STORY BY BONNIE COOPER
Wellington’s
RICH LEGACY CONTINUES TO FLOURISH
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WELLINGTON COUNTY IS A VIBRANT HUB OF AGRICULTURE ACTIVITY. ITS RICH, ROLLING FARMLAND, COUPLED WITH ABUNDANT FARM SUPPLIERS AND RESOURCES AND CLOSE PROXIMITY TO LARGE URBAN CENTRES, MAKES IT AN IDEAL PLACE FOR ITS DIVERSE FARMS.
Many agricultural institutions, businesses and research facilities now call this county home like Semex, Lactanet, EastGen, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The Ontario Agricultural College was established in the county’s largest city Guelph in 1874, and was joined by the Ontario Veterinary College in 1922. The two became founding colleges of the University of Guelph. Professors like George Raithby, Clare Rennie, Brian Kennedy, Ted Burnside, Larry Schaeffer and others have taught dairy classes there and shared their knowledge outside the classroom. Today, countless University of Guelph graduates contribute to the dairy cattle and agri-food industry.
old by Thornlea, sold for $10,000 to Claude Picket, Georgetown. A natural show cow with a stylish front-end, Lana went on to be Royal Winter Fair grand champion and All-Canadian and All-American aged cow later that year.
The first Canadian cow to make seven 1000-lb. fat records was O R G Jenny Rag Apple Pabst from the Ontario Reformatory, Guelph. She became Canada’s lifetime milk champion in 1963 with 264,292 lbs. milk. In 1968, the combined lifetime milk totals of Jenny and her six daughters made them a “Million Pound Family”. In the 1970s, Jenny headed Canada’s first three-generation line of 200,000-lb. milk producers.
Maughlin Storm EX-Extra, another of the breed’s most influential sires, was born in Wellington in 1991. Two-time Master Breeders Sandy McPhedran and son Mark of Maughlin Holsteins, Rockwood, named Storm after the local Ontario Hockey League team, the Guelph Storm. A high type bull and “cow-maker”, Storm produced many outstanding sons like Stormatic, September Storm and Talent.
Douglas Gregson earned two Master Breeder shields for his Oak Knoll herd at Hillsburgh. In 1963, Gregson bought Downalane Reflection Emperor EX-Extra as a yearling bull from Downalane Farms, Welland, for 1 use as a herd sire. Emperor became part of Western Ontario Breeders Inc. after being Reserve All-Canadian aged bull in 1967. Doug Wingrove of Allangrove Holsteins (residing then in Wentworth County) bought Emperor semen from Gregson and had some The Wellington County Holstein Club of the bull’s first milking daughters. was formed in 1938. The Club currently Those daughters created a sensation has 376 members. While it would take in the showring. Wingrove’s Allpages to cover all the top breeders and 2 Canadian Breeder’s Herds in 1971animals who have made Wellington County what it is today, here is just a sampling of some of Wellington’s 72-73-77 consisted almost entirely of Emperor daughters. In 1981, Wingrove relocated his Master Breeder herd to the Guelph area. amazing Holstein history.
The two-time Master Breeder Cherry Lane herd of brothers Bob and John Anderson, Harriston, was a long, respected herd. Cherry Lane Marquis Sarah Lee EX 9* was the matriarch of their Sarah family and the dam of two noted A.I. sons in the 1970s, Starbright EX-SP and Superstar EX-SP.
“Wellington County had two things that most counties didn’t have – they had United Breeders Inc. (UBI) and the Brubacher Sales Arena,” says Brent Walker of Walkerbrae Farms, Guelph.
UBI, the forerunner of Gencor and EastGen, was created in 1968 when the Waterloo, Maple and Lambton A.I. units amalgamated. Their new facility, located north of Guelph on Highway 6, welcomed Mary and R.D. Graham were a much beloved couple whose Grahaven its first bulls in 1969. herd at Erin was known for its exceptional quality. In 1954, Grahaven Sales managers Ray Brubacher and his brother Mike officially Milestone Mona was world champion junior 2-year-old for milk and opened their new Brubacher Sales Arena outside of Guelph in May fat. Grahaven Herdmaster Kim EX 7* became the foundation of the 1969. That sale arena would remain an integral part of the dairy cattle Kim family at Oak Ridges Farms, Oak Ridges. At the 1968 Grahaven marketing scene for nearly 47 years. Many breeders bought animals Dispersal, Barivue Pabst Lana EX 4*, the 1967 All-Canadian 4-yearthere that changed their lives forever like R.F. Brown of Browndale
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