D&E Jerseys is a family-owned and operated dairy located in the heart of cheese country, in Hilmar, California.  Family history in the dairy business dates back to 1888 and experience with Jerseys dates to 1938.

The herd consists of D&E Jerseys, owned by Donnie and Elsa Sherman, and Avi-lanche Jerseys, owned by their daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Richard Avila, and their girls, Sidney and Caitlin.

D&E Jerseys milks 1,460 cows in two separate facilities: D&E Jerseys and D&E Jerseys Too.  About 1,500 replacement heifers are also raised on the farm.

The Sherman and Avila families at groundbreaking festivities at the
new facility in Dalhart, Texas, in April 2007.

We have expanded our business to Dalhart, Texas, and plan to milk 2,700 Jersey cows in the Texas Panhandle. Click here for more information on the Hilmar Cheese Company in this location.

Cows are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) that is based on alfalfa hay and corn silage. The milking-cow ration is supplemented with a mix of whole cottonseed, steam-flaked corn, dried distillers grains, canola and a whey product. The dry cow ration is supplemented with a mineral package and balanced to minimize milk fever. No anionic salts are fed.

Heifers are fed two to three pounds of a grain mix with Rumensin and offered free choice of alfalfa hay from weaning to six months-of-age. They are then given a TMR of alfalfa hay and forage silage with a Rumensin mineral package until two weeks before calving.

Heifers are bred beginning at 12 months-of-age and have an average age at freshening of 22 months. Cows are bred starting at 60 days and have a calving interval of 13.4 months.

D&E Jerseys is fully registered and has been enrolled on REAP, the American Jersey Cattle Association's (AJCA) total performance program, since it was introduced in 1995.

D&E Jerseys is ranked among the top herds in the country for Jersey Performance Index (JPI), with an average JPI of +75 (August 2008).  Seventy-one cows are ranked on the Top 1 1/2% for JPI List and seven appear on the list of the Top 200 JPI Cows.

D&E Jerseys had a 2007 AJCA lactation average of 18,449 lbs. milk, 847 lbs. fat and 660 lbs. protein on 650 lactations.
 

The Sherman family takes a pro-active approach to on-farm biosecurity. They strive to control factors that impact the environment, including the movement of people and animals, exposure to disease-causing agents, handling of feeds and manure and the purchase of animals. The farm also has a thorough vaccination program.

D&E Jerseys sells its component-rich milk to the Hilmar Cheese Company.  Donnie is one of the 11 people who founded the Hilmar Cheese Company in 1984.  Today, it is the largest, single-site cheese and whey product manufacturing facility in the world.