A Look Back at Influential Genex Jerseys

By Leah James, U.S. Jersey Marketing Advisor, Genex 

Throughout history, the Genex and predecessor organizations’ sire lineups have included several of the most influential bulls of the Jersey breed. These historical headliners demonstrate the cooperative’s long-time ties with and commitment to Jersey cattle producers.

Hailed as one of the most elite sires of his time was 3JE00034 Observer Chocolate Soldier. Bred by the Wildes, AJCA Master Breeders at High Lawn Farm in Massachusetts, Chocolate Soldier was born in 1962. He had pneumonia as a calf and almost didn’t make it into the A.I. industry. Luckily he did and was marketed by Genex predecessor Eastern A.I. Cooperative. By 1968 Observer Chocolate Soldier had more than begun to leave his mark on the breed. He ranked among the top 10 active Jersey sires from 1968 to 1970 and again in 1973. In the years between (1971 and 1972), he ranked No. 11.
 
Joe Lyon, 2015 AJCA Master Breeder, reflected on the impact of this sire sharing, “Chocolate Soldier was legendary in the breed and all good milk pedigrees trace back to him.”

1JE00194 Briarcliffs Soldier Boy

While producing great milking daughters, Observer Chocolate Soldier’s sons were also influential. They were heavily sampled throughout A.I. in the 1970s and maintained a presence in active lineups well into the mid-1980s. Among his most notable sons was Briarcliffs Soldier Boy. 

1JE00194 Briarcliffs Soldier Boy was a 1972 model, available through Genex predecessor Noba, Inc. He followed in this father’s footsteps carrying on the tradition of high milk with a July 1981 proof of +2105 PTA Milk with +71 Fat and +57 Protein. At that time he ranked No. 1 in the breed for Milk-Fat $. 

8JE00210 Shadewell Fascinator

Along the same time, 8JE00210 Shadewell Fascinator debuted as an elite bull with a great production proof too. This sire also had roots from the Northeast and was marketed by Louisiana Animal Breeders Cooperative.
 
Back to the Observer Chocolate Soldier bloodline, grandson 21JE00337 Yankee FW Chief was bred by the Chittenden family in New York and marketed by Genex predecessor Midwest Breeders Cooperative. His entry in the cooperative’s 1985 catalog demonstrates the family’s continued ability to add production profitability: “If your herd needs production improvement, you don’t need to look beyond Yankee. He’s one of the finest production-improving sires the Jersey breed has seen for some time.” 

A comment from Lyon confirms that production specialty. He shares that Yankee FW Chief’s daughters were “tough old cows that posted tremendous high lifetime records.”
 
Eric Lyon identified 1JE00382 Comfort Royal Alf-ET as another impactful Genex sire. Alf graduated to the active lineup at 21st Century Genetics in January 1994. He was a Royal son out of an Excellent Yankee FW Chief daughter, more specifically, Greenridge FW Chief Althea-ET, EX-92%. Alf was known for his tremendous butterfat.

Activated in 1996, 1JE01325 MVF Bold Venture Daniel produced daughters that had extreme milk records. He was sired by another historic Genex sire, 1JE00221 Bold Venture, and bred in the Rhein herd in Pennsylvania. Reflecting on MVF Bold Venture Daniel’s impact on the breed, Eric Lyon shares, “Our cows with the highest milk records today are direct descendants of MVF Bold Venture Daniel. He spelled pure milk.” 

Moving into the twentieth century, 1JE00604 Oomsdale Jace Gratitude Gannon {2}-ET continued the cooperative’s legacy of offering Jersey producers profitable high milk sires. Connecting the family ties, Gannon’s granddam was sired by the aforementioned Comfort Royal Alf-ET and both originated in the Oomsdale herd in New York. Daughters of Gannon were big framed cows that put a lot of milk into the tank.

Sunset Canyon Allstars J Maid-45-ET,
Daughter of 1JE00654 ALLSTAR

A recent influential sires has been 1JE00654 Sunset Canyon Anthems Allstar-ET. Allstar is a combination of type and production. Directly out of the 2000 National Jersey Jug Futurity Champion Sunset Canyon MBSB Anthem, EX-95%, Allstar sired profitable daughters that also excelled in type. Bred by the Sunset Canyon herd in Oregon, Allstar remains the number one sire in the breed for Fat percentage 10 years after he was born. To date, Allstar has moved the highest volume of semen through the cooperative aided by his extreme fertility on both conventional and GenChoice™ sexed semen.

Grazeland Plus Krystaleen, VG-87%,
Daughter of 1JE00711 PLUS

Finally, a sire with fresh ink in the history books is 1JE00711 Sweetie Plus Iatolas Bold. This bull came from the Sweetie Plus syndicate and Dan Bansen in Oregon. Demonstrating his impact, Plus ranked among the industry’s top five for JPI™ for six sire summaries. He was within the top 10 for proven JPI™ for each summary from April 2012 through August 2014, and then removed from the active lineup in December 2014 due to semen production issues.

Just like the historic Genex bulls before him, Plus was the perfect combination of profitability and added production. As a sire of sons, Plus, his offspring and Genex will continue to leave a mark on The Jersey Generation.