Larenwood Farms of Drumbo, Ont., owned by Chris, Grant and Dan McLaren, has posted the highest herd management score in the first nation-wide ranking calculated by CanWest DHI.
They managed to top Summitholm Holsteibns of Lynden, Ont., owned by Carl, Dave and Ben Loewith. It has set records for the number of consecutive years it has been the top herd in Ontario. They are third in the national ranking.
Second is Ferme Bario Inc. of Baie St-Paul, Que., owned by Amelie Tremblay and Dominique Bard.
The McLarens say their scores improved when they built a new barn four years ago for their 90 Holsteins.
“We try to follow the same routines day in and day out and the cows have respond well to that.” He adds with a smile, “we actually try to bore them into being productive.”
The brothers also attend lots of information meetings and Grant has served as a director on the Dairy Farmers of Ontario marketing board.
They try to stay well informed, they exchange ideas with other dairy farmers and surround themselves with qualified advisors.
“We knew the herd was performing well, but we did not expect to have the top Score in Canada. We were pleasantly surprised by the news,” Chris said.
Others on the top-10 list are:
Sunny Point Farms Ltd. of Hants County, Nova Scotia, owned by Philipp Vroegh;
Pfister Dairy Farm of Mitchell, Ont., owned by the Pfister family;
Brakke Farm of Grand Valley, Ont,, owned by Jacob, Nelleke & Henk Brakke;
Gamblane Farms of Chatworth, owned by Ian & Mark Gamble;
Ferme Roy & Fils Inc of Sully Pohenegamook, Que., owned by Jacques and Marc-Andre Roy;
Ferme Noterra-Ricstar Inc. of St.-Hyacinthe, Que., owned by Eric Breniel & Elise Sawyer, and
Kooi Pleats Dairy of Moorefield, Ont., owned by Willem & Martine Van Der Kooi.
The top three scores in British Columbia are Country Charm Farms of Matsqui, owned by the Huizing brothers, Milky Way Dairy pf Chilliwack, owned by Frank and Debbie Les, and Trinity Holsteins of Mission, owned by Paul Schmidt.
The top three in Alberta are Roseglen Farming Co. of Hilda, owned by Rueben Entz, Deerfield Colony of Magrath under the management of Andy Waldne, and Wetoka Farm of Milllet, owned by Michael, Marla, Art and Eileen Roth.
The top three in Saskatchewan are Sierra Colony of Shaunavon, managed by Thomas Kleinsasse, Cypress Colony of Maple Creek, managed by Darrell Entz, and Fox Valley Farming Co. of Fox Valley owned by Jake Entz.
The top three in Manitoba are Mageo Pouteau Farms of Mariapolis, owned by Chris & Carla Pouteau, Fehr Farm of La Broquerie, owned by Jakob and Ana Fehr, and Zacland Dairy of Winkler, owned by Conrad and Val Zacharias.
In third place in Quebec was Ferme Noterra-Ricstar Inc.
The top three in New Brunswick are Salisdairy Farm of Boundary Creek owned by Auke Leenstra, Top Of The Morning Farm Ltd. of Holmesville owned by Robert Speer, and Schenkels Farms Inc. of Whitney, owned by John Schenkels.
After Sunny Point Farms Ltd. come Folly River Farms Ltd. of Debert, owned by Lauchie Maceachern, and Macgregor Dairy Farm Ltd. of Eureka, owned by John Macgregor, for Nova Scotia.
