Images from the National Jersey Convention
Images from the Jersey Breeders Banquet and an evening at Sycamore Hill.
The AJCA-NAJ Award for Meritorious Service honoree was Dr. Ronald Pearson of Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Pearson, a professor at Virginia Tech, helped create the JPI index.
The Distinguished Service Award went to Robert & Helene Dreisbach of Mercer, PA.
The Master Breeder Award went to Ed Fisher & the Ahlem Farms partnership of Hilmar, CA. Since joining forces nearly 1,000 Ahlem Farms bred Jerseys have scored EX!
Friday night the Convention group traveled to Marcellus, NY and the Sycamore Hill Gardens. Sycamore Hill of course was also know for its world-class Jersey herd before dispersing a few years ago.
The beautiful gardens cover more than 30 acres and include a beautiful pond (Lake George) and fountain area, complete with stepping stones and huge Koi!
Another area of the gardens, this is the vegetable garden.
The first North American Jersey Cheese contest was held at the convention this year. The competing cheeses were available for tasting while at Sycamore Hill. They gave awards in 18 different classes. The overall winner was Ascutney Mountain from Cobb Hill Cheese in Vermont. This cheese came from the Farmstead hard cheese class.
Of course, when you’re in the Finger Lakes, eating cheese, you need to have some wine to go along with it! A handful of local wineries were on hand giving samples.
Following dinner and the cheese awards presentation there was a wonderful fireworks display!
