The World Jersey Cattle Bureau (WJCB) is an international organisation, made up of national Jersey cattle associations, individuals and other organisations, that has four main strands of activity in support of the Jersey breed of dairy cow:- communication, world Jersey events, youth programs and knowledge transfer.
The Jersey breed is the second most numerous breed of dairy cow in the world and as such is an important part of the global dairy industry.
What is JETA?
The WJCB Jersey Educational Travel Award provides a valuable opportunity to young people who will become the future leaders of the international dairy industry to travel and learn a new perspective of the world. To date 15 young people, 3 from each of the five regions of the world, have benefitted from this extraordinary opportunity.
“I received the JETA award in 2011 and travelled to New Zealand to attend the 19th WJCB International Conference, after that great experience I continued my studies in veterinary medicine and in September of that year I became a Veterinarian. After that I continued working in my family’s farm, on reproduction, animal health and general managing of a 6,500 animal dairy herd. The JETA award helped me to continue learning about the breed and dairy production, meet great people and helped me to enhance my career as a veterinarian and dairy farmer.” – Mariano Storani (Argentina)
The JETA Award:
The WJCB Jersey Educational Travel Award is a scholarship award that is open to young Jersey cattle breeders who have:-
᠒ Demonstrated leadership qualities through their interest in the Jersey breed, or
᠒ Achieved success in their efforts to breed and develop profitable dairy businesses, and
᠒ Whose future endeavours will benefit from the knowledge and new ideas that can be gained by contact with other Jersey breeders from around the world.
The program provides financial awards to enable up to five (5) individuals to attend and participate in the following International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau, held every three years in a major dairy producing country.
Awards will cover the cost of travel documents, return air fares and ground transportation, registration and all other conference costs for the week of the conference. The recipients will also be awarded lifetime membership of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau.
Award recipients agree to:
᠒ Attend all conference sessions;
᠒ Make a short presentation (approximately 20 minutes) while at the conference during a dedicated JETA session;
᠒ Report on their experience and what they learned, firstly in a written report submitted to the WJCB, and secondly through speeches to Jersey, dairy and other agriculture related groups in their home country;
᠒ Provide a final report on their activities to the WJCB no later than six months after the conference.
Applications:
Applications are invited from potential candidates, from any country, who can demonstrate involvement in dairy farming, enthusiasm for breeding and developing Jersey cattle, and who have a genuine interest in attending an international educational experience.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, and no older than 40 years of age, in the year of the International Conference. Each applicant shall submit a dossier consisting of the following:
1. A Curriculum Vitae, or résumé, clearly summarizing work experience in dairy farming, experience with Jersey cattle, and formal education.
2. An essay of no more than 750 words [approximately three (3) typewritten pages] responding to the following questions:
a. Why did you choose a career in the dairy industry and with Jersey cattle in particular? Describe your current activities. What are your ambitions in the industry? How do you plan to achieve those goals?
b. Why do you want to attend the International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau? What motivates your interest? What do you expect to gain from your participation?
c. Provide a list of the groups, including estimated audience size, to whom you will give a formal presentation to about your experience after the conference.
d. Provide contact information for no more than three (3) dairy and agricultural publications in your country, plus your local newspaper (if any).
3. Include two (2) letters of recommendation from an employer, advisor, or other person of stature in the dairy or agricultural business who knows you well. These letters must be signed and placed in a sealed envelope by this person. Please ask them to answer the following questions:
a. Describe the integrity and character of the applicant, including leadership and communication skills.
b. How long have you known or worked with the applicant? In what way? What is your current working relationship with this person?
c. Assess the applicant’s goals and ability to achieve them. How would his or her participation in an international conference of Jersey breeders be useful?
Applications will be evaluated on the established record and leadership qualities of the candidate, and also potential for future success in the dairy industry.
Submitting applications:
Applications must be submitted to the national Jersey breed organisation or, in the case that there is no national organisation in the applicant’s home country, to the WJCB Vice President of that region.
After evaluating applications, the national organisations will submit (no more than two) candidates to the WJCB office and copied to the WJCB Vice President of that region by the deadlines set out below. National organisations may publish their own deadlines for receipt of applications, in advance of the deadline below, and appropriate to their country situation to enable the widest participation in the application process.
The President or Secretary of the national organisation must include a letter of recommendation for each candidate, addressing the questions in item 3, Applications (above).
The official language of the WJCB is English; however, this should not be a bar to applications from potential candidates who do not speak English as arrangements can be made for the delivery of their presentation.
Selection procedure:
An anonymous selection committee appointed by the WJCB President shall review the applications and select up to five recipients of the JETA award. The WJCB will endeavour to ensure that each of the five regions of the Bureau are represented in the final selection.
Potential recipients will be notified of the committee’s decision directly by the WJCB Secretary, via email, and they must accept or decline the award within two weeks of such notification.
Where there is a situation where two candidates are of equal merit the selection committee, through the office of the WJCB Secretary, may ask for a short supplementary submission on their ideas relating to a subject pertinent to the conference.
The WJCB Secretary shall then publish the list of recipients and make arrangements for their attendance at the conference. An individual in receipt of the JETA award will be ineligible for a further JETA award.
Deadline for Submissions and key dates:
᠒ Monday 2nd June 2014 – Submissions must be received at the office of the WJCB either by post, fax or email to the Secretary.
᠒ Friday 12th September to Saturday 20th September 2014 – The 20th International Conference, “It’s time for Africa”, to be held in South Africa. Full details can be found at the following web address: http://www.jerseysa.co.za/ Conference organiser: Poena van Niekerk: email [email protected]
For further information on the JETA Programme please contact the WJCB Secretary – James Godfrey (Isle of Jersey) – email: [email protected]
Officers of the WJCB:
President:Derrick Frigot (Isle of Jersey) – email: [email protected]
Vice Presidents:
African Region: Johannes van Eeden (South Africa) – email: [email protected] Asia/Oceania Region: Peter Ness (Australia) – email: [email protected]
European Region: Anders Levring (Denmark) – email: [email protected]
Latin American Region: Agustin Robredo (Argentina) – email: [email protected]
North American Region: Dr Cherie Bayer (USA) – email: [email protected]
Treasurer:Stephen Le Feuvre (Isle of Jersey) – email: [email protected]
For more information on the WJCB visit the website: http://wjcb.wildapricot.org/