Jonathan Merriam, Hickman, Calif., was re-elected as President of the American Jersey Cattle Association at its 151st Annual Meeting on June 29. The third generation of his family to breed and own Registered Jerseys, Merriam is the genetics specialist at Ahlem Farms Partnership, Hilmar, Calif., having previously worked in A.I. sire procurement, extension and education. He has served on the boards of the California Jersey Cattle Association and Jerseyland Sires and was co-chair of the 2016 National Heifer Sale.

Alan Chittenden, Schodack Landing, N.Y., was elected as AJCA Vice President, succeeding retiring director Walter Owens, Frederic, Wis. He serves as Director from the Second District and was also appointed as chair of the Information Technology and Identification Committee. Chittenden operates Dutch Hollow Farm, a REAP herd, with his family. In 2012 the farm received the AJCA’s Master Breeder Award.

Joel Albright, Willard, Ohio, was elected as AJCA Director from the Fourth District. He owns and operates Albright Jerseys LLC, a 600-cow operation enrolled on REAP, with his family. The Albrights have placed several bulls in A.I. and have consigned animals to numerous sales. In 2016, Joel received the AJCA Young Jersey Breeder Award and currently serves on the All American Sale Committee.

Donna Phillips, DVM, Newton, Wis., was elected to a three-year term as Director from the Seventh District. She owns and operates the 84-cow REAP herd D & D Jerseys with her husband and daughters. The herd ranks #10 in the nation for genetic merit with a herd average JPI of +84 (April 2019). Donna is currently serving her third, four-year term as director of the Wisconsin Jersey Breeders Association having previously served as president and vice president. She and her husband received the AJCA Young Jersey Breeder Award in 2005.

Garry Hansen, Mulino, Ore., was elected to serve as AJCA Director from the Tenth District. Hansen, a third-generation Jersey breeder, and his wife own and operate the 100-cow dairy enrolled on REAP, Lady Lane Farm. Milk is processed at the on-farm creamery using the All-Jersey® Queen of Quality label. Garry is a former president of the Oregon Jersey Cattle Club and is currently a member of the planning committee for the 2020 AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings to be held in Portland, Ore.

Tyler Boyd, Hilmar, Calif., was elected to a three-year term as Director from the Twelfth District. He is a fourth-generation Jersey breeder and remains active with his family’s farm Boyd-Lee Jerseys in Parrottsville, Tenn. In addition to his family’s REAP herd, Tyler breeds a small herd of his own in California and is the general manager of Jerseyland Sires in Hilmar, Calif. He currently serves as associate chair of the National Jersey Jug Futurity Committee for the All American festivities in Louisville, Ky. Tyler was also a member of the inaugural class of Jersey Youth Academy and was the winner of the 2008 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest.

Chairs of standing committees for 2019-20 are Eddie Kirchdoerfer, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Finance; Tom Sawyer, Walpole, N.H., Development; Mark Gardner, Dayton, Pa., Breed Improvement; and Alan Chittenden, Schodack Landing, N.Y., Information Technology and Identification Committee. As Finance and Development chairs, Kirchdoerfer and Sawyer will also serve as ex-officios on the NAJ board with President Merriam.

National All-Jersey Inc.

Following the 61st Annual Meeting of National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ) on June 27, John Kokoski, Hadley, Mass., was re-elected President of National All-Jersey Inc. in the reorganizational meeting. Kokoski has been a member of the NAJ Board since 2007. He heads up the family-operated Mapleline Farm LLC. The enterprise includes a 135-cow Registered Jersey herd enrolled on REAP and a dairy plant that processes and distributes a full line of Jersey milk products to grocery retailers, restaurants and university food service. Kokoski is a past director of the Massachusetts Cooperative Milk Producers Federation and has served more than 25 years on the New England Dairy Promotion Board.

James S. Huffard III, Crockett, Va., was re-elected as Vice President of National All-Jersey Inc. He owns and operates Huffard Dairy Farms, an all-Jersey herd enrolled on REAP, with his family.

Jason Cast, Beaver Crossing, Neb., was re-elected for a four-year term as Director from District One to the NAJ board. Cast owns and operates JJC Jerseys with his wife and six children. The herd was been enrolled on REAP since 2013.

Walter Owens, Frederic, Wis., was appointed by the AJCA Board to serve on the NAJ Board for a four year at-large term. Owens has served as an AJCA Director since 2012 and is a past vice president. He operates a 650-cow operation enrolled on REAP, Owens Farm Inc., with his two brothers. This year, the farm was honored with the AJCA Master Breeder Award.

Ex officio directors on the NAJ Board for 2019-2020 are AJCA President Jonathan Merriam and AJCA Board committee chairs Eddie Kirchdoerfer, Finance, and Tom Sawyer, Development.

Four AJCA directors and one NAJ director retired from their service to the boards at this meeting. Marion Barlass, Janesville, Wis., was thanked for her 12 years of service on the NAJ board along with C.A. Russell, Hilmar, Calif.; Tom Seals, Beaver, Ore.; Sam Bok, Defiance, Ohio; and Walter Owens, Frederic, Wis., for their two terms on the AJCA board.

The American Jersey Cattle Association, organized in 1868, compiles and maintains animal identification and performance data on Jersey cattle and provides services that support genetic improvement and greater profitability. Since 1957, National All-Jersey Inc. has provided services that increase the value of and demand for Jersey milk and milk products and Registered Jersey™ cattle and genetics. For more information on USJersey services designed to enhance commercial profitability, contact visit USJersey.com, or connect at Facebook.com/USJersey.