Snowflake and Snowball

In September of 2007, Marjorie Andersen witnessed something she hadn’t seen before. In all her years of raising Jersey cows, never had she seen one with such light coloring. Jerseys are typically brown – sometimes spotted, sometimes adorned by a small white marking, sometimes grey or almost black, but this young calf was almost completely white. Marjorie named her “Snowflake,” and just a couple weeks after she was born, the local newspaper visited the dairy to do a story about this young cow’s “Curious Coloring.“

Snowflake

Snowflake’s mother was completely brown and her grandmother was spotted – Snowflake’s coloring and markings demonstrate just how interesting and multifaceted genetics can be. And the trend continues…

Snowflake’s first baby was a fairly normally colored Jersey, but her second baby, born this past summer, looks a lot like her mom – mostly white, and Jaylene Andersen, Marjorie’s daughter-in-law, says that Marjorie wants to name this one “Snowball.” These white Jerseys need don no ear-tags as they are easily identified and called by name. Winter is coming and Snowflake and Snowball are ready!

Snowball

The Andersen family works together farming the land, caring for animals, and raising bull calves on their multi-generational farm at the south end of Utah’s Cache Valley.