STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANDREA EMOND
Beyond the Numbers
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WALNUTLAWN FARMS
ne would be hard-pressed these days to claim they haven’t heard the name Walnutlawn or the storied tale of the Zehr family’s leap of faith into the genomics game. This 70-cow herd from Tavistock, Ontario has turned out a surprising number of high genomic animals in the past eight years since purchasing gamechanger Misty Springs Lavanguard Sue VG-89-4YR-CAN 12* in 2011 from Dominique and Kathy Merminod of Misty Springs Holsteins in Little Britain, Ontario. The Zehr family achieved fame and fulfilled a lifetime goal when they put several of Sue’s offspring into A.I., including big-time names like Solomon and Sidekick. But perhaps most importantly, they’ve remained grounded, have held true to their values and continue to enjoy what they’re doing at every step along the way. Adam Zehr is the first to admit he was a skeptic when it came to genomics. “I thought it was just a big scam; it seemed ridiculous!” says the 35-year-old who represents the third generation at Walnutlawn Farms in Tavistock, Ontario. Then, in 2010, letting his curiosity get the best of him and having nothing to lose, he decided to genomic test six young Goldwyn daughters from one of the farm’s best cows and 2014 Cow of the Year finalist, Walnutlawn Gibson Jessica EX94-4E-CAN 9*.
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“We tested all six of Jessica’s Goldwyn daughters to compare how they ranked compared to each other,” he says. When they calved in as 2-year-olds, the one that had tested highest for conformation was indeed the highest-scoring cow of the bunch at VG-88 2yr. The other five cows fell right where their genomic tests indicated they would, including one at the bottom of the group that ended up being really low for fat. “At that point, we thought, ‘there’s something to these genomic numbers,’” says Adam. “‘Maybe we should do some more testing!’” Adam and his late father, Burnell, became quick converts to the genomics game, and it wasn’t long before they were on the hunt for a deep-pedigreed, high-tested cow that would yield them the type of offspring any great cow person would be proud to have in their barn. Being able to get a bull or two out of the deal to put into A.I. would make things that much sweeter. After some careful research – and a series of events that worked in their favour – the Zehrs found their front-runner in Misty Springs Lavanguard Sue VG-89-4YR-CAN 12*, a fresh 2-year-old they were serious about purchasing at the 2011 Sale of Stars. Sue was slated to be part of the highly anticipated sale, but was pulled by her owners who feared she wouldn’t be quite ready come sale time. Instead, the Zehrs ended up purchasing her privately from Misty Springs. W W W. O N TA R I O. H O L ST E I N . C A
Sue proved a wise acquisition from the start. In early January, just a few months after coming to live at Walnutlawn, she went 88-points. In April, she became the #1 cow in Canada for conformation and held that title for the remainder of the year. “To be honest, we were actually shocked at how marketable she was,” Adam says. “Every embryo you’d make, you could sell, but we attempted to make 2-3 pregnancies from each flush and sell the remaining embryos.” Sue has 6 Excellent, 11 Very Good and 1 Good Plus daughters to date, the most notable of which is Walnutlawn McCutchen Summer EX-94-4YR-USA 3*, now owned by Avant-Garde Group of Dundas, Ontario. Another daughter, Misty Springs Seagual Sunset is scored EX-93-2E and owned by Ardross Holsteins of Caledonia, Ontario. Through Sue, the Zehrs were able to realize their longtime goal of placing a bull into A.I. Four of Sue’s sons and multiple grandsons and great-grandsons have been sold to various studs since 2013, the most famous of which to date is Walnutlawn Solomon. Tens of thousands of doses of Solomon have been sold globally, according to Semex. Though he died in April 2018, breeders worldwide will appreciate his high-type daughters for years to come. Currently, Walnutlawn Sidekick is upand-coming, and in Adam’s eyes, he’s the best bull they’ve ever bred. Sue died in 2016, but will forever be known at Walnutlawn as the cow that put them on the genomics map. “I owe a lot to my parents,” says Adam. “They let me run with it. They gave me the financial support and they trusted me to go at this.” It should be noted that the Zehr’s success didn’t just happen. Adam did an incredible amount of reading to gain information and spent countless hours researching bulls on the Canadian Dairy Network’s website. He used these resources combined to come up with his own formula for success. “We were learning as we went,” he says. “We would do things again because they worked the first time.” That’s not to say that a certain level of luck was involved in that very first purchase. The year after buying Sue, the Zehrs also acquired Sandy-Valley Atwd Brady-ET EX-90-5YR from Sandy-Valley Farms in Wisconsin, and a year after that, Freurehaven FGS Laura EX92-5YR-CAN 1* from Freurehaven Farms in Wellandport, Ontario. Though they’ve enjoyed a level of success with these cows, Sue remains the headliner. “You can have the right cow, but you’ve got to have things fall your way, too,” Adam says. “The cow has to flush well.”
FARM, FAMILY & THE FUTURE Adam’s grandfather started the farm in 1957 and his parents, Burnell and Darlene, took over in 1992. Adam had always been involved growing up, and when he married his wife Bethany in 2006, the next logical step was to become a partner in the operation. Walnutlawn has long been a family affair, and a day rarely passes without Adam and Bethany’s kids, Blake (12), Reegan (9) and Easton (6), making their respective appearances to feed calves or bed cows. Though Burnell passed away in late 2017 after a five-year battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and is sorely missed, Darlene remains a shareholder and Adam still involves her in any major decision-making on the farm. Bethany is just starting to take over the books, and when she’s not busy with the kids, she spends her time volunteering on various committees at their school and at church. Fulltime herdsman, Cody Oughtred was hired on in December 2015 and is an integral part of day-to-day operations at Walnutlawn. The farm itself is a beauty, and even on the coldest of January days, time has been taken to lay down shavings and prepare the cows. Without question, attention to detail is a mainstay here. 2
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Adam’s goal in breeding is to breed nice cows that he enjoys milking every day. He focuses on type and places a lot of emphasis on health traits, which, with genomics, he believes are a “higher reliability and heritability than what they’re given credit for.” Daughter fertility and low SCC are given priority in this regard, and high fat remains the gold standard. Currently, bulls in the tank are Unix, Sidekick, Crushabull, Delta, Lautrust, Mirand, Haniko and Horizon. “We don’t flush many heifers, but when we do, I swing for a homerun,” he says. “If I’m already taking a chance, I may as well use a high-risk high-reward bull. Otherwise, we will flush them after they are calved in.” He also appreciates older cows and is proud to have several pushing 11 and 12 years of age standing in his barn today. His dad’s words, ‘if you look after the cows, they’ll look after you’ are always on his mind, and it pains Adam to have to put a cow down, regardless of her age. But, he says, “if I’ve done my best, that’s all you can really ask.” Burnell is on Adam’s mind a lot, these days, as he considers the farm’s future. If you had asked Adam even two years ago if expansion was in the cards, he would have told you no, and that, in fact, he was contemplating downsizing
1. The Zehr kids spend a recent snow day in the barn with their dad, Adam. From l to r, Blake, Reegan and Easton, 2. Adam shows off a few of his favourite cows that earned a special spot in the trophy case at Walnutlawn, 3. Just a few of the beauties in the barn, 4. Adam, Bethany and their kids celebrating the holidays with valued herdsman, Cody Oughtred (2nd from left) and his
girlfriend, Melissa Roi. PHOTO SUBMITTED. W W W. O N TA R I O. H O L ST E I N . C A
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“We have a strong Christian faith and believe when you’re on earth, you should enjoy every day and enjoy what you do.” - ADAM ZEHR the herd from its current 70 to around 40 milking cows. Now he’s thinking more about the next generation and what they will need in order to farm comfortably. To that end, he plans to embark on construction of a free-stall barn this spring to accommodate 110 cows on sand bedding, milking with two Lely A5 robots. The expansion will be better for the cows, Adam believes, and provide his family with more flexibility to enjoy sports such as hockey and soccer that aren’t always conducive to traditional milking schedules. Some may regard the decision as ‘spur of the moment’, but as Adam explains, it’s quite the opposite. A solo drive home last summer from a cottage in Bobcaygeon to rush back to the farm was Adam’s “a-ha” moment. When Bethany returned with the kids a few days later, she and Adam had an important discussion ahead of them. Shortly thereafter, Adam went to see Larry Krantz’s new barn and
chat with him. The next day, he called a builder. “There was no scenario we put together that pointed to waiting as being the better option,” Adam explains. Prior to Burnell’s passing, Adam had discussed the idea of robots with him and he was on board. But they both felt it made the most sense to wait until the kids were older and could decide if they wanted to be involved before moving forward. All that changed, however, after Burnell was gone. “Him and I were always really close,” says Adam. He goes on to describe a special moment they shared during Burnell’s final visit to the farm, Burnell is in his wheelchair, the two of them going through the barn, talking cows like always. “We have a strong Christian faith and believe when you’re on earth, you should enjoy every day and enjoy what you do,” says Adam. “With dad’s passing, that hits home now every day.”
ON JULY 20TH! Pique-nique
Come celebrate our club’s 100th anniversary
during the HolsteinQuébec at Nieuwenhof & Associates (LARELEVE)
8020, chemin Dundee centre, Dundee (Québec) J0S 1L0 2019 Master breeder herd, highest producing free-stall herd in Quebec 1.6 kg of fat/cow/day annually on Lactascan tool!
Herd Class.: 13 EX · 56 VG · 58 GP · 3 G | Prod. 2018 : 14,954 kg 3.8%F 3.2%P (335-346-336)
Program sponsored by
10:00 am Welcoming remarks, start of the Macleod Contest and Sandcastle Contest 1:00 pm Presentation of the host family and the Lareleve herd 2:00 pm Georges R. Gladu Showmanship competition 5:00 pm Cocktail and BBQ with Mojito Band 7:00 pm Pig Roast animated by DjFritz 10:00 pm Fireworks, dance and music with 4 Banger and DjFritz
And many more activities : Century Tag Sale, Food trucks, Booths, Inflatable games, Corn Maze, Sandbox, Volleyball tournament, Photobooth, Relaxation zone For more information visit: | Lareleve Holsteins or www.holsteinquebec.com
Thank you to our Presenter Sponsors
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