From past to presentThe Island of Jersey is renowned all over the world for its prized breed of cow, nurtured and protectedfor hundreds of years to produce the beautiful and high-yield beast of today. Jersey Heritage TrustAssistant Curator of Social History Jason Castledine explains what makes the Jersey so special.

Turning back the clock to the days of hand milking in the fields. (Courtesy of the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive)

WHILE THE DAYS OF agriculture as the dominant force inthe economy may have receded, thebovine face of Jersey has continued toform part of the Island’s culturalimage. Although the number of dairyfarms may have considerablydiminished in recent years there arestill a number of prominent ruralfamilies involved in the industry.

In one sense while some smallertraditional mixed farms with a handfulof cattle still do exist, many haveevolved into larger units with a morespecialised focus in other areas. Thishas led to a growth in the size of manyherds, and while some farmers havediversified it has often been into areasthat can work in tandem with keepingcattle.

Although the pastoral scene of amilkmaid seated on a stool, milking acow by hand into a distinctive Jerseymilk can, might be very much aromantic memory from the past, thestrong traditions of the Island’sheritage have ensured the continuedprominence of the Jersey cow inJersey’s cultural heritage. From theendearing features of a newborn calfright through to its adult life, theJersey cow continues to feature onnumerous pictures and ornaments tothis day, from the boxes of souvenirfudge to prominent works of artadorning the townscape.

The origins of the breedIn looking at the breed and itsdevelopment from early practices

through to modern methods andtechnology, it is useful first to turn theclock back, to see how the Jersey andthose involved with it over the yearsarrived at the animal we have today.

Who the original ancestors of theJersey cow were has been the cause ofmuch speculation. It is generallythought that the domestic animal inexistence today developed from the BosPrimigenius, or Auroch. Initially, earlyman would have followed themigrating herds during the search forpasture, until the ideas of permanentsettlements and animal husbandrycame into existence around 6000BC.However, in these early stages theconcept of milking had not beenthought out and cows were very muchregarded only as a source of meat.

The States made one of the firstimportant steps towards thedevelopment of the Jersey breed duringthe 18th century as a response to thedropping prices resulting from theflooding of the cattle market. This wasoccurring principally because Frenchfarmers used Jersey as a stopover pointfor transporting cattle to England, asthis enabled them to avoid taxes onimports. The response of the Statescame in the form of an Act banning theimportation of live cattle into theIsland. This law still exists today and isone of the main reasons behind thepurity of the Jersey breed.

The purity of the breedAt the time the ban was introduced,however, the cows in the Island were a

mixed range of colours and were `notregarded highly by many in thebusiness. The agricultural community’sstrong desire to change this situationled to the founding of the Royal JerseyAgricultural and Horticultural Societyin 1833. This was subsequentlyfollowed by the establishment, in1866, of the Herd Book as a means ofregistering all cattle born in the Island.The Herd Book enabled breeders notonly to maintain to the purity of thebreed, but also to monitor the progressof their beasts and develop herds fromthe most successful specimens.

For more than 100 years expertswould travel around examininganimals and awarding cards forcommended and highly commendedcows. Coupled with this, the Parishand Island Cattle Shows, as well asproviding a market window to attractbuyers, also enabled farmers tocompare their animals and assess goodexamples from which to breed.

A further stage of the developmentcame as a result of the decline in liveexports due to increased shippingcosts. To combat this the JerseyArtificial Insemination Centre wasestablished in 1968. This allowedoverseas breeders to develop their ownherds from known local pedigreesusing exported bull semen, and wouldsoon replace exports of live cattlealtogether. On a local front it meantthat local farmers could make use ofknown pedigrees to continue todevelop their herds in order to increasemilk yields, etc.

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“Perhaps of all the stories the history of this tiny island has to tell, that of the Jersey cow must beamong the most astonishing.” .David Le Feuvre in Jersey: Not Quite British - The Rural History of a Singular People

- the Jersey cow

From milk can to computerIn the past decade the character of thedairy business has changedconsiderably because of the markeddecline in the number of familiesremaining in dairy farming and theadvances made in agriculturaltechnology. This has resulted in herdsbecoming larger to remaineconomically viable and breedingprogrammes focused on producinghigher-yielding cows.

The improvements made intechnology have enabled many farmers

to increase the efficiency of theirmilking procedures with less relianceon manual labour for milking. Toappreciate this transformation it isperhaps worth looking back severaldecades to the early days of milking byhand.

Changes in this respect have comerelatively recently, and there are manyolder farmers who can still rememberhand-milking and the early pre-computerised milking machines.Nonetheless, the aforementionedromanticised image of the milkmaidmilking a cow into one of thetraditional Jersey milk cans was never

common practice. Prior to the adventof computerised technology andmilking parlours, farmers would stillhave milked their herds in thecowsheds before turning the cattle outto graze, and would have performedthe second milking back in the sheds inthe evening.

The JMMBA major change for the dairy industryoccurred in 1954, when the Statesfacilitated the establishment of theJersey Milk Marketing Board. This was

a farmer’s co-operative, whichimmediately created its owncentralised dairy responsible forcollection, control of quality,production and distribution, as well assales and marketing of all the milkproduced in the Island.

Prior to this the Island was servedthroughout the early 20th century byas many as 30 small private dairies,which between them collected themilk from each of the farms. In thepast herds were obviously muchsmaller, with many farmers keepingonly enough cows to provide for thefamily. The surplus was sold to

neighbours, who would often arrive atthe farm with their milk jugs.

At the same time, by-products ofmilk such as butter, were alsoproduced on the farm. For example,the full-fat milk, fresh from the cow,would be poured into the butterchurn, and the handle for churning themilk turned continuously until itturned into butter. Depending on themilk and room temperatures, thiscould take several hours and wouldoften become a social occasion, withpeople passing the churn round as theychatted.

Farms, like other businesses, havekept up to date with computertechnology. In the dairy industry thishas led to computerised milkingparlours, where each individual cowcan be registered as it enters theparlour, and each individual’s feed andmilk yields are adjusted accordingly.

This process works through asystem whereby each cow wears atransponder around its neck in theform of a collar with a microchip thatemits a signal picked up by a receiveron the wall of each stall. Currentdevelopments have led to some herdsnow having the chip inserted into a tagin the ear and the collars beingdispensed with.

The herdsman will then attach amilking machine to the udder of thecow, and milking begins. If the cowfails to reach its normal quota an alarmwill sound alerting the herdsman to apotential problem with the cow. At thesame time the computerised parlourwill ensure that each cow receives therequired nutrients in its feedingtrough. The computer will also storecomplete profiles of the pedigree andveterinary history of each cow, whichassists in the planning of health andbreeding programmes.

With the number of peopleinvolved in agriculture continuallydeclining, and the increased demandsfor large herds to cope with therequired production levels, theintroduction of technology has inmany cases enabled the industry to

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Cows wait outside prior to entering the milking parlour at Paul Houze’s Lodge Farm.

remain economically viable withsmaller staff levels.

The world stageAdaptability to a wide range oftemperatures and conditions hasmeant that the Jersey can be found allover the world. It is believed that a fewJerseys arrived in America as “ships’cows” in the 17th century, but regularexports across the Atlantic began inthe 1850s, mainly to the eastern partof the United States and Canada.Some would have died en route during

rough passages that could take up tosix weeks.

There were Jersey herds in at least13 states in the east and midwestbefore the late 1860s and the countrywas the main importer in the early partof the 20th century, with the Jerseybeing regarded as an inspiration for thedeveloping American dairy industry.With the exports to Americaflourishing in 1882, the record price atthis time was smashed when Mr T SCooper paid £1,000 for a cow by thename of Khedive’s Primrose.

As the name of breed becameincreasingly recognised, it was

introduced into New Zealand in 1862,Australia in the 1880s/90s and SouthAfrica in 1883. Central and SouthAmerican countries, including Brazil,also began importing Jerseys aroundthe same time.

In Europe, Denmark importedmore than 5,000 head between 1896and 1909 as it established the famousnational Jersey herd on which it reliesheavily for its butter production forworld markets - as does Australia andNew Zealand. In the present day theJersey has also become a popular breed

in countries such as India and Kenya,and in many instances has been bredwith indigenous cattle to produce across better suited for theenvironment.

During the Occupation the Jerseycattle population diminished due tothe German’s demand for beef.Farmers dreamt up ingenious schemesto ensure that the less-favouredanimals went to meet the Germans’ orders. After the Liberation,restrictions on exports were imposedin order to rebuild the herd.Consequently, 1948 became a primeyear for export, with 2,041 animals

leaving the Island, while 248 bulls and2,120 heifers were registered. It wasevident that, as the Jersey breed spreadaround the world, an organisation wasneeded to bring all interested partiestogether. So in 1951 the World JerseyCattle Bureau was established. TheBureau set out to promote the welfareand safeguard the interests of theJersey breed throughout the world, inaddition to developing its fullpotential.

The Jersey cow is, without doubt,one of the supreme dairy cows, as she

is docile, adaptable to extremeenvironments, resistant to disease, ableefficiently to convert forage into a highyield of superior milk and to calveeasily, even when crossed with theheavy beef breeds.

What does the future hold?“I think it is a very bright future for theJersey Cow globally” (Derrick Frigot,President of the RJA & HS, 2005). Ona world scale the Jersey breed hasproved to be one of the most popularand travelled in this modern era. In thepresent day, while the Island no longerexports live cattle, the worldwide

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Two cows seated. Sketch showing two horned Jerseys (by Jean Le Capelain).

population of the Jersey cow continuesto increase, especially in Africa, Asia,and Latin America, where manyfarmers breed Jerseys with local breedsin order to improve butterfat contentand milk production. Even thosecountries with long-establishedpopulations of the breed going back tothe peak years of live cattle exportscontinue to strengthen their Jerseycattle populations. During aninterview in 2005, RJA & HSpresident Derrick Frigot commentedon one of the reasons why the Jerseybreed continues to do so well inAmerica. He said: “The averageAmerican eats far more cheese than theyever did and of course Jerseys makewonderful cheese, especially for fast cheeses,soft cheeses and less-mature cheeses. Andthe Jersey’s milk is very popular.”

Within the Island, the demands ofthe commercial marketplace and thedisappearance of live exports have leftmany farmers facing a number of keyareas of debate as to which directionthe industry should move in order tokeep pace with the rest of the world.One of the most hotly debated issues iswhether to allow the importation ofbull semen as a means of increasing thegene pool, as some feel that the purityand pedigree of the breed has resultedfrom the very fact that the Island hasbeen closed to external imports.

Certainly these issues must beconsidered by those connected withthis famous bovine ambassador ofJersey. However, one thing that iscertain is that the breed continues tohold a major international presence inthe dairy farming world, whilst alsoproviding a recurrent image onnumerous Island products.

Jason Castledine is JHT AssistantCurator of Social History.Tel: 01534 633341E-mail: Jason.Castledine@jerseyheritagetrust.org

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Key dates relating to the Jersey breed1789 The States of Jersey introduce a ban on live cattle imports into the

Island.

1833 The Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society is founded.

1850 During this decade regular cattle exports to America begin.

1866 The Jersey Herd Book is established, providing a way of regularisingthe breed.

1919 The bull ‘Sybil’s Gamboge’ is sold for a world record $65,000and paraded down New York’s Wall Street.

1951 The World Jersey Cattle Bureau is founded.

1954 The Jersey Milk Marketing Board, the farmer’s co-operative is createdby an Act passed by the States of Jersey.

1966 The Jersey Milk Marketing Board movs from Don Street to Five Oaksin St Saviour.

1968 The Artificial Insemination Centre is set up.

1974 An outbreak of foot and mouth occurs. Another was to follow in 1981.

1998 It is estimated that there are 5 to 6 million pure-breed Jerseycows in the world.

Interesting facts about cows • Cows have the ability to detect

odours as far away as 5 miles.

• On average a cow will eat 95lbs offeed and drink 30 gallons of water.

• Cows will often stand up and liedown an average of 14 times a day.

• The heartbeat of a cow is between60 and 70 beats a minute.

• A Jersey cow weighs between 700and 1,000lbs.

• Cows regurgitate their food andchew it again (known as chewingthe cud) to help digestion. A cowwill spend up to 8 hours a dayeating.

• There are 207 bones in a cow’sbody.

• Dairy cows can produce 125lbsof saliva a day.

• Twelve or more cows are called a ‘flink’.

• It is possible to lead a cow up the stairs, but not down them because theirknees are not able to bend properly.

One of the three-month-old calves at Hamptonne during 2005.