NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL
JERSEY LEADERSHIP ELECTED AT ANNUAL MEETINGS
Reynoldsburg,
Ohio, July 2, 2008—Officers
and directors for the two USJersey organizations were elected during the
recently concluded Annual Meetings of the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA)
and National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ).
The
business meetings were held on two days, June 27 for NAJ and June 28 for AJCA,
at the Crowne Plaza Resort, Asheville, N.C.
David
Chamberlain, Wyoming, N.Y., was elected to his second one-year term as President
of the American Jersey Cattle Association. He and his brother, Greg, operate the
Hi-Land Farms, which includes a herd of over 1,200 Registered Jerseys™
enrolled on the AJCA REAP program.
Elected
as Vice President for a one-year term was Libby Bleakney, Cornish, Maine. She is
involved in the family corporation Highland Farms Inc., a 250-cow registered
herd enrolled on REAP.
Three
new Directors were elected to the AJCA Board, succeeding two-term members Dennis
Egelston, Fultonville, N.Y. (Second District); Eric Lyon, Toledo, Iowa (Ninth
District) and Scott Wickstrom (Twelfth District).
The
new director elected from the Second District is Robin Denniston-Keller, Bryon
Center, N.Y. She and her husband Kip own and operate Den-Kel Jerseys, a herd of
90 Registered Jersey™ cows and an equal number of replacement heifers. The
2007 lactation average for this REAP herd was 22,418 lbs. milk, 1,010 lbs. fat
and 808 lbs. protein, ranking third for protein and fourth for milk in the U.S.
among herds with 40-79 cows. Robin was the 2008 North American winner of a
International Young Jersey Breeders Educational Travel Award (JETA), and
presented a paper at the International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle
Bureau in Jersey on May 21.
Jerry
Spielman, Seneca, Kans., was elected as Director from the Ninth District. He and
his wife Sue own and operate Heartland Jerseys Inc. The herd of 350 Registered
Jersey™ cows and 265 replacement heifers has been enrolled on REAP since the
program’s inception in 1995. The Heartland herd ranks 57th in the
U.S. for herd average Jersey Performance Index™ at +504M, +23F and +18P. Jerry
is a past director of the Kansas Dairy Commission and Nemaha County DHIA, among
other organizations.
The
third newly elected Director, from the Twelfth District, is Jim Quist, Fresno,
Calif. He operates Quist Dairy in partnership with his father, Alvin, and breeds
Registered Jerseys™ using the Jars of Clay prefix. The 260 lactations
completed in 2007 averaged 18,612 lbs. milk, 822 lbs. fat and 666 lbs. protein.
Jim is an alumni of the California Ag Leadership Program, and has served on the
governing boards of Fresno DHIA and Farm Bureau, as well as the board of the
California Jersey Cattle Association.
Re-elected
to a second term on the AJCA Board of Directors from the Seventh District was
James VanBuskirk, Carleton, Mich. Jim, his wife Jan and son David own and
operate a sesquicentennial farm dated to 1835 that is home to JVB Red Hot
Jerseys, a 240-head Registered Jersey™ herd enrolled on REAP.
James
Ahlem, Hilmar, Calif., was re-elected as the President of National All-Jersey
Inc. (NAJ). He is the owner and operator of James Ahlem Dairy, a 2,000 milking
cow herd. Ahlem is also an owner of Hilmar Cheese Company, the twenty-eighth
largest dairy processor in the U.S. according to Dairy Field. (2007).
James
S. Huffard III, Crockett, Va., was elected to the NAJ
Board from District 5, and also elected Vice President of the
organization. Huffard farms in partnership with his
brother John and operates a 400-cow Jersey dairy.
The American Jersey Cattle Association was organized in
1868 to improve and promote the Jersey breed. Since 1957, National All-Jersey
Inc. has served Jersey owners by promoting the increased production and sale of
Jersey milk and milk products.
For more information on services
provided by the USJersey organizations, visit the web site at www.USJersey.com
or call 614/861-3636.
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