Registered Jersey herd Dispersal Sale in OH on January 10th

[dosthouhavemilk]

A herd of registered Jerseys, ranging in age from 10 years old down to possibly a few days old, will be sold at auction in Mount Hope, OH, on January 10th, 2007. There will be close to 100 head.
I have worked with this herd for the past three years and have been milking full time there for the past five months.
All animals, of eligible age, going through the sale will have tested negative for TB, Bangs, and Johne's as of October 2006.
If you have any questions you can e-mail me at SkyLark_RKR@yahoo.com

Here is a website I put together with information;
http://www.freewebs.com/olneytaberfarm

These cows have been handled daily and have not been pushed for production. Pasture based with grain during milking.

[susieM]

Poor cows. They'll miss their friends.

[dosthouhavemilk]

I forgot to mention that there will be a polled Jersey bull with NorthCoast genetics that will go through the sale as well.

[Ken Scharabok]

Is the dairy closing? If so, why?

[dosthouhavemilk]

The dairy herd and farm was donated to Olney Friends Boarding School in Barnesville, OH (Quaker College Prep boarding and day school) by my great uncle in 1957. The Board has decided it does not make sense for a school to be running a dairy farm. The loss the past few years due to the weather and these *dripping in sarcasm* oh so wonderful milk prices * certainly did not help matters any.
It was not the decision of the person managing the farm. The committee the Board put together to make suggestions on what to do pointed out that dairying really did make the most sense, but the Board did not listen to any of us.
Just one reason this is being posted so late. It has been a fight to the bitter end here.

[susieM]

What will they be doing with the land? Have they 'other' plans for it?

[dosthouhavemilk]

No other solid plans yet....

[JeffNY]

Most schools dont know how to plan, I know ours seems to do that. Do somethig without any organization, or any real plan. If only the teachers would have taken a reduction in pay (many get paid wayyy too much as it is, 60,000 a year for reading off a answer book, must be nice). They could have kept the farm alive. Many farms out there with 100 head that are still going along, but the one problem with jerseys is the fact they do not produce as much, and input costs with them can be as high as holsteins to get good a good level of production.



Jeff

[dosthouhavemilk]

I can assure you the teachers are not "overpaid" at Olney. It's a shame you think so poorly of educators. Besides, the teachers at Olney are more than just teachers, there is much more expected of them.
The Board is comprised of businessmen and women whcih is why it is so startling they would actually not have a set plan in place before selling the cattle. It's not their land though. They can always just turn around and have it become the Meeting's problem.

You know how many students attend the school? They are at around 60 right now with around 40% from foriegn countries and the majority do not pay full tuition. When I was a sophomore there we had 24 total students in all four grades (3 freshemen).

The farm actually should never have been in the hole more than $10,000 a year according to the numbers my father worked when he was on the Board. This year it was much more. Had they kept going though things would have evened out easily. Just lots of difficult things going wrong all at once.
The Board was feeling pressured so they looked for the simplest way out. They had one person try and figure out how to incorporate the school and farm together and they never bothered to look for a second opinion.

They will most likely try their hand at beef and goats...but I will not be around to help.....

[Ken Scharabok]

I've heard of dairies which ran 50/50 Holstein/Jerseys. The Holsteins for volume and the Jerseys for the butter fat.

[JeffNY]

I thought it was a school, with the farm being a ag department of sorts.


I have had my experience with educators, well of course while in school. Looking back, many are overpaid and do not do a good job. I had a couple worth what they were paid, but the rest, overpaid. Here the schools budget is 16,000,000. Why its that high no one knows, because the upkeep of the school isn't much, what it comes down to is, overpaid teachers. Dont get me wrong, some are good as I said, but there are many (95%), that in some cases dont know as much about even computers as the students (you can find that in colleges as well).



Jeff

[dosthouhavemilk]

Initally the milk mostly went for school use, but when they changed the laws that all changed. Students were expected to help out around the farm and a good portion enjoyed it, but as we move further and further away from agricultural upbringings it became more and more diffuclt to convince to take that first step. Once they actually came over the majority enjoyed the time spent in the barn.
There are many ways the school has and could have incorporated the farm more. I know one teacher (raised on that farm, his family ahs been managing the farm for most of the years since it was given to the school..his younger brother is the herd manager currently) who makes it a point to get the students out and involved in various aspects available. I know, I was one of his students less than a decade ago. lol
There was an ag program a couple of decades ago, but somewhere it was lost. My uncle tried to bring it back during his short time as headmaster, but it didn't work. Now they are trying it again, but cannot see where dairy cows play a role They'd rather raise crazy beef cattle...lol Can you imagine trying to convince a city slicker to approach a an animal half scared out of its mind as opposed to Ruby or Ren who would saunter over and lay her head on your shoulder?

It doesn't matter though. The decision has been made, so my focus is finding homes where the girls will be appreciated.

http://www.olneyfriends.org/

[mamagoose]

I was wondering how the sale turned out. We had planned to go until we acquired our Red Poll and she's working out fine for our needs.

[dosthouhavemilk]

It was well attended. I managed to place five cows in a family home, but wish I had had a trailer. I would have bid on about three more of them as they went in our price range.
Two cows came home with me along with the last Jersey heifer calf born on the farm.
The cows averaged over $1,100 a head and the heifers averaged over $1,000 a head.
That was animals from 10 years old down to one month old, including two JerAngus heifer calves.
93 head and then the polled Jersey bull was sold for his owner.
The majority stayed in that county it looked like. A few heifers were put together as a group for resale I believe.
Rain was in active labor while in the ring and ten minutes after being sold they told the owner he ought to check on his cow as she was calving. I knew that was going to happen as we loaded them that morning. She road in her own compartment on the way there. I don't know what she had.
After sitting up next to the auctioneer for two hours and watching the history sold off one or two at a time we didn't stick around after it was over.

The worst part was going into the barn that night to feed the bull calf and get my heifer calf. I'm glad Don didn't have to do that.

[JeffNY]

Any farm that had a dairy herd, large or small, that suddenly goes dead is a very odd scene. Even this spring when my heifers went to pasture, and the barn was mostly dead, it was a very strange feeling. Even though they were on the farm, just the fact the barn was fairly quiet after the group was in each night from Nov 1st to May 15th. I can only imagine the way the barn sounded, felt when 93 head that once was in the barn, the noise of chains, noise of drinking, eating, etc. Suddenly is gone.



Jeff