As I look around my neighbourhood, in a right-to-farm community, there is one word that comes to mind as we begin a new year – build. To the west of my farm there is a large new building to hold manure solids, a beautiful new bunkhouse for employees and across the road from that is a new swale to divert water back into the ground. Up the side of the lake and a few more kilometers north, there are two matching buildings that have just been built to raise calves on a 1,000-cow dairy. This dairy farm has been in business for 100 years, building and growing families, acres and Holsteins. Sixty-four kilometers to the west is an innovative freestall barn that holds 800 cows on a 1,500-cow dairy that the third generation has joined as owners in the past few years.
All three of these dairies have undertaken building projects, not to get bigger but to get better. Improving manure management to ensure that water quality remains high is a step toward a sustainable future. Calf barns will improve calf health, lower mortality rates and decrease labour needs for years to come.
One of the young producers on the dairy that just built the new barn for cow comfort said it best: “Growth on a dairy is not always linear; it doesn’t just mean adding cows or buying more land. Sometimes growth is how we invest in our facilities to improve cow comfort. Sometimes growth is how we invest in ourselves and our team to try to be better leaders and employees. Growth looks different each year, but you can be sure that we are growing because if you are not moving forward, you’re going backwards.”
Last fall, I was fortunate to tour several Ontario farms that have built new barns with robot milkers, comfortable stalls and the latest in manure management. Plans to move into the future with new calf facilities and heifer barns were discussed at the tour stops. The future look of labour on automated milking system farms is fascinating. It is exciting to be a small part of the Canadian dairy industry as it builds for the future.
If I could describe myself in one word, it would be builder. Whether I am building a family, a herd of cattle, a better showman or an edition of Progressive Dairy magazine, I like to create, add on and move forward. I’m looking forward to my new role at Progressive Dairy, moving from a contributing writer to an editor. The dairy industry built me into the person that I am today, and I’m looking forward to building with all of you.
As we begin a new year, we are excited to unveil our 2023 reader survey so that we can build a better magazine, website and information base for you, our readers. We hope you will take a few moments to fill out the survey, as we value your feedback, so that we can cater to you and your operational needs. Thank you for subscribing to Progressive Dairy – we look forward to building a better dairy business with you in 2023 and beyond.
