AJCA Jersey Youth Academy 2021
Six interesting short videos which were presented to the 31 young breed enthusiasts in the Academy.
They are worthy of watching by everyone involved with the Jersey breed and those communicating the place of the dairy sector in the community.
| Country | Subject | Length (Minutes) | ||
| Jersey Island | Why Jersey Milk is so Special | 6 | ||
| USA | The Cow From Calf to Milking Herd | 10 | ||
| South Africa | Thriving in Extreme Temperature Changes | 4 | ||
| Australia | The Most Profitable Breed for Grazing Systems | 10 | ||
| Costa Rica | Jerseys Increasing at 10% Each Year | 7 | ||
| USA | Dairy Farming and the Local Community | 3 |
Thomas Sogaard’s Reflections on Attending the Jersey Youth Congress in Ohio, 2018
2018 JETA Recipients Presentations
Peiter Van Deventer
Ben Olsen
Diego Sierra Calderon
Patrick MacDougall
Reece Attenborough
Recipients of the 2018 Jersey Educational Travel Awards have been announced and are shown below.
TVJersey Interviewed all JETA Recipients During the 2018 Conference/Tour
Pieter van Deventer
South Africa (Africa Region)
Pieter farms 900 Jersey cows in two herds under the Doonvlei prefix in the Western Cape with his wife, Natasha. They have three young sons, Jaco, Pieter and Daniel. Pieter is holder of the Jersey South Africa ‘Breeder by Excellence’ Award and is regional manager of Western Cape Milk Producers’ Organisation. Pieter’s aim is to ‘bring the Jersey world closer to South African breeders, on farm.’
Bent Olesen
Denmark (Europe)
Bent operates a 450 Jersey cow herd with his brother. The entire herd is genomic tested; and selling bulls in to AI is an aim which continues to be successfully accomplished. Average production is 8157kg milk at 6.2 per cent butterfat and 4.2 per cent protein. Bent has been a member of the Jersey Denmark board and is currently Vice-President. He expects to use the shared-learning experience of JETA to the benefit of Jersey breeders throughout Denmark.
Diego Sierra Calderon
Colombia (Latin America)
Diego is married to Alejandra Fernandez, whom he met when they worked on a Jersey research project at University. They have a young son, Jeronimo Sierra. Diego manages La Garcia Farm, which was visited by the Bureau in 2012, and has been in his family’s ownership since the early 1900s. Diego is also a Classifier with Jersey Columbia. Diego has a specific interest in how conformation contributes to the profit, longevity and welfare of cows.
A post JETA interview with Colanta, Colombia’s biggest milk processor.
Patrick MacDougall
Canada (North America)
Patrick is married to Amanda and he manages the 180-head Jersey herd at the family-owned Ferme Reyla enr in Quebec. Genomics is being used to develop the herd, along with use of sexed semen and ET, as marketing breeding stock is an important part of the business. Jerseys were the last breed to arrive at Ferme Reyla, and it is only since 2012 that they have ousted the Holsteins, Guernseys and Brown Swiss which were part of the previous mixed-breeds herd. Pat was inspired to apply for JETA by the overwhelmingly positive experience of previous winners. On top of the technical developments he expects to see, networking is an equally important opportunity for Pat.
Reece Attenborough
Australia (Oceania / Asia)
Reece is the fourth generation of his family on the farm. His interest in Jerseys was sparked by working with the Wallacedale herd, leading to the founding of his own Attaview Jersey stud in 2001. The relationship with the breed was cemented by a one-year period as herdsman at the Rapid Bay herd in Canada. Reece is married to Toni and they have a son, Jack. Currently Reece is President of the Central Gippsland Jersey Breeders’ Club and combines a role of Classifier with Jersey Australia with exhibiting cattle as well as managing a prepping crew which has been employed at numerous high-profile sales. Learning from others will be an essential element of Reece’s JETA experience.
The WJCB supports and encourages travel by young people involved with, or interested in, the Jersey breed. The programmes available are:
1) The Jersey Educational Travel Award (JETA): Details of which can be found below.
2) The Jersey Scholarship Travel Award: This is a direct grant payable towards the travel expenses of people between the ages of 25 and 40 years who wish to travel to undertake a specific piece of research relating to the Jersey breed and is conditional on support from the member national association and a report on the findings being supplied to the WJCB for publication.
Extract from Living the Dream, World Jersey Cattle Bureau Youth Travel Scholarship By Tahnee King
“For years I had wanted to travel to Canada; seeing the genetic influence that some of world’s best cows such as Duncan Belle have had on our herds over here really captured my interest… ..Early in 2009 I was honoured to receive the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Youth Travel Scholarship, which allowed me to fulfil my dreams of working on some high profile jersey farms, as well as attending world- renowned dairy cattle events while experiencing the Canadian culture.”
JETA – Jersey Educational Travel Award
The WJCB Jersey Educational Travel Award is a scholarship award that is open to young Jersey cattle breeders who have:-
Demonstrated unique leadership qualities through their interest in the Jersey breed, or
Achieved success in their efforts to breed and develop profitable dairy businesses, and
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 programme provides financial awards to enable up to five individuals to attend and participate at the next 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 fees for the week of the conference. The recipients will also be awarded Life Membership of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau.
JETA awards have now been held during the last five international conferences; Canada 2005, Jersey 2008, New Zealand 2011, South Africa 2014 and the USA 2018
Twenty five young Jersey breeders have been given the opportunity to develop their careers with this programme and many have gone on to become leaders of the industry in their respective countries and well as being members of a select group of individuals.
Previous JETA Award Winners
| Year | Africa | Europe | Latin America | North America | Oceania | |
| 2021 | International | Conference | Cancelled | Covid | Pandemic | |
| 2018 | Pieter Van Deventer (South Africa) |
Bent Olesen (Denmark) |
Diego Sierra Calderon (Colombia) |
Patrick MacDougall (Canada) |
Reece Attenborough (Australia) |
|
| 2014 | Arno Theron (South Africa) |
Martin Schuler (Switzerland) |
Vanessa Ruiz (Costa Rica) |
Brian Barlass (USA) |
Jane Sykes (Australia) |
|
| 2011 | Jenny Evans (Mozambique) |
Benoit Guioullier (France) |
Mariano Storani (Argentina) |
Jennifer Vander Meulen (Canada) |
Troy Mauger (Australia) |
|
| 2008 | Wikus van der Meuwe (South Africa) |
Henrik Dalgaard Christensen (Denmark) |
Ruben Dario Galvis Goez (Colombia) |
Robin Denniston-Keller (USA) |
Lyna Beehre (New Zealand) |
|
| | ||||||
| 2005 | Waweru Gatheca (Kenya) |
Andre van Weerdenburg (Denmark) |
Eduardo Kashiwagi (Brazil) |
Aaron Ray Tompkins (USA) |
Mark Shaw (New Zealand) |