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To the Members:

We have great news to share to start the New Year! The American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc. completed their best years of operation on December 31, 2008.

For AJCA Herd Services:

• 94,774 registrations … 7,092 animals more than the previous all-time record (87,682, 1953) and 19% higher than 2007 work processed.
• JerseyTag orders of 128,422 units … a 30% increase over 2007, and an all-time record.
• 128,446 cows enrolled on performance programs … another all-time record, 7,397 cows more than the previous record (121,049 cows, 2007).
• 123,656 cows enrolled on REAP, in 862 herds … 8,003 cows and 81 herds more than the previous record (2007).
• 77,240 type evaluation scores … 12% above 2007 and 7,075 scores more than were assigned during the previous record year (70,165, 2005).

For NAJ and Jersey Marketing Service:

• Equity Investment of $575,000 (est.) involving 1,135 participants … all-time high levels of support for vital Jersey milk marketing efforts.
• JMS gross sales of $9.4 million … fourth best year in company history.
• JMS marketings of 4,807 lots (live animals and embryos) for general average of $1,954.28, second high in JMS history. Since 2000, JMS has marketed over 50,500 lots for a total value of $83,283,550.

Jersey Journal recorded advertising sales of 601 pages, an 18-year high, as part of 1,196 pages of the best reporting about the Jersey business to be found anywhere in the world.

And this just in for production:

·        New records in every category:  18,457 lbs. milk, 847 lbs. fat, and 660 lbs. protein (305-2x-m.e.) on 78,224 lactation records received by the AJCA in 2008.

·        Actual 305-day cheese yield per cow of 2,003 lbs., more than twice the Jersey cow’s average body weight.

There are many reasons that account for the accomplishments of 2008, among them:

• A profit-oriented program for Jersey breed improvement and promotion that was outlined 50 years ago by then-Secretary Jim Cavanaugh and forward-looking decisions by the leadership of our organizations that shaped today’s programs and services;
• Adoption of multiple component pricing as part of Federal Order reform on January 1 of 2000;
• Organizational goals that challenged your staff to achieve the potential for breed growth; and
• most importantly, the support and loyalty of every member of the USJersey organizations.

On behalf of the AJCA and NAJ Boards, thank you for your support of our efforts. We look forward to working with you in 2009 and for many years to come to make owning Jerseys more profitable than owning any other breed of dairy cattle.

Sincerely,

Neal Smith
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer