From incidental Jersey to award-winning herd

Since his early days as a dairy producer, North Devon farmer David Brown had always regarded Jerseys as show cows unsuitable for commercial production. “I thought of it as a show cow; the breed had been traded on that for years, and some people still see it that way,” he says.

Following a breakdown with foot and mouth disease (FMD) in 2001, David initially restocked his herd with traditional Holstein cows – the way his forefathers had done when they set up the dairy at East Hele in Buckland Brewer in 1945. However, he soon found the Holsteins struggled to hit the milk constituent targets demanded for his cheese contract with nearby Parkham Farms.

“We had a couple of years without dairy cows after FMD, but when we got back into milking, we restocked with black and whites,” says David. “But because they struggled to meet the butterfat targets, we brought in 50 VikingJersey in-calf heifers from Denmark as a quick fix in 2005,” he adds.

Noticing particular bulls which seem to have bred long-living daughters, the family cite Q Impuls, DJ Zuma, VJ Husky, DJ Holmer and Q Zik as sires of some of the herd’s oldest cows.

“Some of these are old bulls, like Zik and Impuls, that we’ve used again and again,” says Harvey. “Their daughters are tidy, not extreme, and just last a long time,” he adds.

The younger cows are by bulls such as VJ Link, VJ Zolt, VJ Tudvad, VJ Quintana and VJ Zlager, while heifers are coming through by VJ Gutz and VJ Gislev.

“This year, we are using VJ Giga, VJ Jojo, VJ Luxplus and VJ Kasino,” adds Harvey, highlighting the continued emphasis on the VikingJersey from Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, which have been strongly selected in favour of traits such as hoof and udder health for several decades.

“We’re now using around 80% VikingJersey,” says David. “We’ve noticed that the VikingGenetics countries have really upped their game in the past 30 years, especially when it comes to health and lifespan, and find the Danish daughters – both the Jerseys and the VikingRed we had in the past – wear really well and last for more lactations,” he adds.

This focus on Danish genetics has proven fruitful, as the herd currently stands at 264 milking cows with a Cattle Information Service (CIS)-recorded 12-month rolling average of 6,140 litres at 6.14% fat and 4.11% protein.

The Browns select VikingJersey semen with a particular eye on the Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI), aiming to balance fertility, health, and production.

“We don’t really drill down into specific traits as we find the Jersey breed doesn’t have any issues,” says Harvey, who also remarks that genomic testing of all heifers helps identify the best animals for breeding replacements.

Since the transition to Jersey cows, vet and med costs have declined and currently stand at £51/cow/year, with much of the spend on prevention rather than treatments. This includes vaccination, routine hoof trimming, and a calcium bolus for cows in their third and later lactations.

“Hoof trimming is carried out twice a year, before calving and in July,” says David. “Last time, we put five blocks on 250 heads – in other words, just five from 1,000 feet!”

Antibiotic use has also declined as cows are dried off with teat sealants, with only those whose somatic cell count exceeds 150,000 cells/ml receiving antibiotics. The Brown’s herd averages 12 cases of mastitis per 100 cows per year, further contributing to this trend.