Keeping it in the family

Ferdon Genetics, from Otorohanga, from the heart of New Zealand’s Waikato knew they wouldn’t be flying under the radar when they returned to the NZDE this year with the show’s 2024 Jersey Grand Champion, Ferdon Tbone Veneer EX. But pressure is something they are used to absorbing, because Veneer comes from a family line laden with superstars.

One of them is Ferdon Comerica Viyella (who won NZDE Supreme Champion in 2012, 2015 and 2016 – in among a swag of Grand Champion Jersey titles and Reserves during her heavily decorated career). Veneer and Viyella’s dams are maternal sisters, and there were other “V” family members who showed in the Ferdon string.

Ferdon Genetics is owned and operated by Warren and Michelle Ferguson, together with their son, Corey, milking 200- 210 head on 75 effective hectares. They showed 18 in-milk and six dry heifers in two breeds.

For the Ferdon crew, winning never gets old. They have now won Grand Champion Jersey nine times, Supreme Dairy Cow five times, and Premier Jersey Exhibitor nine successive years.

Veneer came out of the five-to-six year-old in-milk class. And, while Ferdon is known for its Jerseys (which take up 75% of the herd) they also run 25% Holsteins and some registered Ayrshires.

One of those Holsteins, Waipiri CR Freaky Girl-ET, won Senior Champion Holstein this year. She was held out of contention for the Supreme (all breeds) race by the Intermediate Champion Holstein (and Supreme Intermediate Champion), who travelled from Tahora Farms in the South Island, Tahora Sidekick Legacy2, who qualified to compete for Supreme Exhibit by winning Grand Champion Holstein.

“We did feel the pressure this time,” Michelle acknowledged. “It was a relief when we won the Jersey championship, but then we had to wait for the Supreme."

Number's Game

The Jersey and Ayrshire shows did have the biggest class numbers, and a second Jersey – the Junior Champion – went on to win Supreme Junior Exhibit. It gave the Jersey show two of the three big awards.

Thomas Jeyes was typically low-key about his winning Jersey junior entry, Manor Black Apple Tess (sired by Rapid Bay Black Apple).

The Jeyes family immigrated from the United Kingdom to New Zealand 11 years ago and started dairying from a modest start. Today, the family is sharemilking 650 cows with no staff outside of Thomas, 19.

The Te Kuiti herd is made up of crossbred cows and 160 registered Jerseys. Thomas is responsible for the show programme, in between working fulltime on the farm, with the support of the rest of the family and their farm owner, Sir David Fagan (New Zealand’s former champion shearer, who has won the New Zealand Golden Shears a record 16 times).

Thomas started showing and breeding with his prefix, Manor Jerseys, in 2017. Before last year, the best the family had done at the NZ Dairy Event was second in class. In 2024, they started to make their move – winning Junior Champion Jersey (and Reserve Supreme Junior Champion) with Manor Cocochip Alaska. They also won another heifer class. This year, they came to play.

They won Junior and Reserve Junior Champion Jersey with Manor Black Apple Tess (sired by Rapid Bay Black Apple) and Manor Victorious Classy (sired by River Valley Victorious-ET and led by Thomas’s 17-year-old sister, Annabel) respectively, before Tess went on to trump the entire junior show.