conference held in Jersey last May was the launching of the very first one-breed cheese festival ever to be held. The first World Jersey Cheese Awards attracted 100 cheeses from ten countries and was an extremely successful and powerful promotion for the Jersey breed. This article was written by Dr Cherie Bayer, Vice President for North America of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. Cherie was one of the innovators of this cheese festival and her article was published in the July 2008 edition of the US Jersey Journal.
Click here to read Cherie's article in full.

You can now get more comprehensive information on all our sires by viewing our printed catalogue online. Just click on the mini brochure below and a full screen version will open in a new window.

It was a fitting way to celebrate 50 years of farming at Laneside Farm for Ian and Sally Macalpine when they beat all others to win the coveted NMR/RABDF Gold Cup this month.  Finalists for the past three years, Ian and Sally Macalpine from Clitheroe, in Lancashire, rose to the top spot this year and won the UK dairy industry's most prestigious award.  This was the first time that a Jersey herd has won the trophy. It was exactly 50 years since Ian’s father purchased the farm and started a dairy herd!

 

Ian and Sally Macalpine run the 200-cow Ribblesdale Jersey herd at Laneside Farm, Waddington, near Clitheroe. They restocked their 68-hectare grass farm with Jersey cows, switching from Holsteins, five years ago after the FMD outbreak in 2001.
The move to Jerseys was driven by Ian Macalpine's determination to produce a value- added milk rather than continue to sell milk into a commodity market. Five years on, production has exceeded the Macalpine's expectations. NMR yield averages are 6,200kg per cow at 6% butterfat and 4% protein. Cell counts are running at 165,000/ml and herd longevity is high with 30% of cows in at least their fifth lactation.

Making the best use of available land is important to the Macalpine's business and the Jersey breed fits in well. “Jerseys are very efficient producers of milk solids out of dry matter,” says Ian Macalpine. “They can be up to 30% more efficient than a Holstein cow. We can keep 200 Jersey milkers where we could only have 150 black and whites.”

Since the outset, when a herd of Danish imported cows was purchased in the UK, milk has been supplied to J and E Dickinson's Longley Farm Dairy at Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, where the price is based on butterfat and protein content. A review of the herd's diet last year led to the introduction of a more energy dense TMR  based on grass silage, molasses, grain beet, concentrate and some fat, and fed at a flat rate all year round. In just a year the new diet increased herd margins by 23% with no increase in cow numbers.

JISEX International assists Ian and Sally in their breeding programme and all herd replacements are home bred by Danish and American sires with the intention of building herd numbers up to a maximum of 220 with an average yield of 6,500kg. Heifers leave the farm at six months old and are reared on contract, during which time they are served, and returning a month before calving at 24 months old. Their calving index is currently running at between 365 and 370 days.

 

Ian and Sally Macalpine also won the Lilyhill Cup for the third year running, awarded to the highest placed Jersey herd in the Gold Cup competition.

Jersey’s Autumn Show was held over the weekend of 13 & 14 October with Steven Bland of Cumbria judging the cattle on display.  Winning the Supreme Championship of the sow was Alices Geni Margarethe bred and owned by Trevor Barette and family from the parish of St John. This fine young cow won the three-year-old class and best udder on her way to Championship honours. Trevor’s daughter, Sarah also owned the winning two-year-old and Reserve Champion. She was bred by Don Le Sech of St Brelade. The Barettes’ success was a feat which was made even more worthy by the fact that they have only shown cattle from their herd once before, some years ago.  Congratulations to the Barette family and their new herdsman Richard Waters for “storming” the Island Show with these top cows.

Winning the annual “SuperCow” competition was Trinity Kings Rosie, Ex 94%.  A veteran of Jersey showrings, the seven-year-old “Rosie” was bred and owned by Trinity Manor Farm Ltd. She was the Spring 2006 Island Supreme Champion.  Combining good type with prolific production, “Rosie” was also named the UK’s winner of the John Ibbotson Trophy for the best “Excellent” production cow against strong competition from all Jerseys in Great Britain. She was the highest producing “Excellent” cow of the breed in Great Britain.  Congratulations to Paul and Pam Bell, owners of Trinity Manor Farms, and the Farm Manager, Rob Stevenson on breeding and owning this outstanding individual.

The 44th Pennsylvania All American Show held in mid-September was the scene for 106 Jersey heifers that were paraded before the judge.  Heading the pack by winning the Fall Heifer Calf class and going on be named Junior Champion of the show was Santanas Ringmaster Surprise.  She is owned by Ernest Kueffner and Terri Packard from Connecticut.
 
Half a dozen daughters of Ringmaster were also shown at the USA’s leading dairy show, the World Dairy Expo.  Although they did not win their classes they certainly made their presence felt and made an impression.

On the production front, the first daughters to calve are in Wisconsin, USA where the heaviest producing daughter is a member of the high producing Norse Star herd of the Fremstad family.  She produced 96 pounds of milk on test and was their highest milking two-year-old.

The first British Ringmaster daughters are starting to calve with good reports coming in – especially on their good udders and quiet temperament.  Watch this space!

Worldwide proofs have been released and the MDC statistics show that JISEX again leads the way in the UK with ten sires (out of a total of 20) that are in the top 1% of the breed for £PLI. Included on the high PLI list is Sunset Canyon Maximus at No.1, Ahlem Lemvig Abe at No.2 and Wilderness Blueprint at No.5. Our Danish sires have performed spectacularly with Jas Hot at No.6, Q Zik at No.7 and D J Hovborg at No.9. We continue to explore the world for new and exciting sires that will take the Jersey breed forward in the United Kingdom.. Check the revised sire pages on this website.