Shadowvale Farm Jerseys

Ever since I was a child growing up on a small mixed farm in Alberta, I can recall asking, or rather begging, my mom and dad if I could pleeeease have a Jersey cow. Unfortunately, the answer was always a “no”. So, it became an elusive dream to put on the back-burner. Years have gone by, filled with concentrating on my other original passion: successfully breeding, showing, classifying and milk testing purebred Nubian dairy goats - the “Jersey’s” of the dairy goat world…how befitting!

Over the years, while traveling to either show or judge at various fairs, I would always make the time to slowly walk through the dairy barns, deeply admiring those rows and rows of beautiful Jersey cattle. Always in the back of my mind, hoping “someday” one of those beauties would be my own to show!

In January 2008, I made the difficult decision to drastically reduce the goat herd by selling my entire young show string. Suddenly my barn was very empty, and I was feeling that old familiar itch that this time, I would scratch! It wasn’t easy to find one, but at last in March I purchased my first Jersey heifer calf, 3 month old Gaymar Astro Sharene, from local Canadian Jersey “legend”, Don Hendrickson. A short month, and a whole lot of research later, I purchased my second heifer, 5 month old Bellshire Senior Carmel, from local breeder Jake Konrad. I owe both these men a great deal of thanks for paving my way into the Jersey world by selling me two such great animals, and also for answering plenty of questions and concerns both before and after the purchase!

As anyone in cattle knows, to show them successfully is not a one person job, so I especially extend a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to the Hendrickson and the Haambuckers families for welcoming me and the calves to travel with them to shows, and for all their help once we got there. I quickly learned that showing goats is one thing…cows, quite another!!

My philosophy for breeding Jerseys does not differ at all from the philosophy I have had for years in breeding the Nubians. My focus is to create a balanced breeding program that develops cows of high type, who will live a long, highly productive life, and be able to repeat her strengths through subsequent generations of outstanding daughters and (hopefully!) sons.

To achieve this goal, I will utilize the same valuable breeding and management practices I always have: feeding only the highest quality rations, providing a clean, comfortable environment for which the animals to thrive, and proving their value and strengths through classification, official DHI milk test, and showing.

In closing, I can not talk about Jerseys without talking about my longtime, great friend, Russell Gammon. No one has answered as many emails, or fielded so many “what if…” or “how about…” questions from me than Russell. He has nurtured my Jersey dream for years, and I thank him for keeping it alive, believing in my ability to “do it right”, and for always being there with a quick answer to my countless queries!