Who we are & what we do:
- As a 6th generation family farm, we are proudly producing quality Canadian milk and food since 1874 in the utmost efficient and modern way in beautiful Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
- Crops (soybeans, wheat, corn, alfalfa) are grown on 1350 acres and with all management practices being handled on farm from start to finish with most commodities being delivered to the end user with our own fleet.
- With the help of our team and equipment, we also perform excavating jobs such as land leveling, tiling, foundations, fence bottoms, bush clean up, etc.
- New dairy facilities built in 2015 with full automation and all animals being housed on compost pack which gets sawdust bedding weekly and rotor tilled twice daily.
our dairy program
Biosecurity is top priority, a no admittance policy is in effect within our calf rooms. Our calves are calved out into sanitized tub and fed within 20 minutes of birth. Oxygen is readily available to be administered to any calf that may be struggling upon birth. We are equipped with two rooms holding approximately 30 calves from birth to 2 months of age. They are housed in individual hutches and fed 3x daily until 14 days of age where they join the group housing and fed by a Lely Calm Robotic Feeder where they have access to up to 14L of milk/day and specially formulated robot pellet, both being free choice. From birth, they are fed the highest quality feed to ensure most superior health and growth possible.As they mature, they are slowly reduced in concentration and quantity of milk automatically through the Lely Calm robotic feeder. At 66 days of age they get 2 Litres at 35 grams per Litre. They are then weaned without any calling. They remain in the calf nursery for 2 more weeks. Then they are moved into our compost heifer barn in groups of 3 to 5.
In our heifer barn they continue to receive heifer ration TMR up to 9 months of age. At which point they are fed a specific heifer ration and are bred a t 12 months of age. Genetic testing done to each heifer at 1 month of age which helps us selected superior heifers based on genetics and animal traits to equip us to make best management decisions such as embryo transfers, sire choice, and sexed semen. They receive the heifer TMR ration until 40 days pre-partum, when they join our dry cows and will receive a close-up ration which will prepare them for calving and beginning the process of milking. At calving the fresh cow now moves on to the robotic milking system, where she will be housed in our fresh cow area for 21 days before being moved to our larger compost bedded pack area to continue through the rest of her lactation. Fresh cows are blood tested on farm on a weekly basis and treated accordingly for the first 21 days after calving. She is fed a balanced milking TMR, along with Robotic Milking System pellet supplement, fed by the robot during milking, depending on milk production and number of days in milk.
Our cows are dried or "take holidays" @ 220 days pregnant, and enjoy 60 days of fresh pack bedding and a special TMR formulation to meet their exact dietary needs.. Since the introduction of our Lely robots, our cows are no longer grouped into tight areas in order to facilitate milking, and they are seldom disturbed by a herds person. They have become quiet and content and will often enter the robot repeatedly even after they have reached the maximum # of milkings allowed per day.
All animals are fed with the robotic Vector feeding system, which is running 24 hours a day, feeding 5 different rations to the different groups of animals according to their age and nutritional needs.
Approximately 3,000 tonnes of fermented feed storage are stored on farm in concrete bunk silos
Three robotic milkers throughout the barn with each one being able to handle 65 cows where animals can go get milked at free choice.
Their teats are thoroughly sanitized prior to milking and post dipped with iodine after milking is completed to protect it from infection and ensure highest teat and udder quality. Each cow is fed pellets as a treat while they are being milked
The robot electronically provides information on each cow such as weight, rumination (amount of chewing activity), milk quality and components, heat detection used for artificial insemination, milk temperature for animal health, amount of milk given, to name a few.
Our facility promotes excellent animal welfare and herd longevity, based on providing our cows with unrestricted access to water, feed, rest and personalized milkings (up to 6x/day). In fact our cows are so happy they literally milk themselves.
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