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LINKED IN IS YOUR PAGE – IT WAS CREATED FOR YOU TO SHARE YOUR FARM UPDATES, FAMILY MILESTONES, FUNNY STORIES, UNIQUE PHOTOS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN WITH THE OVER 4,000 ONTARIO BREEDERS WHO READ THE LINK! WRITE US TODAY... WE’LL MAKE SURE YOU STAY “LINKED IN!”

MORNING CHAT

“Our favourite part of the day is sitting and talking with the cows before milking,” says Jess Martin who farms with her husband, Ian, at Margrove Holsteins in Elmira, Ont. Their one-year-old son, Brodie, has grown up around the cows and Jess captures and shares special moments like these often. PHOTO BY JESS MARTIN.

2022 ARBOR AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to Cathy Stockdale, appearing above, left, who was a recipient of 4-H’s distinguished Arbor Award. Cathy was recently recognized at 4-H Ontario’s Volunteer Conference and Annual Meeting in Richmond Hill, Ont. She farms with her husband, David, under the Embrdale Farms prefix in AsphodelNorwood and has been a volunteer for close to 30 years. Other winners presented with the honour included Raymond Wilson, Hamilton-Wentworth and Janet Campbell, Chatham-Kent. To be eligible for the award, 4-H Ontario volunteers must be nominated by their local 4-H Association. Nominees must have shown significant leadership, initiative and made a positive impact on

4-H at various levels. PHOTO BY JOHN DRUMMOND.

GO KNIGHTS GO!

On Wednesday March 2, 2022, Holstein club members from Perth, Huron, Middlesex, and Oxford counties made their way to the Budweiser Gardens to watch the London Knights face off against league rivals, the Guelph Storm. “It was a great game, and well worth the price of admission for three solid periods of hockey, followed by overtime and a shootout!” says Perth County Club Director Dave Van Den Tempel. In the end, London edged out the storm 4-3. “Fellowship amongst the dairy farmers was strong and food, drinks and laughs were plentiful,” he adds. PHOTOS BY DAVID VAN

DEN TEMPEL AND KATHRYN LAMBERT. EL Congratulations to Canada’s top managed dairy herds for 2021, as recently recognized by Lactanet based on RANK FARM OWNERS Herd Performance Index (HPI). The official unveiling of winners took place on February 22, 2022 at a 1 Stewardson Dairy Inc Jeff, Brenda & Dylan Stewardson virtual event streamed online.

2 Estermann Farm Inc The following six indicators make up the HPI, as obtained through customer milk recording: milk value, udder health, age at first calving, herd efficiency, longevity and calving interval. According to Lactanet, this information tells a story about the sustainability and health of each respective dairy operation. Ontario herds placing in the top 25 across Canada were as follows:

Martin & Regula Estermann 3 Heerdink Farms Ltd Albert & Hans Borgijink 4 Heidi Farms Inc Paul Oeggerli 5 Rosenhill Farm Inc André & Judith Hildbrand

1 STEWARDSON DAIRY INC 6 Summitholm Holsteins

Jeff, Brenda & Dylan Stewardson 3 HEERDINK FARMS LTD 7 Larenwood Farms Ltd

Albert & Hans Borgijink 4 HEIDI FARMS INC 8 Ferme Seric Inc

Paul Oeggerli 5 ROSENHILL FARM INC 9 B. Lehoux et Fils Inc

André & Judith Hildbrand

6 SUMMITHOLM HOLSTEINS 10 Pfister Dairy Farm

Joe Loewith & Sons

7 LARENWOOD FARMS LTD Chris McLaren11 Alexerin Dairy Inc

10 PFISTER DAIRY FARM

Pfister Family12 Honeywood Paradise Arjan & Helen Haanstra

11 ALEXERIN DAIRY INC

Ron, J13 udy, Todd & Erin Nixon Martin et Renaud Boutin Inc Maxime Boutin

12 HONEYWOOD PARADISE

Arjan & Helen Haanstra14 Les Fermes Turmel Inc Benoît, Nicolas

21 BELMORAL FARMS LTD

David15 & Mitch Kieffer Ferme Drahoka Inc Francis & Sylvain Drapeau

<< HOLSTEIN CANADA 16 Ferme Jomar Inc HOSTS VIRTUAL MASTER 17 Ferme Karibel Inc BREEDER REVEAL! 18 Sunny Point Farms Ltd

Phillip & Lori Vroegh Over 2,500 Holstein enthusiasts tuned in to watch the live unveiling of Canada’s 19 newest Master 19 Ferme S.M. Perreault (2007) Inc Serge, Mireille Breeders on Saturday, January 15, 2022. This was the second edition of this virtual event, hosted by Brad 20 Ferme JYM Inc Yvan & Jacques Michaud Eggink, Manager, Classification and Field Services, and Audrey Morneau, a young dairy producer from 21 Belmoral Farms Ltd David & Mitch Kieffer Quebec. The excitement of the winners was unmistakable as the awards were announced, as live feeds provided viewers with a glimpse into celebrations from living rooms across the country. Congratulations to the winners, including the four from Ontario profiled in this issue, and compliments to Holstein Canada on another successful virtual awards ceremony. PHOTOS

22 Ferme Belgarde Inc Pierre, Jean & 23 Ferme Larigyber Inc Richard Lachance 24 Ferme Claude Larocque Inc Claude, Alexandre 25 Ferme Rotaly Enr Rock Hébert &