|
Kirchdoerfer Wins Youth Production Contests
BETTY VALLE GEGG-NAEGER
MidAmerica Farmer Grower
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO.
Tyler C. Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau, Mo., won both youth production contests sponsored by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA). He is the 11th junior in contest history to accomplish this feat with his entry, Tollenaar Blaise 6360, who simultaneously topped the 2012 National Jersey Youth Production Contest (NJYPC) and the 2013 Pot O’Gold (POG) Production Contest.
He was honored along with 37 other junior members in the youth production contests at the Junior Banquet November 9 that wrapped up Junior Day at All American festivities in Louisville, Ky.
Honored at Junior Day was Tyler C. Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau, Mo. Tyler won both youth production contests sponsored by the American Jersey Cattle Association. He is the 11th junior in contest history to win.
The NJYPC recognizes the efforts of young owners to compile and use official production records on their animals. Through this activity, youth gain experience using records to manage and breed their Jersey cows and understand the value of production.
Cash prizes are awarded in four places, with the top winner, Kirchdoerfer, receiving $150.
Kirchdoerfer also is the 53rd winner of the POG Production Contest, and the 39th to earn back all the money he paid for his heifer, plus some. He purchased “Trolley,” as he calls her, from Tollenaar Jerseys of Elk Grove, Calif., in the POG sale in 2010 for $3,600. He will receive a check for $4,550.22, a 127 percent return on his investment. He also had entries in this contest in previous years, and his winnings helped defray the costs of other POG purchases also.
He has placed in the NJYPC four of the past five years and the POG Production Contest six of the seven years.
“Trolley” calved in late November 2011 and produced an actual 305-day record of 21,860 lbs. milk, 933 lbs. fat and 806 lbs. protein with components of 4.3 percent fat and 3.7 percent protein. She freshened with her second calf in early January 2013, and considering her early tests, she is projected to produce 24,162 lbs. milk, 1,074 lbs. fat and 872 lbs. protein.
The Kirchdoefers have purchased their Purina milking ration from Rick & Dixie Grantham of Straightway Farm Service in Jackson, Missouri for many many years. Straightway does a good job of ordering and handling their feed. Tom Allen, from Jackson, does a good job with delivering and servicing them.
Kirchdoerfer, a fifth generation dairy farmer, owns 49 Registered Jerseys and he plans to continue the family legacy after college. The Kirchdoerfer Dairy Farm was established by his great-great-grandparents, Joseph and Catherine Kirchdoerfer, in 1896. He operates the Jo-Kirch Jerseys with his paternal grandparents, Joe and Mildred; uncle Carl; his parents, Eddie and Amy, and siblings, Tricia and Clayton. He was involved in the business from an early age and now works with identification, registration and herd matings. Tyler and Carl collectively select sires for each animal. Tyler’s special interest is in genomic testing, and 25 percent of the females at the farm have been tested.
Tyler likes the opportunity to purchase quality animals through the Pot O’Gold program.
“Though I study the sale catalog at home, take a look at the heifers in the barn and have some favorites going into the sale, I don’t exclude any of them because I know they all have solid pedigrees,” he said. “The pedigree of “Trolley” caught my eye. She is backed by eight Excellent or Very Good dams. Her dam has fat tests over 6 percent and her grandam has records over 7 percent fat. Her fourth dam is Excellent at 92 percent and made 31,100 lbs. of milk.”
Tyler is a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University where he majors in agricultural business and animal science. Upon graduation he plans to return to the farm and become even more involved in raising Registered Jerseys, which have been the resident dairy cows at the farm since 1949.∆
BETTY VALLE GEGG-NAEGER: Senior Staff Writer, MidAmerica Farmer Grower
|
|