DECEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
Technology key to the fortunes of dairies of all sizes
Farm writers see two models of dairy production in Quebec
by DAVID SCHMIDT QUEBEC CITY – Small farms
with tie-stall barns are still the norm in the Quebec dairy industry but some have become large-scale operations with the latest automation technology. Canada’s farm writers got a first-hand look at how dairies large and small operate during their annual conference in Quebec City in late September. Daniel
Landry of Ferme Landrynoise, Quebec’s largest dairy farm, welcomed the writers on September 28. Landrynoise uses 22 Lely robots to milk its 1,040 cows. The following day, the writers visited the Lehoux family at Ferme Lehoux Holstein, a Holstein Master Breeder which houses its 70-cow milking herd in a tie-stall farm. Landry’s father, Jean-Marie,
and more consistent quality milk. They also maximize production with cows averaging 37 kilograms on 2.9 milkings a day. To increase returns even more, Landrynoise is also one of the few Quebec farms to produce kosher milk, which garners a premium of $4 per 100 litres.
Land purchased for $1,000 an acre in the 1980s is now worth $8,000 to $9,000 an acre.
“A rabbi comes three times
a week to confirm we are kosher,” Landry states, noting the farm produces about 70,000 litres a week of kosher milk, which must be stored in a separate tank.
Top genetics
started Landrynoise in 1960 with 15 beef cattle. Two years later, he switched to dairy to “make more money.” He was up to 165 animals in 1985 when a fire destroyed the barn and herd. Rather than let that defeat him, he built a new barn with a 500-cow capacity and started buying up nearby small farms. Many dairymen at the time doubted the future of supply management but Landry’s father believed it was time to invest, “so you’re ready for the future.”
Although he was called
“crazy” for buying all that land, it proved the right decision. Not only does the farm’s 3,800 acres make manure disposal a non-issue, land purchased for $1,000 an acre in the 1980s is now worth $8,000 to $9,000 an acre – an excellent return even if the price is a couple of digits short of per-acre prices in the Fraser Valley. The farm currently ships about one million litres of milk a month, and it continues to expand. Within months, a new barn will house another 195 cows and four more robots. Landry started using
robots in the early 2000s. He believes they produce higher
While Landrynoise is all about maximizing milk returns, the fourth and fifth- generation Lehoux farm is all about the cows. The Master Breeder herd comprises 24 Excellent, 40 VG and 12 GP cows. About 80% of the cows are related to Lehoux B Goldwyn Ruby, an Excellent 17* brood cow. The rest are related to Genebec, a 20-year partnership of four Quebec breeders. “We established Genebec
to keep top genetics in Canada,” Germain Lehoux explains, noting they use sexed semen and try to produce cows with “big production, good udders, good feet and legs and lots of longevity.” Most are sold domestically at prices ranging from $5,000 to $6,000 an animal. In addition to other Quebec farmers, the family sold heifers to producers in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Illinois last year. “We derive about 30% of our income from cattle sales,” Lehoux says. His son, Pier-Olivier
Lehoux, notes that social media is invaluable for marketing. He says Facebook is “like having an open house every day. It’s how you advertise show cattle, high genetics and embryos right now.”
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Daniel Landry of Ferme Landrynoise in Quebec spoke to Canadian Farm Writers Federation members during their tour of his Quebec dairy farm during the CFWF annual conference in September. CATHY GLOVER PHOTO
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