Breeder Feature

HARD WORK PAVES THE WAY FOR Success at Cnossome B uying a farm and starting your own Holstein herd isn’t easy. But that is exactly what Symen and Andrea Cnossen did in 2009. few ongoing farms for sale at the time, Andrea says, “We started looking for a farm where we could just start milking right away Today their attractive Cnossome Holsteins farm at Brunner, ON, is a because we needed money to make this work.” An empty tie-stall barn testament to the hard work, drive and commitment this Perth County on a farm near Brunner fit the bill. “When we bought this farm, the couple has put in to making their dairy operation viable and successful. first bank we approached told us we were nuts and were never going Symen and Andrea’s story begins in Europe. Both grew up on dairy farms, Symen in the Netherlands and Andrea in Switzerland. Symen was 17 years old when he went to work for a few months in 1997 at John and Tineke Boschma’s Bosside Holsteins farm in Prince Edward Island (now located in Wisconsin). “That was where the Holstein fires started,” states Symen. “I saw these beautiful Holstein cows in Canada. I wanted those kinds of cows and was determined to come back to Canada once I was done with school.” About the same time, his parents, Rudy and Hinke Cnossen, had also started thinking about looking at dairy farms in Ontario because of the agriculture circumstances in Holland. In 2000, the Cnossen family bought a farm at Elora and immigrated to Canada. They established Cnossen Holsteins, which is currently run by Symen’s brother Harry. to make this work. In fact, quite a few people told us that,” she recalls. “Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) had just started the New Entrant program and we were one of the first ones to be accepted into it,” says Symen. “We started with 35 kilos of milk quota. We bought 25 cows. We didn’t buy the cheapest cows. We wanted good cows. I also brought along 30 heifers that I owned from my parents’ farm. That’s how we started. Both Andrea and I did all the work, plus had part-time jobs off the farm for a few years to make ends meet. And we had little kids. It was really tough, but we did it. We worked hard. We had no choice.” One of the initial cows they bought, an Igniter who was only classified Good, would ultimately prove her worth producing three generations of EX cows carrying the Cnossome prefix – Avalanche Gabi EX-90, Epic Greta EX-90-2E and Sid Georgia EX-91. Andrea was 12 years old when her parents, Josef and Vreni Tschudi, In 2014-15, Andrea and Symen’s parents both transferred some milk moved their family to Ontario in 1992. They established Smilebrook quota to them as part of a farm succession plan. “That really gave Holsteins at Mitchell, where the farm is now run by Andrea’s brother us the wind in our backs,” remarks Andrea. “Up until that time, I Thomas. “I have always loved good cows,” Andrea says, “and I used wouldn’t say we were struggling financially,” says Symen, “but it was to tag along to every show and sale with my Dad.” tight. With the additional quota we were able to get things rolling.” After graduating with a degree in Animal Science from the University of Guelph, Andrea got a job working for Shur-Gain. That is how she met Symen. The couple married in 2007. The first calf they ever bought together under their own Cnossome prefix was a Jasper granddaughter of Rgncrest-RH Durham Bliss VG-89-USA-GMD, a full sister to Regancrest-PR Barbie. A daughter from that original calf, With the barn now full, but their existing cows unable to fill the added quota, the couple built an addition onto their barn and put in another 20 tie-stalls. Even then, the Cnossens continued to buy quota. “When you are financially stressed, buying quota is a good investment for down the road. It is like a ball that starts rolling and gets bigger. Things go easier,” says Symen. Cnossome Circuit Babe VG-88, would go on to make 123,517 kg of The Cnossens made other improvements to their 100-acre farm too, 4.8% milk lifetime for them, have five Superior Lactations, earn one including tiling all the land. They rent another 170 acres and grow Super 3 award, and pass her high fat trait on to all her offspring. alfalfa, corn for silage and grain, soybeans and winter wheat. A few Symen and Andrea decided to buy their own dairy farm in 2009. With years ago, however, they reached another critical juncture. Their tiestall facility was full again. The ventilation was bad in the barn and

STORY BY BONNIE COOPER

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PHOTOS 1. A recent aerial picture of Cnossome Holsteins reflects the many improvements the Cnossen family has made to this Perth County farm since buying it in 2009, including a new free-stall barn and parlour built in 2020, 2. Symen and Andrea Cnossen of Cnossome Holsteins, Brunner, ON, with their three children, from left in front, Ben, Ryan and Ella, 3. A glimpse of the new free-stall from inside shows comfortable, curious cows with great personalities, 4. A wintry scene at the farm taken in November 2022, 5. Some of the profitable cows that can be found at Cnossome Holsteins today, 6. Proud parents Andrea and Symen Cnossen with daughter Ella and Cnossome Mirand Nikita, a Polled, Red Carrier Mirand daughter who has genomically tested high for conformation, at the 2022 Western Junior Show, 7. The old tie-stall barn at Cnossome Holsteins now houses the herd’s calves and heifers. PHOTOS 3 AND 4 BY BONNIE COOPER, PHOTO 6 BY ANDREA EMOND; ALL OTHERS SUBMITTED.

dry and transition cows weren’t doing well because they had no extra space. The heifer barn was falling apart. Their milking equipment was 30 years old and needed replacing. “We looked at putting another piece on the tie-stall barn but realized we probably would need to hire full-time help. We had struggled to get even part-time help so we saw that as an issue. We decided we needed something that the two of us could handle ourselves,” explains Andrea. When they penciled the costs out, the Cnossens made the decision to build a new free-stall barn and parlour in 2020. The new barn features “tunnel ventilation”. “We really like our automated tunnel ventilation system because during the summer it keeps the barn really cool and comfortable for the cows,” says Symen. “Heat stress is not an issue anymore. Cows stay really persistent for production and reproduction. And it also eliminates problems with flies.” The freestalls are bedded with sand. The herd is divided into four groups in the barn – fresh cows, 2-year-olds, dry cows, and a bigger milking group. The cows are milked in a double-10 GEA parlour and fed a one group TMR of haylage, corn silage, supplement and chopped straw. Fresh cows also have unlimited access to dry hay. The farm’s calves are now housed in single pens, and then bedded pack, group pens, in the old tie-stall barn until they reach breeding age when they move to free-stalls. “Our goal is to calve our heifers out at 1 year, 11 months, but 2 years is perfect. You have a bigger animal, she can handle the calving easier and produces more persistently in that first lactation than if you calve her out earlier,” observes Symen. Joining Andrea and Symen on their journey has been their three children: Ben, 14, Ella, 12, and Ryan, 8. The kids have been actively involved in the farm since they were born. “We used to have the baby monitor in the barn with us in the morning and then every evening the kids would come to the barn with us. They still do. Our kids are very engaged in the farm today and are a lot of help,” say their proud parents. Ben and Ella are now in 4-H and both boys play hockey. The Cnossens believe it is important to be involved in the dairy industry. Andrea is President of the Perth County Holstein

“At the end of the day, we are Club and Symen is part of the Perth County Milk Committee. looking for the True Type cow. The Cnossen family currently milks 85 cows

We want a profitable, correct, who average 14,082 kg milk, 560 kg fat, 458 kg trouble-free and long-lasting protein (316-336-320). Their herd includes 5 animal that produces daughters EX, 54 VG and 25 GP cows. “When we started much like herself. What is good to classify, we had 33% VG cows. Now we are at 70% VG,” smiles Andrea. “While we love for this farm is what we focus good typed cows, our cows have to milk!,” she on and that is breeding for stresses. “Milk is number one here because we profitable cows.” have to make money. It also helps if they have a really great personality. A cow’s personality is - SYMEN & ANDREA CNOSSEN important because our kids are in the barn with us all the time and we want it to be fun working with the cows.” As she and Symen state, “At the end of the day, we are looking for the True Type cow. We want a profitable, correct, troublefree and long-lasting animal that produces daughters much like herself. What is good for this farm is what we focus on and that is breeding for profitable cows.” Symen and Andrea share a true passion for their “cows”. They talk about every mating together. They use conventional and sexed semen and about 10% beef semen in the herd. Young milking Unix, Sidekick and Tatoo daughters are showing a lot of potential here presently. One of the best genetic investments the Cnossens made early on were some Windbrook embryos from the Ravenswell Lydia EX-92-USADOM 19* family that they bought from Larry Krantz of Carldot Farms, Stratford. “Larry was really good to us because he knew we were starting up,” says Andrea. Those embryos resulted in Carldot

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Windbrook Leanne EX-90, who made 15,181 kg milk, 5.0% fat, 3.7% protein (289-387-322), and her full sister, Love VG-86 with 15,064 kg milk, 4.5% fat, 3.4% protein (311-383-329). The pair completed 13 generations of EX/VG and left a lot of descendants in the herd. Another group of Beacon embryos they purchased from Krantz gave rise to Carldot Beacon Daisy VG-85 and a GP full sister who were backed by eight EX/VG dams in the Hanoverhill Designer Miss EX 12* family. “Boy did they milk and so do their descendants,” exclaims Andrea. In April 2022, the Cnossens and Krantz bought an October 2021 Lambda heifer together, Valiant Spero Lambda Lotta. She also traces back to Ravenswell Lydia through the 2010 Royal Winter Fair Grand Champion, Winterbay Goldwyn Lotto EX-95-USA. “Lambda Lotta has the numbers and type and we are going to start flushing her soon,” says Andrea.

A recent purchase at the Welane Dispersal in Elmira has the Cnossens really excited. She is Martin-View Crushabull Bingo, a March 2021 Crushabull heifer from a VG-86 Doorman daughter of the popular Fraeland Goldwyn Bonnie EX-95-3E 16* at Fraeland Farms, Fergus. Bingo is A2A2 and due in the spring.

With their farm and herd now firmly established, the Cnossens’ next goals are “fine-tuning” things and paying more attention to the genetics they have. They began genomic testing all of their baby calves in early 2021. They are using genomics as a “guide” to help them identify the top and bottom 25% of their animals and then take that into account when breeding those animals. They have had some genomic “surprises” like Cnossome Mirand Nikita, a November 2021, Polled, Red Carrier Mirand daughter who came through with a GPA for Conformation of +13. She was Ella’s 4-H project calf this past year. “This is what I mean by fine-tuning,” says Symen. “When we started with genomics there were actually certain animals that we didn’t think were as high as what they were. We are going to pay more attention now to the genetic potential in our herd and then use that information to get our herd to the next level.”

Personable and down-to-earth, the Cnossens are grateful for the encouragement they received when they decided to farm. “When you start up a farm, and are financially stressed, you need to surround yourself with positive thinking people, people who will give you strength to overcome the hurdles you face,” says Symen. “I always say: We learn from our mistakes in the past, but we should never look back.”

Symen, now 42, and Andrea, 43, credit “hard work” and “focusing on their cows” as the keys to their success. “The one thing I think we have done right is focus on our cows,” reflects Andrea. “We bought good cows, bred them to good bulls, fed them good feed, and used lots of bedding to keep them in good shape. There is no secret to our management. You just need to do it well. Our cows pay for everything so we started with them. We don’t leave the barn until every problem is addressed.” And then, add the couple, you also need some “luck”. “We bought our farm just before land prices went through the roof. We built our barn literally before Covid and building materials skyrocketed. We have gotten lucky a few times.”

The Cnossens conclude, “While it hasn’t been easy, we really appreciate how far we have come and what we have today at our family farm. We don’t farm for the money, glory or fame. We do it for the way of life. That is why we farm.” It is that dedication and love for what they do that makes Symen and Andrea Cnossen and their family a great asset to Ontario’s, and Canada’s, Holstein and dairy industry.