Cross-Canada Connections

INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE THOMSON BY JENNA HEDDEN

HOLSTEIN BREEDERS AND ENTHUSIASTS ARE ACHIEVING GREAT THINGS ALL ACROSS OUR COUNTRY!

We are pleased to showcase the best and brightest here in our Cross-Canada Connections feature. Our goal is to bring you relevant coverage from across the country. We hope you find these connections interesting and encourage you to submit any of your own to the magazine for our next issue! PHOTOS 1. Gleann Barras Blush, 2. Line-up of cows awaiting the Classifier at Gleann, 3. The Thomson family (l-r): Craig Thomson, Janine Wilson, Betty Thomson, Bruce Thomson and Jack Thomson. PHOTOS SUBMITTED.

GLEANN HOLSTEINS BRUCE THOMSON HERD SIZE: MILKING 48 OPERATION TYPE: TIE-STALL LOCATION: ANTIGONISH, NS

1. What is your family’s history with Holsteins? Bruce Thomson (BT) My family has been farming at this location, just outside of town, since 1813. My father grew up on the farm and my mother moved to Canada from Holland in 1951. I purchased the farm in 1990 and am the sixth generation farming, but only the second with Holsteins. My parents, Frank and Betty, bought the first Holstein in the mid 1960’s. My Dad and I shared a Master Breeder Shield in 2005. Gleann cows have always been shown locally and to some degree, around the Maritimes. My father was an excellent cowman and entirely self-taught. My sister, Janine, and her family own Wilsonburg Holsteins and my brother, Jack, owns West River Holsteins. All of our kids were - and some still are - heavily involved in showing 4-H calves.

2. What makes dairy farming in your province so unique? What are some of the challenges? BT I’d have to say that Nova Scotian farms are almost all being run the same as they are in Ontario. I think we used to be different, with many more herds involved in shows and marketing. In my opinion Nova Scotia could have had the same reputation for type that PEI does, but many herds chose a different direction. There are still a number of us still at it, but far less than in the past. In the past, there

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3 was very little corn grown here but just the opposite is true now. There are very few farms that don’t feed corn silage and high-moisture corn in a TMR now. Most are in free-stalls. Most new barns have robots. My farm is none of the above. No vet in my area uses ultrasound and the best ET vets are in PEI. Almost everything here costs more, except land. Compared to Ontario it is cheap, unless bordering the ocean. A lot of land has been in families for several generations and is difficult to buy regardless of whether it is seriously farmed or not. I have good land all around me that I can’t buy or lease.

One of the biggest challenges is our ever-changing weather. My youngest brother travels the world as an airline pilot and says that this is one of the toughest places to predict weather. We have it all. It’s manageable, but most farms near water have a very hard time making dry hay. The ocean has a major influence on our weather, both good and bad.

The other challenge we have is distance from major markets, especially over the past few months. There are practically no cows being sold, in part because of this. Bull calves and beef cross calves always sell for far less than in Ontario and Quebec. Professional cow pictures are tough to have done when you really need them at times because very few of us even bother to have them taken anymore.

However, even with the drawbacks, Nova Scotia is a great place to live; people know their neighbours well. Over the past four months, Nova Scotians have become much closer as a result of having to deal with all the tragedy in the province. I doubt whether there has ever been a time when we have been prouder of where we live and who we are and how we are all connected in some way. If you were born here and moved away for a career, you will return. As passionate as I am about cows, sometimes they just don’t matter.

3. How do you stay connected to your local dairy industry? And to the Canadian industry? BT It is easy to be connected to the other farmers in Nova Scotia; there are only about 200 of us! Those of us that are still truly interested in breeding a great herd of high-typed cows with high lifetime production are very close, although with many local shows now gone, it’s difficult. There are not as many of us these days, in my opinion.

I am extremely proud to be a Canadian milk producer and even prouder that most of my milk is used at one of Canada’s leading ice cream plants, just over an hour drive from here. It was built by our local dairy but is now owned by Agropur. Our farm may have more direct consumer exposure than almost any other farm in the province. Consumers love what we do here. My milk quality is exceptionally high and we work hard to keep it that way.

4. What are your breeding goals? BT I find that many herds now, especially with genomics and the breeding systems that go with it, are very much the same. My goal is to breed cows (and not necessarily calves) that excite people. I want to stand out from the rest and be known for it. I have always wanted - and still want - a herd with true longevity. I have done all of these things to some degree but I’m certainly not a major player and still make too many mistakes. I totally believe in selling your best young cows when the money is right and using some of the money to flush cows so the base of your herd remains. I also believe that the best herds are built on maternal reliability, especially with most sires available these days being less reliable. That only comes with time and thought. I believe that constantly using middle-of-the-road bulls will result in that type of herd. There is a place for extreme bulls sometimes.

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received was from a really good former breeder from Ontario. About 25 years ago, Doug Wingrove told me that constantly breeding for type will eventually result in a herd with worse type. Every now and again you need to use a production bull. That was good advice. I like cows with dairyness and flatness of bone and very strong loins. I have never been a fan of really tall cows, although I have some that can handle their size. I totally believe in giving cows a chance to develop. Although there are some ridiculous things about the show ring, I believe that every single trait we look for in the ring except height of front end points toward long lifetime production.

5. Which cow in your barn is currently the “Heart of the Herd”? BT I probably have not bought a milking cow in at least ten years, but six years ago my fiancé, and now my wife Maria, and I bought five calves at the Lexis dispersal. One was Lexis Windbrook Gracious EX-92-2E. She is a great individual that has extremes about her. She has extreme capacity and spring of rib, extreme dairyness, extreme height and especially width of rear udder, extreme loin strength and pin setting, and the best legs most people have ever seen. However, as time passes, the best thing about her is that she passes it all on almost every time. She is reliable. Just ask any famous breeders like Jacobs, Idee, Kingsway, Conants, Mark Rueth, etc, they will tell you how rare that is. You can confidently flush this cow to almost any bull and start getting excited. I wish I could flush her far more. In 2019, her daughter was Mariah Beckett’s 4-H calf, while another was eighth summer yearling at the TD Classic. One of her other daughters by Atwood was the 2019 Intermediate Champion in Charlottetown for Eastriver.

6. What are you most proud of in your herd/operation? BT I have a good reputation for being honest when describing cows to sell and I price them accordingly and back it up. I have been able to sell my best young show cows and still maintain, as I’ve been told, an above average herd. As I have been farming for 30 years with almost exclusively student help, there have been two minor concussions and one stitch over that time period. Of the almost 100 I have hired, only two or three have had any farm experience. Many are still involved in agriculture in some way. One manages a 450 cow robot herd in Alberta. All those from Ontario have been excellent. At least half have been women. I’m very proud of the friendships I have made with these people. I am one of the few farmers around here that is still willing to train young people from scratch. We owe it to the next generation.

7. Being in the breeding business, what traits do you find sell the best? How do you market your farm’s genetics to the North American/global market? BT At the big money end, you need everything and you better be darn sure you have it before you ask someone to fly here. I have the greatest respect for those big players that took the time to travel here. Almost all of them have treated me with respect, too.

You need pedigree along with the chance to be top five at a national show. I have only sold a few of those ever but my goal is to have one every year. I won’t be the best person at the show but I think I know what it takes to prepare a cow at home for a buyer or a show. Little of that involves clipping.

If you are selling fresh cows to locals or away, production is obviously important. Cows from here almost always milk more in their new home where feeding is better than on this farm. People come here for honest cows that will last. I don’t value super tall cows but if you think cows should be 56 inches, they darn well better have impeccable udders or they won’t be around past two or three calves.

8. Which bulls do you feel have had the most impact on your herd over the years and today? BT It depends how far back you want to go. For my dad, those would be Northcroft Admiral Citation, Bootmaker, Monoak Mark Snow, Nelacres Johanna Senator, Rolling Lawns Brent, Starbuck.

For me: Inspiration, Aerostar, Rudolph, Jed, Integrity, Ripvalley Valiant Ni Russ, Leader, Red Marker, Champion, Duplex, Lauthority, Destry, Talent, Brady, Aftershock. Champion and Lauthority.

More recently: Lindy, Beemer, Unix, Defiant, Kingdoc, Summerfest, Arrow, Douglas, Analyst, Diamondback, Army/AppleCrisp, Jordy, Ammo P. THE Link SUMMER/FALL 2020 29