The Gleaner

Two milk producers from Dundee do well

le mardi 21 mars 2017
Modifié à 0 h 00 min le 21 mars 2017
Par Mario Pitre

mpitre@gravitemedia.com

The Soesbergen and Nieuwenhof farms, both located in the little Municipality of Dundee are among the winners of the Montérégie-Ouest Lait'Xcellent competition.

Both businesses were recognized for the excellent quality of the milk they produce, during the annual general meeting of the Producteurs de lait de la Montérégie-Ouest which was held on March 9th.

La ferme Soesbergen Farms, owned by the Soesbergen family, won Silver in the regional competition. Their herd is comprised of 90 lactating cows and their production reached an average of 10 500 kg per cow per year.

A new barn designed to provide optimum comfort for the cows was built in 2014.  According to the owners, the quality of the milk is a result of milk monitoring and an individualized follow-up of somatic cell count combined with a detailed protocol of vaccination and treatment.

The Bronze medal was awarded to ferme ADM Nieuwenhof which has a herd of 48 lactating cows and an average production of 10 400 kg per animal. The business won Silver at last year's competition.

According to owners, Denise Brisson, Adrien Nieuwenhof and Marie-Pier Nieuwenhof, the quality of milk is based on genetic selection that focuses on low somatic cell count and intramammary, pre-calving treatment in heifers. Milk testing during calving and when the somatic cell count is high also play an integral part in the quality of the milk.

Ferme des Murailles in Saint-Alexandre took Gold in the competition. The farm, which is held by Hans Ryser and Anne-Sylvie Forney, has a herd of 80 cows in lactation and an average production of 11 000 kg per cow per year.

These three dairy businesses were award winners for providing milk of exceptional quality among 433 producing farms in the Montérégie-Ouest.

Translated by Cathleen Johnston