Jersey Beef - a popular & profitable option

Farmers up and down the country are turning to Jersey beef as a profitable sideline.

Long known for its superior marbling, taste, and tenderness, Jersey Beef is gaining popularity with consumers locally and in international markets who are seeking out quality, grass-fed beef.

“The provenance story has never been more important in distinguishing New Zealand’s meat and dairy products from that of the rest of the world,” says Jersey Advantage committee chair, Ben Watson.

Once upon a time meat with white fat was preferred by consumers for its visual appeal; however, increasingly consumers are seeking out yellow fat beef as an indication of a free-range, grass-fed diet.

The yellow fat in jersey meat is the result of naturally higher levels of carotene and vitamin D, the later something that is lacking in many western diets. This is further increased when animals are allowed to free-range and enjoy a pasture-fed diet rather than being fattened in feedlots and fed grains and other concentrates which is common overseas.

Steven & Nina Ireland who milk 500 Jersey cows at Temuka, Canterbury have been trialing various beef breeds over their Jersey herd for 3 years. They slaughtered their first line of Jersey Angus heifers and steers recently at 26 months and averaged $1,700 each.

“While the Jersey-cross typically has a lower carcass weight than other dairy beef crosses, this is easily compensated for by the additional return due to the superior meat quality,” says Steven.

Of the Ireland’s line of Jersey Angus, 65% reached the elite EQ standard on the Silver Fern Farms added value system compare to the average of 31%.

Murray & Helen Jagger are also advocates of Jersey-Beef. The Jaggers farm 650 Jersey cows at Whangarei Heads, Northland, and run a Jersey Beef operation as a sideline on a neighbouring property.

Murray and Helen artificially inseminate the bottom percentage of their herd to Angus which ensures replacements are kept from only the best cows, while providing a lucrative Jersey-Angus cross calf from the remaining animals.

“We select bulls for calving ease, low birth weights, and good 600-day growth rates. We’re aiming to grow animals out at two and a half years old,” says Murray.

The Jaggers rear around 60 Jersey-Angus steers and the same number of heifers annually, and quit a third in November, another third in January, and the final group in March.

“The earliest group range from 260-290kgs carcass weight, with the final group between 300-320kg. There is a perception that Jersey-beef animals are harder to get up to finishing weight but the key is using quality beef bulls with strong EBVs.”

“We’ve found that for our grazing system the Jersey-Angus stock coming out of winter fatten more rapidly. Their growth rates hum in spring and we can winter more per hectare,” says Murray.

In the Waikato, Warren & Louise Berry milk 800 Jersey animals at Parawera, Waikato. Warren and Louise have been experimenting with various beef breeds to find the best animals for different situations.

“It’s about finding the right breed for your market. A Jersey-Belgian Blue cross is an easy calving, fast finishing animal ideal for the commodity market. Whereas a Jersey-Angus cross has a longer finishing period but produces a tender, highly marbled, premium meat.”

The take-home message, says Watson, is that Jersey Beef is a profitable option for the dairy beef market.

“What Jersey’s lack in size they easily make up for in meat quality as far as taste and tenderness goes, and should be considered a viable option in any dairy beef operation.”