A RICH JERSEY HERITAGE AT BILLINGS FARM

When two-year old Billings Remake Bounty stepped into the winner's circle as Premier Performance Cow at the 56th All American Jersey Show 2008, she brought with her a rich heritage in breeding excellence that spans 138 years at the Billings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont.

In addition to winning the title of Premier Performance Cow at the November show, which is held in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky, Billings Remake Bounty's confirmation (physical characteristics) earned her the 2008 Reserve All American designation.

“Bounty's two national awards have made her a recognized name in the industry,” beams her biggest fan, farm manager B.J. Hanfield. “Of the 362 prestigious Jerseys from 20 states exhibited at the show, there were just 14 cows in various age groups that qualified for premier performance. It's unheard of for a senior two-year old to win at that national level. You would expect the top award to go to a mature cow at the pinnacle of her performance, but Bounty is more than a pretty face. She can work hard and produce copious amounts of milk.”

Genetics also play a role in the highly competitive judging formula. Bounty's grandmother was acquired by Billings Farm in the early 1990s and her ten-year old mother, as well as her two sisters, are still on the farm. Her older sister – named Buttermilk by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas in 2003 – is also a high producer, in the range of 19,000 lbs. of milk per year. An average Jersey cow produces 16,000 to 17,000 lbs., with an average butterfat content of 4.5%. Bounty, who gave birth to her first calf in April 2008, is projected to produce 20,000 lbs. of milk this year, with a 5.5% butterfat content.

“Milk production and butterfat content are important measures of the quality of a Jersey herd as a whole, as well as the quality of an individual cow in that herd,” stresses Hanfield. “We maintain a herd size of 40 to 45 head, feed them well, and breed very carefully to achieve a herd average of 17,000 lbs. of rBST -free milk per year.”

In September 2008, an appraiser from the American Jersey Cattle Association visited Billings Farm to assess the herd on 14 confirmation points. Of the 39 cows appraised, 22 were rated excellent (90 points or higher), which enables the herd to average excellent – the goal of the farm's founder, Frederick Billings.

“Billings Farm has always maintained respect in the industry,” says Hanfield, who has managed the herd for the past three years. “ Bounty's recent awards as Premier Performance Cow and 2008 Reserve All American Two Year Old, build on the legacy of two-time national champion, Billings Top Roseanne, and preserves the farm's rich Jersey heritage.

This central Vermont farm was developed by Frederick Billings, who grew up in Woodstock and later made his fortune as the first lawyer to unpack a ready-painted shingle in the gold-rush town of San Francisco, in 1849. Through his dealings in land claim resolutions and astute real estate investments, Frederick fared better than most who spent their time digging gold. He quickly emerged as one of the wealthiest men in California and one of its foremost citizens.

In 1869, he returned to his boyhood home in Vermont with his wife, Julia, and five children and bought the 270-acre Marsh farm that he had long-admired. As Woodstock's wealthiest resident, it was not surprising that Billings acquired the town's most prominent piece of real estate, with fertile meadows along the Ottauquechee River and celebrated views from the ring of hillsides. He wasted no time in restoring the property and developing its intervale farm.

Billings's long-time interest in Jersey cattle led him to purchase several cows and bulls with direct Isle of Jersey bloodlines. The originator of the Billings' herd was the great Jersey cow, Pet Gilford, born December 8, 1870 and purchased in 1871.

From the start, Billings's goal was to improve the quality of the Jersey cow and to develop the quintessential Jersey herd at Billings Farm. His efforts were recognized in 1872, when he was elected as the 109th member of The American Jersey Cattle Club. As the years progressed, additional purebred Jersey acquisitions, a thoughtful strategy of selective breeding, and a steady stream of awards advanced his objective throughout his lifetime and beyond.

Following Billings's death in 1890, cows from his farm took top honors at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where the elite of the world's dairy herds competed against each other. Billings Farm was named the best herd of the Jersey breed, as well as the third best herd overall. Twenty-one of the twenty-two Jerseys in the Vermont exhibit came from the Billings Farm. When the Cattle Club selected the animals to compete in “The Battle of the Breeds,” six were taken from the Billings' contingent– more than were taken from any other herd.

In 1895, George Aitken, who was hired by Frederick Billings to manage the farm in 1884, noted in his preface to the farm catalogue and herd book for that year, “The Billings Farm herd of Jerseys came into such successful prominence at the Columbian Exposition that it attracted the interest of Jersey breeders throughout the country. Since the introduction of the superb cow, Pet Gilford, Billings Farm has continued to operate as a commercial dairy with a concentration on its renowned Jersey herd.”

Fast forward to more recent history when, in 1965, Tristram Remus Joan, bred by Billings Farm, won The American Jersey Cattle Club's President's Trophy for the best milk record in the nation; Billings Farm had the highest production average for butterfat for Jerseys in Vermont.

The national spotlight shone even brighter on Billings Farm throughout the 1970s and 80s as Farm Manager, Bob Lord, enhanced the farm's reputation as a preeminent breeder of Jersey dairy cows. The animals were frequent winners at the Parish Show of the Vermont Jersey Breeders Association, the Regional Jersey Show at the Eastern States Exposition, and the All American Jersey Show at the North American Livestock Exposition.

“Some cows rise to greatness from humble beginnings,” says Hanfield, “ but that was not the case with Billings Top Rosanne, the most prestigious cow to date, in the farm's history. She was considered one of the finest examples of the Jersey breed and her lineage can be traced to quality breeding at Billings Farm,” he affirms while nodding toward Roseanne's trophy case just outside the barn's milk house.

In 1987, one-half interest in Roseanne sold for an all-time record price of $36,000 at the International Jersey Extravaganza. The next year, she was selected the National Grand Champion of the Jersey Breed at the All American Jersey Show, which is the most prestigious award in the country. In 1989, Roseanne retained her crown as National Grand Champion, becoming only the third cow in history to win the title in back-to-back years.

Frederick Billings would be proud of Bounty and the reputation for agricultural excellence that his farm has maintained since 1871 and continued through the stewardship of his granddaughter Mary French Rockefeller and her husband, conservationist Laurance Spelman Rockefeller.

Billings Farm & Museum is still a first-class dairy operation, which today, operates with a museum of Vermont's rural past. Visitors can tour the barns to see Bounty and the Jersey herd and learn more about dairying through hands-on programs. The farm's 19th century barns have been retrofitted with engaging exhibits, which depict the seasonal work that shaped the lives and culture of rural Vermonters. The restored 1890 Farm House – “a marvel of efficiency for its day” reflects the farm as it was in Billings' era.