Economic considerations have driven growth of the Jersey breed in Canada.
The number of dairy herds that contain Jerseys has increased to 1,188 from 607 in 2001, says Jersey Canada.
Growth of the breed is most pronounced in Quebec, where the number of herds containing Jerseys has more than tripled in the last nine years. Jersey representation in Western Canada’s dairy herds has roughly doubled.
Jerseys produce milk with a good ratio of solid nonfat to fat, which helps producers meet marketing board ratios and avoid penalties for going over the ratio.
Read Also
Farming Smarter receives financial boost from Alberta government for potato research
Farming Smarter near Lethbridge got a boost to its research equipment, thanks to the Alberta government’s increase in funding for research associations.
“If you add some Jerseys to a herd, they will pull down the overall ratio in your herd and get you closer to the target amount,” said Jersey Canada executive director Russell Gammon.
He said changes in milk pricing also increased interest in the breed.
“In about 1992, provinces in Canada started pricing milk on the basis of the solidsthatareinthemilk,” Gammonsaid.
“The fat, the protein, the other solids that are in the milk, and Jerseys tend to be higher in all those categories, and so therefore greater income if you are shipping Jersey milk.”
Holsteins still dominate the Canadian dairy industry, contributing more than 90 percent of the country’s dairy cows.
Gammon attributes Holstein’s dominance to a rising demand for fluid milk during the post Second World War baby boom. Today’s consumers are demanding more products that use milk solids, such as cheese and yogurt, he added.
“We had a situation where volume was king, and now we have a situation where the solids in milk are the factor that people want in the milk, and Jerseys are very good at higher solids.”
An American study by Jude Capper of Washington State University found other factors that may further increase interest in Jerseys.
Half a million tonnes of cheese produced with Jersey milk used significantly less land and water than cheese produced using Holstein milk, resulting in a 20 percent lower carbon footprint.
