Congratulations to Donald S. Sherman, of Hilmar, Calif., for receiving the Distinguished Service Award of the American Jersey Cattle Association.
The Distinguished Service Award is presented by the Board of Directors to as many living AJCA members and/or members’ families, who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, have rendered outstanding and unselfish service for many years and thereby made a notable contribution to the advancement of the Jersey breed in the United States.
Sherman is one of 11 people in breed history to receive the two highest awards—the Distinguished Service Award and the Master Breeder award—presented by the American Jersey Cattle Association and the first to be presented with them in consecutive years.
Donald Sherman grew up on Orestimba Dairy, a highly regarded Registered Jersey™ herd owned by his parents and uncle, and returned to the family farm in 1970 after graduation from Modesto Junior College and a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corp. He and his wife, Elsa, set out on their own eight years later and established D&E Jerseys with the purchase of 75 milking cows. That herd currently numbers 575 milking cows. A second dairy, Avi-Lanche Jerseys, was established in 2006 in Dalhart, Texas. This herd of 2,200 cows is owned with son-in-law and daughter, Richard and Jennifer Avila.
Sherman held key leadership positions during much of the period that has been dubbed the “Golden Decade of Jersey Breed Expansion” and helped pave the road for record-breaking performance by the USJersey organizations since 2000. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Jersey Cattle Association in 1996, serving two three-year terms. In 2004, he was elected President of the association, serving three one-year terms.
As a director, Sherman chaired the Breed Improvement Committee and co-chaired the Type Advisory Committee. He also served on the organization’s Investment Advisory Committee, where his business experience and service on a local bank advisory committee made him a particularly effective member.
Sherman is an untiring advocate of Jersey youth programs. Every year, D&E Jerseys can be counted on to consign to and/or buy at the National Heifer Sale, which provides ongoing financial support for the national program. To boost financial resources of general scholarship fund, they donated all proceeds from the sale of D&E Rebel Scholar-ET at the The All American Jersey Sale in 2005. Donnie and Elsa also sponsor the Nanette Sherman-Taylor Memorial Scholarship for California juniors, in memory of their late daughter.
Sherman is a founding member of Jerseyland Sires Inc. and Hilmar Cheese Company, the largest, single-site cheese and whey product manufacturing facility in the world. He is frequently asked to speak about the success of Hilmar Cheese, domestically and abroad. He stresses the importance of Jersey milk for a profitable cheese business and production-bred genetics for a profitable dairy business.