What do we mean by DNA Verified 100% Pure Mini Jerseys?

Using genomics to improve our Mini Dairy Herd

The foundation of the Mini Jersey breed is disputed. Some websites you visit will say Mini Jerseys are actually direct descendants of the traditional smaller framed Jerseys that were imported originally from the Isle of Jersey in the British Isles.  However, there are currently lines in America of crossbred Mini Jerseys. They're a product of crossing short standard Jerseys with smaller breeds, usually Dexter Cattle, sometimes Lowline/American Aberdeen Angus, Zebu, or Mini Belted Galloway. 

Less common in Mini Jerseys are livestock carrying the genetic defect Dwarf gene, Achondroplasia. Afflicted cattle are used to take the height down from standard Jerseys dramatically in one generation. "Chondro" is accepted within the Dexter cattle registry but objected to within the Mini Jersey breed.

We love Jerseys and the traits they're known for; sweet and quirky personalities, big doe eyes in a dished face, wonderful mothering ability, rich creamy milk, ease of calving, and excellent feed conversion. In crossbred cattle you will get a ​combination of the traits of the two (sometimes more) breeds. It becomes a very mixed bag of unpredictable traits in future generations of crossbred cattle. For this reason, we only breed pure Mini and Midsize Jerseys. ​

​How do we know they're pure and not crossbred? We send DNA samples, tail hairs with the follicle attached, to the GeneSeek Labs in Lincoln, NE.  They compare the DNA they collect with a database of over 3,688 Artificial Insemination bulls in the Jersey reference group with know pedigrees going back over five generations.  All 30 animals in the fifth-generation breed stack are identified with the breed code Jersey, and if born 2000 and later, all ancestors in the fifth generation pedigree are known. Reference groups are updated annually with the April official genetic evaluations.

AJCA Pedigree Recording

Igenity Genomics Tests

Igenity Genomic Test Key

Breed Base Representation (BBR) is a genomic trait that assesses the degree to which alleles in an individual animal’s genome are in common with the allele frequency of the breed reference group for Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein and Jersey. The more an animal’s genetic make-up resembles its breed reference group, the higher its BBR for the primary breed.

Our herd are all tested and recorded through American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) as BBR 100%.  Pure Jersey traits in the Mini Jerseys we breed are important to us.  We think, if you've read this far, that's important to you too!

Let's talk more again soon!
Milkmaid Lorinda