Gettysburg, PA., March 27 & 28, 2015 – The last weekend in March, the Pennsylvania Jersey Cattle Association (PJCA) held its annual meeting at the Wyndham hotel in Gettysburg, PA. This was a special meeting marking the beginning of the planning and organizing for the state association to host a national AJCA-NAJ meeting at the same facility in June of 2017. Amongst the awards and socializing, PA Jersey breeders began the crucial and exciting process of preparing for this meeting.
After the Friday afternoon director’s meeting, breeders were given the opportunity to watch multiple PA Jersey Youth compete in the speech and dairy jeopardy contests. The top winners of each contest were celebrated at the annual Friday night youth banquet along with the production, achievement, scrapbook, pot of gold, and first year award winners. A full list of PA Jersey Youth award winners is listed below.
The PA Jersey Queen contest was also held during the Friday night youth banquet. Two contestants competed for the honor, Cassidy Greenwood of Springville, PA and Willow Voegtlen of Columbia Cross Roads, PA. Though both girls proved themselves more than worthy of the title, Willow Voegtlen was eventually crowned the 2015 PA Jersey Queen.
Saturday morning, numerous PA Jersey breeders were recognized for their commitment to the breed, association, and the dairy industry. This year’s 2014 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Lori Sollenberger of Hidden Hills Dairy in Everett, PA. Lori has been a longtime supporter of the PJCA and served as the youth director for several years. She now manages the farm in Bedford County where she makes and sells her own cheese. Ryan & Jen Clark of Windy Lane Jerseys in Huntingdon County were the recipients of the 2015 PA Young Jersey Breeder Award. Ryan & Jen have been topping the state production lists since they began milking cows straight out of college and are still looking to expand their Jersey herd.
The third award of the morning is widely known as the longest running Jersey genetic award in the country. The Norman Genetic Award is given to the PA Jersey herd with the highest average JPI (Jersey Performance Index). This year, the honor was awarded to two prominent western PA Jersey herds, Spruce Row Farm (the Peters family) and VanDe Jerseys (the Vanderstappens). The PJCA also recognized the top production cows and herds from across the state, winners listed below. This year’s honor of highest protein cow and highest protein herd went to Vanderfeltz Jerseys. The top cow, TBone Flossy of 764, produced 1134 lbs. of protein as a four year old cow while the entire Vanderfeltz herd of 129 cows averaged 762 lbs. of protein.
Finally, the association held their official annual meeting in the presence of its members. The association has agreed to continue their annual Louisville trip, which gives PA Jersey youth who exhibit their animals in the PA Jr. Dairy Show in Harrisburg the opportunity to travel to the national All-American Jersey Show in November. It is a great chance for local 4-H & FFA youth to show their Jerseys up against some of the best Jersey breeders in the country.
Most of the meeting centralized around the upcoming national meeting, the need for PA breeders to help plan, and the want to showcase the history of Gettysburg along with Pennsylvania Agriculture. The association is excited to show Jersey breeders and dairy industry professionals from all over the country what a great and proud industry agriculture is all around our state. If you would like to help in any way or are interested in more information, please do not hesitate to contact us! Lastly a silent auction was held with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the PA Jersey youth fund. The auction, thanks to breeder’s donations of items to sell, raised over $400 for the fund.
For more information about our group & events, the Jersey breed, or if you’d like to know how you can become more involved, please contact our executive secretary Jessica Peters at 814.282.5206 or via email ([email protected]).
The 2016 PJCA Meeting will be held in western Pennsylvania but don’t forget to look for us in Harrisburg for the annual youth pizza party and the PA Jr. Dairy Show!
Youth Awards
Scrapbook Winners-
• Jr. – Katelyn Taylor
• Sr. – Willow Voegtlen
First Year Project Award-
• Carley Fries
• Malia Baney
Achievement
• Jr. – Madison Davis
• Jr. – Riley Thompson
• Int. – Stephanie Younker
• Sr. – Willow Voegtlen
• Sr. – Renee Clowney
• Sr. – Wesley Noble
• Sr. – Andrew Theobald
Speech Contest:
Jr. Division:
1st – Riley Thompson
2nd- Katelyn Taylor
Int. Division:
1st – Sawyer Whitenight
2nd – Maggie Whitenight
3rd – Olivia Lesher
4th – Stephanie Younker
Dairy Jeopardy Contest:
Jr. Division:
1st – Caroline Arrowsmith
2nd – Katelyn Taylor
3rd – Nicole Arrowsmith
Sr. Division:
1st – Jaylene Lesher
2nd – Sawyer Whitenight
3rd – Roy Bramm
4th – Andrew Theobald
2015 Pot of Gold (POG) Contest Winners:
1st – Columbus Eclipes Gretta
Purchased by Lauren Eslary Consigned by Chrisopher Curtis
21,217M 1,020F 747P m.e. Cheese Yield = $3,298.70
2nd – SR Kyros Wall-E
Purchased by Corey Neckers Consigned by Spruce Row Farm
18,224M 1003F 688P m.e. Cheese Yield = $3,104.99
3rd – Shan-Mar Kyros Alfie
Purchased by Lane Vance Consigned by Shan-Mar Jerseys
20,109M 932F 707P m.e. Cheese Yield = $3,079.98
4th – VanDe Kanoo Jamaica Jamoo
Purchased by Emily Wright Consigned by VanDe Jerseys
19,687M 809F 747P m.e. Cheese Yield = $2,782.94
Jacob M. Brunges Production Contest
1st Jessica Nolt Elsbree Marshall Arkansas
3-01 305D 25,865M 1,055F 864P 943 m.e. Protein
2nd Katelyn Nolt Lost Hill Influence Ram
3-10 305D 23,005M 969F 814P 912 m.e. Protein
3rd Renee Clowney Lagging Stream Savanna
1-11 305D 15,917M 814F 567P 760 m.e. Protein
4th Lauren Eslary Columbus Eclipes Gretta
2-1 305D 15,947M 790F 579P 747 m.e. Protein
5th Andrew Theobald CA Theo Bomber Kermit
8-3 305D 18,467M 1,016F 672P 726 m.e. Protein
6th Carley Fries Chyle Land Brazo Chip
4-2 305D 17,945M 782F 623P 654 m.e. Protein
7th Lily Fries Chyle Land Iatola Iraq
3-7 305D 17,458M 1,020F 623P 635 m.e. Protein
8th Riley Thompson Cerenity Tbone Emily Emma
2-1 205D 12,738M 646F 486P 627 m.e. Protein
Production Awards
2014 Pennsylvania High Lactation Animals by Age & Cheese Yield Dollars
Sr. Yearling: Windy Lane Sparky Traci-P owned by Ryan & Jen Clark in Huntingdon County.
24,831M 1,213F 876P Cheese Yield = $3,889.67
Jr. 2 Year Old: Mains Bold Princess owned by Mount Rock Jerseys LLC in Cumberland County.
29,612M 1,140F 979P Cheese Yield = $4,089.04
Sr. 2 Year Old: Mains Tbone Rose owned by Mount Rock Jerseys LLC in Cumberland County.
28,367M 1,126F 1,045P Cheese Yield = $4,207.70
Jr. 3 Year Old: PR Mains Allstar Xtra owned by Mount Rock Jerseys LLC in Cumberland County.
25,445M 1,457F 962P Cheese Yield = $4,412.04
Sr. 3 Year Old: Reich Spring Senior Clover owned by JOBO Holstein Farm in Adams County.
31,682M 1,449F 1,054P Cheese Yield = $4,688.08
4 Year Old: Vanfel Louie April 742 owned by Vanderfeltz Jerseys in Susquehanna County.
29,403M 1,443F 1,090P Cheese Yield = $4,735.74
5 Year Old: Nobledale Legion Cher owned by Vanderfeltz Jerseys in Susquehanna County.
27,506M 1,545F 1,108P Cheese Yield = $4,886.97
6 & 7 Year Old: Seatuck Jaden Twizzler owned by Ryan & Jen Clark in Huntingdon County.
25,360M 1,361F 1,034P Cheese Yield = $4,451.82
8 & 9 Year Old: GR AF/FS Garden Cherry owned by Ryan & Jen Clark in Huntingdon County.
30,013M 1,349F 1,036P Cheese Yield = $4,496.66
10 Yeard & Over: Hi-Land Garth Helga Heather owned by Benuel Z. Stoltzfus in Chester County.
23,964M 1,293F 719P Cheese Yield = $3,622.17
Pennsylvania High Jersey Herds
Herd Size Award Category Herd Owner County Milk Fat Prot.
7-29 Fat Brewers Jerseys Northampton 18,615 996 687
7-29 Milk & Protein David Myers Cambria 21,245 943 740
30-59 Fat & Protein Harold E. Harpster Centre 17,293 964 666
30-59 Milk Herman Cook Lancaster 18,130 831 616
60-99 Milk, Fat, & Protein Southmont Farms Bradford 21,205 1,023 759
100 & Over Fat & Protein Vanderfeltz Jerseys Susquehanna 20,236 1,007 762
100 & Over Milk Mount Rock Jerseys LLC Cumberland 21,051 986 757