Amy Wright’s contribution to the dairy industry was honoured with a Jersey Australia distinguished service award for outstanding service and dedication.
Officially, Amy Wright owns about 40 cows but unofficially she has thousands in her herd.
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As a breeding specialist for nearly 30 years, Amy becomes so attached to her farmer clients and their herds that she sees them as part of her broader herd.
“I look at it as having thousands of cows and I treat them all as my own,” she says.
That attachment and sense of two-way loyalty have meant she’s worked with many farmers throughout her entire career.
One of Amy’s own calves sired by Corona.
“When they sell it’s a bittersweet moment for sure,” Amy admits.
“While I am happy and proud to see them get just reward for their efforts, I miss not driving up those driveways anymore.
“Sometimes I can’t bring myself to attend their sales, but I try to arrange other clients to buy those cows so I can at least continue to work with them!”
Amy’s contribution to the dairy industry was recently honoured with a Jersey Australia Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service, dedication, and contribution to the Jersey breed.
Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett said Amy was highly respected throughout the industry.
“Through her unwavering support of breeders and her passion for the development of quality cattle and strong cow families, Amy has made a lasting impact on the Jersey community.
“Amy works closely with dairy farmers across Australia to improve herd performance, functional type traits, and breeding strategies.”
Amy grew up in Melbourne, but her country ties were strong. Her mother’s family had Mallee and Rochester farming connections which introduced her to the dairy path.
“I spent every school holiday I could at my cousins in Rochester,” she said.
“They had high-quality Holsteins and I spent many an hour working with cows, learning and understanding everything about them.”
On her father’s side, some of the same passion could be attributed to her Irish heritage and a grandmother she never got to meet.
“She apparently loved the land and the cows and wasn’t afraid to go against the grain to follow her heart and find her way, regardless of what was traditional or expected,” Amy said.
“She did the unthinkable, at a time of clear religious and class difference, and fell in love with an English farmhand which ultimately led to her family never speaking to her again.”
Amy’s interest grew further through her involvement with a farm at her school, Tintern Girls Grammar in Melbourne. From there she went on to study agricultural science at university and travelled around helping show cows with her cousins, who gifted Amy her first cow for her 21st birthday. She’s been adding ever since, usually buying from clients.
“I’ve got about 40 that are spread around different farms. It helps to have that interest yourself to know what works.”
Amy has worked as a breeding specialist with World Wide Sires since 1997.
“What appealed to me about the job was helping people breed better cows,” she said.
“I wasn’t from a farm, but I had an eye for a cow and details, and my memory is probably my best quality.
“I love being accountable for decisions I make and seeing results. That’s not work to me – it’s in my soul.”
There were few female breeding advisors when Amy started but that didn’t stop her connecting with all farmers.
Amy has worked as a breeding specialist with World Wide Sires since 1999 and she loves helping people breed better cows.
“It’s an honour to be asked to help someone with their breeding program. That’s their livelihood and I feel the weight of it.”
Amy’s work involves providing a breeding program and strategy for clients, including visual assessment of all cows, which means she spends a lot of time on the road visiting clients.
Although based in Camperdown in south-west Victoria, Amy has clients across Victoria and beyond, usually covering at least 60,000 kilometres a year.
“Scoring the herd is a lot of work, but it’s an important part of the process, it’s another layer of information to work with,” she said.
“When it’s a new herd, it helps to see all the cows to get an understanding of their breeding pattern across generations and how to best progress the herd. The mating decisions aren’t just about pushing a button on a computer.
“The computer doesn’t know the farmers’ perspective, nor does it understand building pedigrees and things that aren’t in proof information.
“I’m very honest about bulls, no matter where they come from. Our industry needs to be better at giving farmers all the information.
“I have a reputation of saying what I think and not following particular rules, including using other company’s bulls if they’re the right thing for the farmer.”
Passion for Jerseys
The Jersey award reflects Amy’s passion for the breed, though her work is split about 50-50 between Jerseys and Holsteins and other breeds.
“Jerseys have been my passion, and I’ve tried to drive the progress of the breed by getting the genetics that I know is needed, with a focus on mastitis, health traits and keeping milk.”
She says advances in technology, especially the use of genomics, along with good breeding choices have led to significant improvements in the breed, and all cattle in Australia.
When doing a mating program, Amy focuses on the cow more than the bull.
“Selecting the right cows to breed from and knowing what’s inside them gives a great start to the progeny, then you balance that with the right genetics on the sire side,” she said.
“Indexes come and go and change; I encourage balance and won’t compromise on some traits because there’s just no need to anymore. Seeing the progress that we’ve made has been unbelievable.”
Although she prefers to stay in the background, Amy describes the Jersey award as an unexpected thrill and an honour.
“I’m usually quiet and in the background, but I’m very strong and firm with what I believe,” she said.
Amy credits mentors like the late Stewart Jackson from Colac Herd Improvement for her success.
“He supported me early in my career, finding herds that needed help with their breeding program, herds that would be responsive to what I had to offer. You need those sorts of people in your corner early on to help get you started.
Select Sires/World Wide Sires president and CEO Dave Thorbahn said the company was proud to celebrate Amy’s recognition by Jersey Australia.
“Amy’s leadership has played a meaningful role in strengthening the Jersey presence in Australia and has positively influenced the lives and success of dairy farmers,” he said.
“She is an exceptional mentor to young women within the Select Sires and World Wide Sires organisations, as well as across the Australian dairy industry. Her recognition reflects the strong values and positive reputation of both Select Sires and World Wide Sires in Australia.”
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