John and Margaret Cockerell from Waaia in nothern Victoria, with Jane Havey from the island of Jersey at the Sprunts’ Kaarmona stud. The Sprunts hold some of the Cockerells’ blood lines.
The Jerseys on Rohan and Graeme Sprunt’s dairy farm were under close scrutiny when the bus load of Jersey breeders from the World Jersey Conference visited.
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But the Sprunts are accustomed to being under the microscope, having successfully shown cattle and achieved the Australian first of holding Master Breeder status for both Jersey and Holstein cattle.
Their property, near Shepparton in northern Victoria, was one of the stops on a two-week tour as part of the April conference.
The bus load of visitors included two people from the island of Jersey, the spiritual home for the Jersey breed, located between the United Kingdom and France in the English Channel.
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands and home to about 5000 cattle.
The breed has now spread to many countries all around the world — there are now more Jerseys in Australia than on the home island.
However, the former president of the Royal Jersey Agricultural Society, Steve LeFeuvre, pointed out there are no Holsteins on the island.
“If there are any they can’t be milked, as the processor on the island can only take pure Jersey milk,” Steve said.
Steve LeFeuvre, from Jersey, photographs the business end of the Sprunts’ herd during the World Jersey Conference tour.
Steve lives on Jersey, but on April 16 he was in the Goulburn Valley as part of the conference tour group.
He was recalling the history of the breed while the group wandered across the Sprunts’ paddocks.
The group also visited Jersey studs in other parts of northern Victoria, as well as Gippsland, western Victoria and NSW. Each stud was asked to present their top 40 Jerseys for inspection by the visiting group.
Steve believes the Jerseys are an adaptable and profitable cow in all sorts of climatic and management conditions around the world.
“I’ve seen them all around the world and they suit any system you put them through.
“They produce quality milk with high butterfat and protein.
“Their resilience in all conditions is remarkable. Touring around Australia, you see them in drought conditions, and their maintenance level is much less than the black and whites.”
The group was impressed by the Jersey line-up on the Sprunt brothers’ farm, which has been in the family for four generations.
The 240-hectare Kaarmona stud is managed with biological farming practices, with the aim of improving soil biology and enhancing sustainability.
A further 148ha is leased for grain and fodder.
The business aims to hold the herd size at about 400 cows in spring and maintain no less than 230 through winter.
The family holds the distinction of being the only stud in Australia holding Master Breeder status simultaneously for both Jersey and Holstein breeds.
They are also placed third in the Australian Breeding Values for Jersey herds.
Rohan Sprunt told the visitors they had started in 1994 with 100 Holsteins and 30 Jerseys, while today’s milking herd was made up of 80 per cent registered Jerseys.
They calve down about 15 per cent in January, 35 per cent in autumn, with the balance in spring. All calves are reared at home except for 60 in-calf heifers currently out on agistment.
Rohan Sprunt checks the statistics on a Jersey on his Kaarmona stud in northern Victoria for the World Jersey Conference tour.
Hayden Williamson from Semex takes a closer look at a daughter in the Invincible family at the Sprunts’ Kaarmona stud.
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