diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 94162e6aa..9a7078301 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 		<hibernate.version>4.1.4.Final</hibernate.version>
 		<aspectj.version>1.7.1</aspectj.version>
 		<hibernate.validator.version>4.2.0.Final</hibernate.validator.version>
+		<joda.version>2.0</joda.version>
 	</properties>
 	<dependencies> 
 
@@ -196,7 +197,26 @@
 			<version>1.1</version>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
+		
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>joda-time</groupId>
+			<artifactId>joda-time</artifactId>
+			<version>${joda.version}</version>
+		</dependency>
+		
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>org.jadira.usertype</groupId>
+			<artifactId>usertype.core</artifactId>
+			<version>3.0.0.CR1</version>
+		</dependency>
 
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>joda-time</groupId>
+			<artifactId>joda-time-jsptags</artifactId>
+			<version>1.1</version>
+		</dependency>
+		
+		
 	</dependencies>
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Pet.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Pet.java
index 6b3915891..735001111 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Pet.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Pet.java
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package org.springframework.samples.petclinic;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -15,6 +14,8 @@ import javax.persistence.ManyToOne;
 import javax.persistence.OneToMany;
 import javax.persistence.Table;
 
+import org.hibernate.annotations.Type;
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.springframework.beans.support.MutableSortDefinition;
 import org.springframework.beans.support.PropertyComparator;
 
@@ -29,7 +30,8 @@ import org.springframework.beans.support.PropertyComparator;
 public class Pet extends NamedEntity {
 
 	@Column(name="birth_date")
-	private Date birthDate;
+	@Type(type = "org.jadira.usertype.dateandtime.joda.PersistentDateTime")
+	private DateTime birthDate;
 
 	@ManyToOne
     @JoinColumn(name = "type_id")
@@ -43,11 +45,11 @@ public class Pet extends NamedEntity {
 	private Set<Visit> visits;
 
 
-	public void setBirthDate(Date birthDate) {
+	public void setBirthDate(DateTime birthDate) {
 		this.birthDate = birthDate;
 	}
 
-	public Date getBirthDate() {
+	public DateTime getBirthDate() {
 		return this.birthDate;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Visit.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Visit.java
index 944d17d8c..a5a788f68 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Visit.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/Visit.java
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 package org.springframework.samples.petclinic;
 
-import java.util.Date;
-
 import javax.persistence.Column;
 import javax.persistence.Entity;
 import javax.persistence.JoinColumn;
@@ -10,6 +8,9 @@ import javax.persistence.Table;
 import javax.validation.constraints.NotNull;
 import javax.validation.constraints.Size;
 
+import org.hibernate.annotations.Type;
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
+
 /**
  * Simple JavaBean domain object representing a visit.
  *
@@ -20,7 +21,8 @@ public class Visit extends BaseEntity {
 
 	/** Holds value of property date. */
 	@Column(name="visit_date")
-	private Date date;
+	@Type(type = "org.jadira.usertype.dateandtime.joda.PersistentDateTime")
+	private DateTime date;
 
 	/** Holds value of property description. */
 	@NotNull @Size(min = 1)
@@ -35,21 +37,21 @@ public class Visit extends BaseEntity {
 
 	/** Creates a new instance of Visit for the current date */
 	public Visit() {
-		this.date = new Date();
+		this.date = new DateTime();
 	}
 
 
 	/** Getter for property date.
 	 * @return Value of property date.
 	 */
-	public Date getDate() {
+	public DateTime getDate() {
 		return this.date;
 	}
 
 	/** Setter for property date.
 	 * @param date New value of property date.
 	 */
-	public void setDate(Date date) {
+	public void setDate(DateTime date) {
 		this.date = date;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRepositoryImpl.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRepositoryImpl.java
index 34b85217d..a2a004524 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRepositoryImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRepositoryImpl.java
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public class JdbcPetRepositoryImpl implements PetRepository {
 		return new MapSqlParameterSource()
 			.addValue("id", pet.getId())
 			.addValue("name", pet.getName())
-			.addValue("birth_date", pet.getBirthDate())
+			.addValue("birth_date", pet.getBirthDate().toDate())
 			.addValue("type_id", pet.getType().getId())
 			.addValue("owner_id", pet.getOwner().getId());
 	}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRowMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRowMapper.java
index 575f4608a..49cb4976b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRowMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcPetRowMapper.java
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package org.springframework.samples.petclinic.repository.jdbc;
 
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.util.Date;
 
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.springframework.jdbc.core.simple.ParameterizedRowMapper;
 
 /**
@@ -15,7 +17,8 @@ class JdbcPetRowMapper implements ParameterizedRowMapper<JdbcPet> {
 		JdbcPet pet = new JdbcPet();
 		pet.setId(rs.getInt("id"));
 		pet.setName(rs.getString("name"));
-		pet.setBirthDate(rs.getDate("birth_date"));
+		Date birthDate = rs.getDate("birth_date");
+		pet.setBirthDate(new DateTime(birthDate));
 		pet.setTypeId(rs.getInt("type_id"));
 		pet.setOwnerId(rs.getInt("owner_id"));
 		return pet;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl.java
index ffa6ce12e..c54eb108d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/repository/jdbc/JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl.java
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@ package org.springframework.samples.petclinic.repository.jdbc;
 
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import javax.sql.DataSource;
 
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.dao.DataAccessException;
 import org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate;
@@ -69,7 +71,7 @@ public class JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl implements VisitRepository {
 	private MapSqlParameterSource createVisitParameterSource(Visit visit) {
 		return new MapSqlParameterSource()
 			.addValue("id", visit.getId())
-			.addValue("visit_date", visit.getDate())
+			.addValue("visit_date", visit.getDate().toDate())
 			.addValue("description", visit.getDescription())
 			.addValue("pet_id", visit.getPet().getId());
 	}
@@ -84,7 +86,8 @@ public class JdbcVisitRepositoryImpl implements VisitRepository {
 					public Visit mapRow(ResultSet rs, int row) throws SQLException {
 						Visit visit = new Visit();
 						visit.setId(rs.getInt("id"));
-						visit.setDate(rs.getTimestamp("visit_date"));
+						Date visitDate = rs.getDate("visit_date");
+						visit.setDate(new DateTime(visitDate));
 						visit.setDescription(rs.getString("description"));
 						return visit;
 					}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/ClinicBindingInitializer.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/ClinicBindingInitializer.java
index 4421ce008..0751d6c52 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/ClinicBindingInitializer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/ClinicBindingInitializer.java
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 package org.springframework.samples.petclinic.web;
 
-import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
-import java.util.Date;
-
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
-import org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.CustomDateEditor;
 import org.springframework.beans.propertyeditors.StringTrimmerEditor;
 import org.springframework.samples.petclinic.PetType;
 import org.springframework.samples.petclinic.service.ClinicService;
@@ -27,9 +23,6 @@ public class ClinicBindingInitializer implements WebBindingInitializer {
 	private ClinicService clinicService;
 
 	public void initBinder(WebDataBinder binder, WebRequest request) {
-		SimpleDateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");
-		dateFormat.setLenient(false);
-		binder.registerCustomEditor(Date.class, new CustomDateEditor(dateFormat, false));
 		binder.registerCustomEditor(String.class, new StringTrimmerEditor(false));
 		binder.registerCustomEditor(PetType.class, new PetTypeEditor(this.clinicService));
 	}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomView.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomView.java
index 4fbfe0bbc..7aa34d9d5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomView.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomView.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class VisitsAtomView extends AbstractAtomFeedView {
 		@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 		List<Visit> visits = (List<Visit>) model.get("visits");
 		for (Visit visit : visits) {
-			Date date = visit.getDate();
+			Date date = visit.getDate().toDate();
 			if (feed.getUpdated() == null || date.compareTo(feed.getUpdated()) > 0) {
 				feed.setUpdated(date);
 			}
@@ -63,11 +63,11 @@ public class VisitsAtomView extends AbstractAtomFeedView {
 
 		for (Visit visit : visits) {
 			Entry entry = new Entry();
-			String date = String.format("%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td", visit.getDate());
+			String date = String.format("%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td", visit.getDate().toDate());
 			// see http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/05/28/howto-atom-id#other
 			entry.setId(String.format("tag:springsource.com,%s:%d", date, visit.getId()));
 			entry.setTitle(String.format("%s visit on %s", visit.getPet().getName(), date));
-			entry.setUpdated(visit.getDate());
+			entry.setUpdated(visit.getDate().toDate());
 
 			Content summary = new Content();
 			summary.setValue(visit.getDescription());
diff --git a/src/main/resources/spring/applicationContext-dao.xml b/src/main/resources/spring/applicationContext-dao.xml
index 0a5ebc025..d6aa8dc72 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/spring/applicationContext-dao.xml
+++ b/src/main/resources/spring/applicationContext-dao.xml
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
 			<bean id="namedParameterJdbcTemplate" class="org.springframework.jdbc.core.namedparam.NamedParameterJdbcTemplate">
 				<constructor-arg ref="dataSource" />			
 			</bean>
-			
+			 
 			<context:component-scan base-package="org.springframework.samples.petclinic.repository.jdbc"/>
 	
 	</beans>
diff --git a/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/owners/ownerDetails.jsp b/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/owners/ownerDetails.jsp
index e982a405b..0f59f5dcb 100644
--- a/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/owners/ownerDetails.jsp
+++ b/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/owners/ownerDetails.jsp
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 <%@ taglib prefix="fmt" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/fmt" %>
 <%@ taglib prefix="fn" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/functions" %>
 <%@ taglib prefix="c" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" %>
+<%@ taglib prefix="joda" uri="http://www.joda.org/joda/time/tags" %>
 
 <html lang="en">
 
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@
 			    	<dt>Name</dt>
 			    	<dd>${pet.name}</dd>
 			    	<dt>Birth Date</dt>
-			    	<dd><fmt:formatDate value="${pet.birthDate}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></dd>
+			    	<dd><joda:format value="${pet.birthDate}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd" /></dd>
 			    	<dt>Type</dt>
 			    	<dd>${pet.type.name}</dd>
 			    </dl>
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@
 	            </thead>
 	            <c:forEach var="visit" items="${pet.visits}">
 	              <tr>
-	                <td><fmt:formatDate value="${visit.date}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
+	                <td><joda:format value="${visit.date}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
 	                <td>${visit.description}</td>
 	              </tr>
 	            </c:forEach>
diff --git a/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/pets/createOrUpdateVisitForm.jsp b/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/pets/createOrUpdateVisitForm.jsp
index cd68a2d5f..11f5016db 100644
--- a/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/pets/createOrUpdateVisitForm.jsp
+++ b/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/pets/createOrUpdateVisitForm.jsp
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <%@ taglib prefix="c" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" %>
 <%@ taglib prefix="form" uri="http://www.springframework.org/tags/form" %>
 <%@ taglib prefix="fmt" uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/fmt" %>
-
+<%@ taglib prefix="joda" uri="http://www.joda.org/joda/time/tags" %>
 
 <html lang="en">
 
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 		    </thead>
 		    <tr>
 		      <td>${visit.pet.name}</td>
-		      <td><fmt:formatDate value="${visit.pet.birthDate}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
+		      <td><joda:format value="${visit.pet.birthDate}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
 		      <td>${visit.pet.type.name}</td>
 		      <td>${visit.pet.owner.firstName} ${visit.pet.owner.lastName}</td>
 		    </tr>
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 		  <table class="table">
 		    <tr>
 		      <th>
-		        Date:
+		        Date
 		        <br/><form:errors path="date" cssClass="errors"/>
 		      </th>
 		      <td>
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
 		    <tr/>
 		    <tr>
 		      <th valign="top">
-		        Description:
+		        Description
 		        <br/><form:errors path="description" cssClass="errors"/>
 		      </th>
 		      <td>
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
 		</form:form>
 		
 		<br/>
-		<b>Previous Visits:</b>
+		<b>Previous Visits</b>
 		<table style="width: 333px;">
 		  <tr>
 		    <th>Date</th>
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 		  <c:forEach var="visit" items="${visit.pet.visits}">
 		    <c:if test="${!visit['new']}">
 		      <tr>
-		        <td><fmt:formatDate value="${visit.date}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
+		        <td><joda:format value="${visit.date}" pattern="yyyy-MM-dd"/></td>
 		        <td>${visit.description}</td>
 		      </tr>
 		    </c:if>
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/AbstractPetRepositoryTests.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/AbstractPetRepositoryTests.java
index 2247b0581..8d3431264 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/AbstractPetRepositoryTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/AbstractPetRepositoryTests.java
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
-import java.util.Date;
 
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.samples.petclinic.repository.OwnerRepository;
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractPetRepositoryTests {
 		pet.setName("bowser");
 		Collection<PetType> types = this.petRepository.findPetTypes();
 		pet.setType(EntityUtils.getById(types, PetType.class, 2));
-		pet.setBirthDate(new Date());
+		pet.setBirthDate(new DateTime());
 		o6.addPet(pet);
 		assertEquals(found + 1, o6.getPets().size());
 		// both storePet and storeOwner are necessary to cover all ORM tools
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomViewTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomViewTest.java
index 59d435cfd..74533505e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomViewTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/web/VisitsAtomViewTest.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.springframework.samples.petclinic.Pet;
@@ -55,14 +56,14 @@ public class VisitsAtomViewTest {
 		bello.setType(dog);
 		Visit belloVisit = new Visit();
 		belloVisit.setPet(bello);
-		belloVisit.setDate(new Date(2009, 0, 1));
+		belloVisit.setDate(new DateTime(2009, 1, 1,1,1));
 		belloVisit.setDescription("Bello visit");
 		Pet wodan = new Pet();
 		wodan.setName("Wodan");
 		wodan.setType(dog);
 		Visit wodanVisit = new Visit();
 		wodanVisit.setPet(wodan);
-		wodanVisit.setDate(new Date(2009, 0, 2));
+		wodanVisit.setDate(new DateTime(2009, 1, 2,1,1));
 		wodanVisit.setDescription("Wodan visit");
 		List<Visit> visits = new ArrayList<Visit>();
 		visits.add(belloVisit);
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ public class VisitsAtomViewTest {
 
 		assertNotNull("No id set", feed.getId());
 		assertNotNull("No title set", feed.getTitle());
-		assertEquals("Invalid update set", new Date(2009, 0, 2), feed.getUpdated());
+		assertEquals("Invalid update set", new DateTime(2009, 1, 2,1,1).toDate(), feed.getUpdated());
 	}
 
 	@Test