The Jersey breed is currently on a roll.   More people want Jerseys than presently have them.   More Jersey semen and Jersey bulls are being used for dairy crossbreeding than ever before.   Many leaders in the developing seasonal grazing movement promoted the superiority of Jerseys in grass environments.   Nations that never had Jersey cattle are starting to bring them in; nations that wrote Jerseys off a couple decades ago have returned to them.

WHY?   Milk pricing changes from fluid emphasis to component yield emphasis have helped, certainly.   The impression that modern Jerseys are more productive than traditional Jerseys has also helped.    However, basic breed advantages in traits-- easier calving heifers, earlier maturing cows, higher fertility, longer functional life, better heat resistance/adaptability to the climates of dairy growth regions, smaller space requirement, more efficient feed conversion--  these are the key reasons why Jerseys have become popular.   These traits were bred in, over a long period of time, by the efforts of the many Jersey breeders who were focused upon the economic value of these advantages.   They were also reinforced by culling practices during the period when milk price supports made milk volume the focus of the industry, and the market for surplus Jerseys was low in price and very regionalized.   

What are the "profit centers" in dairying?

Our veterinarian gave us some information gathered from Minnesota farm records around 2001, that were developed by the efforts of a lending system that wished to understand what actually "made" a dairy farm profitable.   It used what is called "enterprise" accounting, breaking each dairy farm into four sectors:  (1) Milk production, (2) Replacement heifer production, (3) forage production, (4) grain production.

What was found is that the basic business of making milk out of a good feed ration was pretty profitable (26% profit on 2001 prices).   The business of raising replacements was more variable, averaging a 4% profit but covering a wide range of experience (a third of dairymen losing money, a smaller percentage making as much on heifers as they did on milk).   The cropping side of the average dairy farm was where troubles existed, with an average 22% loss on production of forages, and a 3% loss on production of grains (which would have been worse in the absence of ASC base payments). 

This is the sort of data that has influenced large, nonfarming dairies to bloom in the deserts of the west coast, and explains the exodus of traditional family-size dairies on the east coast.    Crop production involves a lot of inflation in the costs of inputs, and a heavy equipment investment.   Most dairy farms either lack the acreage to recover equipment costs, or do not have time around chores to do timely harvesting and guarantee optimum feed quality.

What does this have to do with the "purebred" business?   Simply this: keep farming "as usual", and the enterprise within your farm that operates at a loss could put the rest of your operation out of business.   Part of farming "as usual" is to not recognize that cattle values have generally increased, not as a factor of beef prices, but a factor of scarcity.   The growth sector in dairy (expansion herds,  "milk factory" dairies who sell all calves at birth, immigrant dairymen) has not only increased demand for replacements but has changed its idea of what kind of cow it wants.   This has made raising heifers change from a "cost of milk production" to an "opportunity to supplement the milk check".