Grenville Cattlemen’s Association
Bus Trip
August 23-24, 2006
1) Le Domaine Du Cevin Winery and Red Deer Farm, near Morewood , Samuel Gutknecht family.Wine production is a relatively new venture for Eastern Ontario and we were shown the process from grapes on the vine to the finished product, ending our wine tour with a taste test!
The Gutknecht family also have a deer farm with both Red Deer and Elk and crosses of these two. Deer are marketed at 18 months for the speciality meat market in Quebec. Velvet Antler (contains glucosamine, chondroitine, omega 3 & 6 essential minerals) is derived from the antlers which are also harvested. A tour of the handling facilities was a real eye opener. Wine and Velvet Antler is sold on the premises and on the Internet (www.domaineducervin.com).
2) The Dairy Sheep Operation of Joseph & Barbara Regli, near Finch. The Dairy Sheep are on a rotational pasture system and Barbara is in charge of milking the ewes. Lambs are allowed to nurse for about 6 weeks and are then weaned and the ewes join the milking line. The parlour, milking 5 ewes at a time, was mostly built by the Regli’s and resembles a miniature cow parlour. They freeze the milk after it’s cooled and it is shipped this way to several outlets. A new building is being erected to allow them to process their own milk into cheese, to be sold at local farmer markets. The emphasis of this fine operation was simplicity, efficiency and the ability to change strategies and capture the most profitable outlet of the day.
3) Delft Blue White Veal Farm Operation run by Walter Wagemans , near Morrisburg. The mostly Holstein calves are purchased at about 103 pounds and a few days old. They are grouped in rooms in individual slatted floor pens. Calves are fed a special milk replacer and are finished at between 500 and 600 pounds. We wandered through the facility and were totally amazed at the sight of so many comfortable and healthy animals. We were were all looking for pointers in calf raising.
4) Arden Schneckenburger Feedlot and Cash Cropper , near Morrisburg. Arden is an activist for our industry and uses a very sharp pencil for his own operation. We enjoyed a tour of his feedlot and spent an hour discussing Agricultural concerns and Arden’s views on the future of farming, particularly in the East and Dundas County.
An evening of laughter was spent at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, for a performance of “Tom, Dick and Harry”.
5) Dick Vanderbyle Cow Calf Operation , near Alexandria. Dick runs 150 cows and we visited one of his four pastures, with 50 late calving cows. An impressive Charolais bull on crossbred cows for the popular tan calves. All replacements are purchased. We also saw his barn and yard set up for back grounding calves - some of his own and some custom fed for his brother Rudi’s feedlot.
6) Rudi Vanderbyle Feedlot . Rudi and his son Joey work the farm together. Between 300 and 320 cattle are finished each year, and they plan to expand. A very expensive manure storage was under construction because of Nutrient Management. Western calves are purchased because although the quality is the same Western calves are processed better. Finished cattle are marketed serveral different ways. Rudi’s parting comment was, “vaccinated calves mean very little if the cow herd behind them is not vaccinated.” Vaccinate your cow herds also.
7) La Ferme Gillette , Embrum. Louis Patenaude owner. Alain LeDuc, herdsman, gave us the tour. They are milking about 350 Holsteins in two locations. The tie stall “Show Barn” houses the top end of the herd with a number of famous cows. All cows are also calved in this barn. The second milking facility is a free stall barn with a parlour. Calves start in outdoor hutches and graduate through several barns gradually being introduced to the free stall concept. Young bulls, and heifers to be bred, are housed in a new barn, which is state of the art. One man spends only an hour to care for several hundred animals.
Breeding is artificial and a combined decision between Louis and Alain. They are looking for new genetics rather than planned matings. Rations are formulated by a specializing company.
8) St. Albert Cheese Factory , St. Albert. Our last stop and we saw a video of the cheese making process. Cheese is made at night so that curds are shipped out the next morning “squeeky fresh”. Excellent ice cream, and a terrific choice of cheeses and other products is sold in the store. Our overnight stop was at the MacIntosh Inn in Morrisburg. Beds were comfortable, rooms well appointed and we extend our complements to the chef.
The trip, which included all meals, was enjoyed by everyone.
We discovered a great deal of diversity in our “own backyard!”
Click here to see pictures of our trip. Click on a picture to see it enlarge the photo. If you press F11 (in most browsers) you can see the picture in full screen. Press the Esc key to return to normal view. There are comments at the bottom of the small pictures pictures. You may have to scroll to see the comments.
