Below is an article written by the American Jersey Cattle Association. We want to thank the American Jersey Cattle Association for allowing us to reprint this article.

April 28, 1997

Reynoldsburg, OH - Albert Bradford, Turner, ME, will receive the 1997 Master Breeder Award from the American Jersey Cattle Association. The award will be presented to Bradford at the AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings in Indianapolis, IN, June 28, 1997. This prestigious award is bestowed annually upon a living AJCA member, family, partnership or corporation, who, in the opinion of the board of directors, has bred outstanding animals for many years and thereby has made a notable contribution to the advancement of the Jersey breed in the United States.

Bradford began his Jersey career during a summer break from school when he went to work for Clint Goodnow in Turner, ME. For the next 12 years, Bradford worked for Goodnow, eventually becoming a partner. After Goodnow's death in 1962, Bradford and his wife Lynette purchased the cows and in 1963 bought the farm.

As a new Jersey breeder the first thing Bradford did was set a goal of 14,000 pounds of milk. In order to focus on production, he selected his three highest milk production cows and kept all their daughters, eventually selling the rest of the herd.

Bradford's plan worked. He had one of the top production herds from 1975 to 1990 for his herd size and won the Eastern Jersey Herd Production Award for 14 years. During the mid-'80s his herd was in the top 10 for milk and fat, regardless of herd size. He accomplished all this with his breeding, having only purchased two animals.

The prize of Bradford's herd, Observer Althea Anna, E-90% was one of the first Jerseys to complete an actual DHIR lactation record of 1,000 lbs. protein with a record of 7-4 361 27,230 4.5% 1,232 3.7% 1,000. She has a lifetime production of 5,110 days, 248,025 lbs. milk, 11,477 lbs. fat, and 5,967 lbs. protein.

A daughter of "Anna", Goodnow Midnight Blue-ET, was purchased by Phil Fanelli, Hilmar, CA and Eric Silva, Turlock, CA during a visit to Goodnow Farm. "Blue" is now scored Excellent-93% and has over 24,000 lbs. milk. "Blue" has three daughters scored Excellent with over 21,000 lbs. milk and is the dam of Midnight Storm-ET who is on the Active A.I. list.

In addition to private sales, Bradford consigned animals to many state and regional sales and syndicated a bull, Goodnow Top-Notch, during the 1984 All American Sale. In addition to "Top Notch", Bradford bred nine other bulls that were in A.I. service including two on the active list in the early 1990's.

Bradford has been actively involved with both the the Maine Jersey Cattle Club and the New England Jersey Breeders, serving as president for both organizations. He was awarded the Senior Breeder Award by the New England club in 1985 and received the Governor's Trophy in 1977 as the Maine Dairyman of the Year. He has served on the Turner town council for 27 years and is active in his church.

When Albert Bradford began milking Jerseys he had a defined vision, 14,000 pounds of milk. He has far surpassed that goal, not only in his own barn but in many other barns across the country. The genetics he has bred and made available to other breeders is a testament to his vision for his herd and the Jersey breed.

Webmaster's Note: A 1962 book entitled Forages by Hughes, Heath, and Metcalfe says:

"The average U.S. dairy cow weights about 1,050 pounds and produces about 7,000 pounds of milk testing 4 per cent butterfat per year. Assuming a lactation period of 10 months, her average daily production would be 23 pounds. During the peak of the lactation she would produce about 35 pounds."