Evergraze Holsteins Ltd. of Armstrong, B.C., has been named a 2015 Master Breeder by Holstein Canada.
It’s the only farm in Western Canada to earn that designation this year.
The dairy farm is operated by Terry Wagner, her son, Marc, and her daughter, Michelle.
It is the second time Evergraze has won the master breeder designation. The first one came in 1999.
The Wagners milk 44 purebred registered Holsteins and recently moved the herd into a new barn, which includes a robotic milker.
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The master breeder designation is earned through a complex assessment, which includes data from regular milk samples from each cow and classification of each cow’s conformation.
Each cow in the herd is measured using a point system and designated on a scale from excellent to poor with gradations in between based on number of calvings.
The Wagner herd includes five cows classified as excellent, three as excellent 2E, five as excellent 3E, one as excellent 4E, 23 very good and seven good plus.
Their cows produce an average 37 litres of milk daily with 3.94 percent butterfat. The farm registers 20 to 24 animals per year with Holstein Canada.
“I think for our family, we just feel that it’s another indication that we’re doing a good job of what we do,” Wagner said about earning master breeder status.
She said cow welfare and comfort have always been paramount for the farm, and the new barn and robotic milker are part of that goal.
“The whole idea behind the robotic system is the cows choose their lifestyle,” Wagner said.
They can sleep, eat and be milked according to their own desires, and an automatic manure scraper ensures little disruption for barn cleaning.
“It’s quiet, it’s peaceful and they just love it,” Wagner said.
She believes the farm would be considered small compared to most others in Canada.
Twenty other farms in Canada earned master breeder designations for 2015; 10 from Ontario, seven from Quebec, two from Prince Edward Island and one from New Brunswick.
All will be honored at the 2016 national Holstein convention in Banff April 23. Wagner said her entire family, which includes two new grandchildren, will be there for the ceremony.
The Holstein Canada master breeder program has been in place since 1929 and in that time, 986 master breeder shields have been awarded.
“These master breeders are recognized for having mastered the art of breeding balanced cattle: high production and outstanding conformation with great reproduction, health and longevity,” said a Holstein Canada news release announcing the awards.
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