ohn and Jean Partington farm at Creston, far from Jthe main dairying area of

Br i t i sh Co lumbia . The Partingtons run one of the nine dairy farms in the Creston area. “We all support each other,” says John. “And we are most fortunate to have the farm services we have. It's a disadvantage to have dairy equipment services, feed suppliers, and cattle auctions 400 kilometres away. But we've learned to think ahead and cope.”

John emigrated from England, Jean was from Victoria, and neither grew up on a dairy farm. They started with 24 cows on 20 acres in 1962. Now they have 160 arable acres, three free-stall barns with sand bedding and they milk 75 cows in a double-six herringbone parlour.

“Jean and I have largely retired from the barn,” says John. Their son, Robin, handles the daily herd management while herdsman Mark Kenny, who has been with the Partingtons for more than 17 years, manages the herd. Alan Clayton and Aaron Kenny are part-time employees. “We feel very fortunate to have such

E.P. FARMS LTD., CRESTON, BRITISH COLUMBIAProducer Profile

M a n a g e m e n t

dependable and dedicated workers,” says John.

The current BCAs for their purebred Holstein are 255 for milk, 254 for butterfat and 250 for solids, not fat. And their somatic cell count linear score is 1.4. “We value the somatic cell count and ERA programs most of all the DHI services,” says John. They use Boumatic's Dairy Base and Agri Term programs and share that i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h t h e i r veterinarian and nutritionist.

“The valley has an excellent climate for the alfalfa silage, hay, corn silage and oat hay we grow,” says John. They buy barley, brewers' grain and supplements, and feed partial TMR. Baled hay is fed separately and higher-producing cows get extra grain and supplement rationed out by computerized feeders.

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1 E P FARMS LTD J EDGE PARTINGTON, CRESTON 932 81 HO KOOTENAY

2 WIKKSVIEW FARM LTD FRED WIKKERINK, COBBLE HILL 894 71 HO COWICHAN

3 MARDONEN DAIRY LTD MARTIN BRINK, ABBOTSFORD 889 46 HO MATSQUI

4 WILLEM KRAAN FORT LANGLEY 887 59 HO SURREY-LANGLEY

5 J & M DAIRY LTD JAKE VAN DER OORT, ARMSTRONG 886 101 HO KAMLOOPS-OKANAGAN

6 BOMI FARMS LTD BOUWE, RENE & MIEKE MIEDEMA, ENDERBY 884 98 HO KAMLOOPS-OKANAGAN

7 QUO VADIS DAIRY FARM #2 NEIL KRAAKMAN, DEROCHE 878 31 HO DEWDNEY-DEROCHE

8 WILLIAM WIKKERINK FARMS J WIKKERINK, COBBLE HILL 877 136 HO COWICHAN

9 COUNTRY CHARM FARMS LTD HUIZING BROS, MATSQUI 868 176 HO MATSQUI

10 MILKY WAY DAIRY FRANK & DEBBIE LES, CHILLIWACK 862 67 HO CHILLIWACK

11 FRASERRIDGE HOLSTEIN MARCEL SWARD & MARGARET STEWART, MATSQUI 859 53 HO MATSQUI

12 VAN JAARSVELD HOLDINGS LTD RON & SUSAN VAN JAARSVELD, DUNCAN 855 77 HO COWICHAN

13 PENDRAY FARMS LTD DAVE PENDRAY, NORTH SAANICH 851 291 HO COWICHAN

14 ROLLEYVIEW FARM JOHN TAP, CHILLIWACK 851 94 HO CHILLIWACK

15 VAN GARD FARMS LTD JIM VAN GARDEREN, CHILLIWACK 850 72 HO CHILLIWACK

16 UBC DAIRY EDUCATION & RESOURCE CENTRE NELSON DINN, AGASSIZ 841 276 HO AGASSIZ

17 IDAVISTA FARM LTD LORNE HUNTER, ENDERBY 835 65 HO KAMLOOPS-OKANAGAN

18 BARBROS JERSEY FARM TOM BARICHELLO, LANGLEY 834 45 JE SURREY-LANGLEY

19 GREENDIKE FARM LTD CHRIS GROENEDIJK, CHEMAINUS 833 119 HO COWICHAN

20 BLUE DIAMOND FARM HARVEY WIKKERINK, DUNCAN 832 102 HO COWICHAN

PUBLISHABLE HERD LISTINGS FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA

Rank Herd Owner Name, City Total Score Herd Size Breed Region

16

M a n a g e m e n t

2 0 0 4 H e r d I m p r o v e m e n t R e p o r t

Producer Profile

e l b e r t K o o y ' s attention to DHI data Dsuch as production

and somatic cell counts resulted in his herd topping Alberta for Management Score this year. “Last year I watched my somatic cell counts closely because we had a bit of a mastitis problem. DHI really came in handy. And we culled pretty aggressively,” he says.

Kooy usually milks about 70 Holsteins in a commercial herd of Holsteins producing an annual average of 11,584 kilograms of milk, 434 of butterfat and 347 of protein. He uses DHI data supplemented with software program information from his veterinarian Dr. Klaas Wiersma. The Kooy farm was started by Delbert's grandfather, his father started the dairy

and Kooy took over soon after he married Lucy, who was raised on a nearby farm and works as a pharmacist. They have three daughters and a son Danielle, 18, studying at Trinity University in BC, Joni, 16, and Kaitlyn, 14, in secondary school and Nathan, eight. Lucy does all of the

computer work “and because she understands farming, she's a big help to me,” says Delbert. Their hired hand is Jeff VanRootselaar. The Kooys h ire custom operators to make alfalfa, barley and corn silage grown on 480 acres of irrigated land, 320 owned and 160 rented. It's put up in bags and Kooy mixes it with hay and grain and uses a computer feeder. “I give the cows more than enough forages, and then I clean

out what they haven't eaten every day and blend that into the ration for heifers and dry cows. I find the cows eat more when they're offered plenty of fresh forages every day,” says Kooy.

2 0 0 4 H e r d I m p r o v e m e n t R e p o r t

KOOY DAIRY, LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA

1 KOOY DAIRY DELBERT KOOY, LETHBRIDGE 950 79 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

2 ROSEGLEN COLONY RUEBEN ENTZ, HILDA 928 89 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

3 BRANDO HOLSTEINS WIM & SYLVIA SCHAKEL, LACOMBE 906 158 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

4 VAN BEDAF DAIRY CORNE & CONNY VAN BEDAF, CALMAR 902 92 HO EDMONTON

5 HOUWELING FARMS LTD PETE HOUWELING, COALDALE 900 187 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

6 PARKHILL DAIRY HANS & ISABEL HAEFLIGER, LACOMBE 896 124 HO RED DEER

7 ROSS LAKE DAIRIES LTD JOE & NICOLE VERHOEVEN, STETTLER 896 58 HO RED DEER

8 ROCKLAKE DAIRY J & B DEJONG, BROOKS 895 103 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

9 ANDRINGA DAIRY JOGCHUM ANDRINGA, ECKVILLE 883 155 HO RED DEER

10 DEERFIELD COLONY ANDY WALDNER, MAGRATH 883 97 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

11 JOHN JANSEN BARRHEAD 882 55 HO EDMONTON

12 WETOKA FARM LTD ART & EILEEN ROTH, MILLET 877 60 HO RED DEER

13 WARDEN HOLSTEINS STETTLER 876 98 HO RED DEER

14 LAKESIDE DAIRY LTD NONAY BROTHERS, LEGAL 875 157 HO EDMONTON

15 BUIT DAIRIES LTD RUSS & JUDI BUIT, BENTLEY 873 59 HO RED DEER

16 FINNBEA HOLSTEINS FINN & BEATRICE JAKOBSEN, BOWDEN 869 75 HO RED DEER

17 PRAIRIEHOME COLONY JONATHAN WALDNER, WRENTHEM 867 122 HO LETHBRIDGE / BROOKS

18 VETERAN COLONY MIKE STAHL, VETERAN 863 76 HO RED DEER

19 W WYNTJES & SONS RED DEER 861 377 HO RED DEER

20 BRAM AND INEKE DE JONG LACOMBE 861 159 HO RED DEER

PUBLISHABLE HERD LISTINGS FOR ALBERTA

Rank Herd Owner Name, City Total Score Herd Size Breed Region

18

M a n a g e m e n t

2 0 0 4 H e r d I m p r o v e m e n t R e p o r t

arley and Jennifer Strudwick work hard H“to keep things in

showroom shape” at Prairie Diamond Farm. Because their farm is on Highway #1, about 25 km east of Regina, “we get a lot of drop-in visitors,” Jennifer says. The herd of 55 milking cows is clipped at least four times a year and cows are brushed and tails washed weekly.

“Our biggest change was building the new tie-stall barn in June of 2000 to replace a free-stall barn with slippery floors,” says Jennifer. “The lighting is bright, the air quality is greatly improved and the cows are comfortable in large stalls with mattresses and lots of straw bedding.” The Strudwicks are focusing on cow families to market breeding stock and flush top cows for embryo transplanting.

PRAIRIE DIAMOND FARM, BALGONIE, SASKATCHEWANProducer Profile

2 0 0 4 H e r d I m p r o v e m e n t R e p o r t2 0 0 4 H e r d I m p r o v e m e n t R e p o r t

PUBLISHABLE HERD LISTINGS FOR SASKATCHEWAN

They follow a strict herd health program and their veterinarian visits every second week to check reproductive health and to maintain a regular calving interval. And they hoof trim on a regular basis.

The two of them do the majority of the milking, and Harley maintains the herd health records

while Jennifer does the artificial insemination. Harley's parents, Dale and Arlyce, remain keenly interested and involved.

The TMR ration is a blend of alfalfa silage, barley silage, and rolled barley grain, all grown on their 700-acre farm. They buy a 28 per cent pelleted protein supplement, a blend of distiller's mash, canola, corn gluten, vitamins and minerals. They also top dress their ration with high-quality dry hay after the evening milking. “We really like our cows, and by

spending the extra time with them and paying attention to the details, they reward us with what they give back.” says Jennifer. They've done remarkably well because their herd was top for the province for production in 2003 and averaged 12,321 kilograms of milk for 305-day records.

1 PRAIRIE DIAMOND FARM HARLEY STRUDWICK, BALGONIE 879 67 HO REGINA

2 TED ENTZ PENNANT COLONY, PENNANT 865 77 HO SWIFT CURRENT

3 UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN SASKATOON 850 58 HO SASKATOON EAST

4 GLENRIDGE HOLSTEINS BRUCE LOVERIDGE, GRENFELL 837 60 HO WEYBURN

5 DINSMORE COLONY WILLIE WALDNER, DINSMORE 836 80 HO SASKATOON WEST

6 EAGLEWOOD HOLDINGS LTD EARL & SCOTT WOODSIDE, ASQUITH 828 67 HO SASKATOON WEST

7 HAVEN COLONY JAKE ENTZ, FOX VALLEY 825 85 HO SWIFT CURRENT

8 HEFRA FARMS HELEN & FRANS VANDER LOOP, MARSDEN 818 134 HO SASKATOON WEST

9 ALLEY HOLSTEINS ALBERT LEYENHORST, DALMENY 814 137 HO SASKATOON EAST

10 FOTH VENTURES LTD MELVIN FOTH, HAGUE 812 275 HO SASKATOON EAST

11 ARTOMDA FARMS RANDY STOKER, HAGUE 805 80 HO SASKATOON EAST

12 RIVERBEND INSTITUTION CORCAN AGRIBUSINESS, PRINCE ALBERT 804 44 HO PRINCE ALBERT/MELFORT

13 HAGUEVIEW FARM INC DALE NEUDORF, HAGUE 803 79 HO SASKATOON EAST

14 CYPRESS COLONY WALTER ENTZ, MAPLE CREEK 792 84 HO SWIFT CURRENT

15 WALLYWAY HOLSTEINS I & W WIEBE, HAGUE 791 52 HO SASKATOON EAST

16 DELAINE HOLSTEINS ELAINE DONALD, SASKATOON 789 116 HO SASKATOON EAST

17 HIDDEN VALLEY FARM CHAD HOFSTRA, HAGUE 774 100 HO SASKATOON EAST

18 ROBELLA HOLSTEINS REG & JULIANN LINDENBACH, EDENWOLD 766 88 HO REGINA

19 MARFAY FARMS LTD WILLIAM WIEBE, HAGUE 765 218 HO SASKATOON EAST

20 SCHULTZ FAMILY FARM ALVIN & MITCH SCHULTZ, DALMENY 751 104 HO SASKATOON EAST

Rank Herd Owner Name, City Total Score Herd Size Breed Region

20

M a n a g e m e n t

aurie and Bonnie Van Den Bossche were both Lborn and raised on

dairy farms and they're busy raising another generation of prospects. For example, M i c h a e l , w h o i s 1 6 , recommends AI bulls suitable for each cow. He and James, 14, and Bradley, 12, like raising 4-H calves. The oldest, David, 18, is studying computer technology at Ass inaboine Col lege at Brandon, Manitoba.

They all share chores, so the relatively small herd of 42 milking cows gets plenty of attention. “We keep on top of things,” says Laurie.

The cows get plenty of exercise because they're out on pasture in April and stay until weather forces a return to the barn, which last fall was the third week of

VANDEL HOLSTEINS, BRUXELLES, MANITOBAProducer Profile

November. “Usually it's October,” says Laurie. “I think that's why they live so long. We have lots of cows that live to 10 or older and we had one that was 15.” That also means they can cull hard and they have heifers to sell as breeding stock.

Their cows are rotated among seven paddocks of intensively-managed pasture. Custom-baled dry hay is the mainstay of winter rations, sometimes with bagged silage if weather threatened the hay before it dried. The energy comes from a steam-rolled prepared ration.

The “home farm” is next door and run by Laurie's brother, who grows 700 to 800 acres of grain, including barley for the young stock.

Laurie and Bonnie use DHI to track somatic cell counts,

butterfat, protein and individual cow performance. “The cow families in our herd are improving with every generation,” says Laurie. “We're getting more from fewer cows all the time.”

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1 VANDEL HOLSTEINS L VANDENBOSSCHE, BRUXELLES 884 49 HO CENTRAL

2 READORE FARMS RHEAL SIMON, NOTRE DAME 867 59 HO CENTRAL

3 GEECEE GUY & CLAUDE FOREST, ST MALO 860 54 HO EASTERN

4 SNOWFLAKE JERSEYS GRANT DIDKOWSKI, SNOWFLAKE 831 47 JE CENTRAL

5 OPTIMIST HOLSTEIN HANS GORTER, OTTERBURNE 830 130 HO EASTERN

6 COTTONWOOD HOLSTEINS OSWALD EDWOOD, STEINBACH 820 104 HO EASTERN

7 COLUMBINE HOLSTEINS JACOB & ANNITA BENTHEM, ELM CREEK 817 59 HO CENTRAL

8 WILDROSE JERSEYS F & S SCHWEIGERT, INWOOD 801 48 JE INTERLAKE

9 ZACLAND DAIRY CONRAD & VAL ZACHARIAS, WINKLER 794 46 HO CENTRAL

10 AIRPORT COLONY LEVI HOFER, PORTAGE 787 68 HO CENTRAL

11 DRUMALIEF HOLSTEINS JAMES, EILEEN & MARK DOUGLAS, BRANDON 786 75 HO SOUTH WEST

12 GERALYN HOLSTEINS GERALD GUENTHERS, GRUNTHAL 779 55 HO EASTERN

13 JAMES VALLEY COLONY TIM WURTZ, ELIE 778 78 HO CENTRAL

14 SWISS DREAM FARM FRED MATHYS, WAWANESA 771 73 BS SOUTH WEST

15 RAYA HOLSTEINS RAYMOND MANGIN, BRUXELLES 770 59 HO CENTRAL

16 CENTRETRAIL FARMS ARNOLD & KIM LANGE, DUFRESNE 765 68 HO EASTERN

17 SUNFLO DAIRY MORLEY & KATHLEEN SUNDELL, HOLLAND 762 31 HO CENTRAL

18 CARELS HILLS MICHAEL CARELS, BRUXELLES 755 52 HO CENTRAL

19 DONFIELD FARMS GARRY DONOHOE, BRANDON 751 78 HO SOUTH WEST

20 BRADY FARMS LTD RICHARD GOUSSEAU, ST NORBERT 750 89 HO CENTRAL

PUBLISHABLE HERD LISTINGS FOR MANITOBA

Rank Herd Owner Name, City Total Score Herd Size Breed Region

22