WEBVTT

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Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on

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the boots and a working hand. From the milk house

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home to the auction call. These are the folks

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standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome

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to the Bullvine Podcast, where we challenge everything

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you think you know about dairy farming. I'm your

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host, and today we have an absolutely mind -blowing

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story that's going to make you rethink your entire

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breeding program. Get this. A 72 -cow tie stall

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operation from Saskatchewan, yes, Saskatchewan,

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just became the first and only farm in history

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to breed two different World Dairy Expo Holstein

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Grand Champions. Not one. Two, while megadairies

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with unlimited budgets were chasing genomic rabbits

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down million -dollar holes, Michael and Jessica

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Lovitch were quietly proving that looking at

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actual cows still beats computer algorithms.

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In this exclusive interview with Andrew Hunt,

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you're about to hear how they did it, why they

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sold both champions to keep farming, and what

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their success means for every dairy farmer who's

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been told they're too small to compete. If you're

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ready to have your assumptions challenged, let's

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dive in. I sent you the questions kind of ahead

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of time. Not that we were going to follow it

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to a T, but I was trying to give you kind of

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the stuff we were going to go over, but kind

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of give you a heads up. But I think you guys

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know what the gist of our message is, since that's

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what we were texting all about. So we'll get

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rolling, but I do appreciate you guys joining

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us. So cool. No problem. So let's get started.

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uh first of all uh maybe just walk me through

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the kind of key moment here is when uh aaron

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eaton named uh candy came grand champion uh what

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were you guys doing and uh kind of what was it

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like for you guys to watch that moment well i

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was at home doing chores um because it was a

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last minute decision to send michael down to

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expo We just needed to be done harvest and all

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that kind of stuff. So I was following along

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kind of and decided I would come in for lunch

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to watch the show, but I really couldn't even

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eat lunch. So I was kind of just puttering around

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in the kitchen watching the class. And it was,

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yeah, nerve wracking actually to see her in the

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ring with all those other big name cows because

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it was the first time she's. done that in her

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show career so that was exciting nerve -wracking

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on the same same moment i guess so yeah that's

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that's where i was at here at the farm and mike

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you made it down with us then at expo yeah i

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was in the stands and uh throughout the day i

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went back to the stall one time there to look

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at her just to see where things were at she was

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laying down and had a quick conversation with

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jamie and um jonathan and yeah he said uh i think

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she just needs to lay down for a bit and we'll

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go from there and i never went back to the stall

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after that i kind of sat there all day and watched

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and yeah when the five -year -olds come in they

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come in you're kind of nervous but uh as he was

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kind of making his final looks and everything

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else he kind of walked to each one of those three

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cows there at first and yeah i was Probably the

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most nervous guy in the barn because I was shaking

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so bad I couldn't even hold my phone for pictures.

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My heart felt like it was going to pop out of

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my chest. It's kind of a feeling you can't describe.

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That was kind of an amazing class. I wouldn't

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call her an underdog, but she was certainly one

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that wasn't coming in as a hands -on favorite.

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This was kind of the nervous moments. How good

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does she look probably feeling? Because certainly

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she looked great, but you never know when you

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get into that kind of tough sledding at Expo

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there. Yeah, and just with the speaking with

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Alicia earlier on or whatever in the week, and

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she just said, oh, if we get a good look and

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she gets in a top spot like pulled or whatever,

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you're going to have to make sure you get a cheering

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section to cheer. i said i'm not much of a screamer

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to show but when she got the first pull there

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was a big roar so i was uh yeah pretty happy

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for that moment yeah it wasn't you that was making

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the noise wasn't me making the noise but uh it

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was somebody tapped me and said are you happy

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i said nope not until we're in the final lineup

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i said it's there is no sitting down until he

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does his Reasons. Reasons, and we get the nod

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for first place. I said, it's only the first

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pull. So I said, there's no celebrating yet.

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But, yeah, it was quite something. It's interesting

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because you mentioned his reasons. And in his

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reasons, I think he even said, like, the second

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she came in the ring, he thought it was game

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over. So I think he'd made his decision quick.

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But you were still holding out just to make sure

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he didn't change his mind. Yeah. And I was very

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close to listen to reason, especially like first.

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And yeah, I don't, I won't forget that when he

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said, when this five -year -old hit the ring,

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it was game over. That's incredible. That's,

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that's a feeling as a breeder that it gives you

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goosebumps, makes the hair on your back, stand

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up on your neck. And yeah, it's, it's quite something.

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It's quite something. It's quite interesting

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because as photographers, we actually listen

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to the judges' reasons quite heavily because

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it helps us when it comes to Grand to know kind

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of which one the judges fell in love with and

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which ones doesn't. And when we came to the senior

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champion time, Jen and I both came to each other

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and I said, we both said the same cow. We said,

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based on his reasons, I think it's her. I said,

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I think so too. And sure enough, he did. He did.

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And at a show like that, kind of have her named

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Grand Champion. You know, for most people, it's

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a once in a lifetime. But for you guys, this

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is the second time. So, you know, that's kind

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of extremely unique. Actually, it's the first

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time ever that it's ever been done. You know,

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maybe just to recap, you know, with the first

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time it happened for you guys, explain what are

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your memories of that or how that came about?

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Well, I was at Expo when Patricia was reserve.

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The year before. In 14. Yeah. And yeah, I was

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sitting, I remember it. I was sitting beside

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my buddy, Matt Clark from New Brunswick and Dale

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Beanert was in the stands there and he pulled

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out his final three and he looked at me and he

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said, do you just realize that you're finishing

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no lower than reserve? Because he pulled out

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the two five -year -olds in the age cow, he says.

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regardless of how this goes, you can't finish

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any lower than reserve. And it never dawned on

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me until like, cause at first you got all kinds

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of thoughts going through your mind. Right. Yep.

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So yeah, he says, you're, he said, you're no

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lower than reserve. And yeah, he tapped Haley

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at that time and Patricia reserve and Valen honorable.

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And yeah, it was, uh, yeah, I guess it's feelings.

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You just, yeah. Like you dream of all the time,

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but you never, I never think it's going to happen,

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but when it does, it's, yeah, it's indescribable.

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And she did come back the next year to get her

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done. To win, yeah. So that was pretty sweet.

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And that year we couldn't go. We just had too

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much going on. We were actually moving. That

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was the year we moved, so we weren't able to

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go, but we sure didn't have a barn party that

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week. It was a going -away barn party. I think

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it was a classifier night or something, too.

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Yeah. You rolled them all into one real big party,

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then. Yeah. That one was pretty cool. That one...

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I guess that one was different because we hadn't

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spent as much time with Patricia as we had with

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Candy Cane. yeah the decision to let her go was

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based on finances and she went through the convention

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sale yeah that's a nice two -year -old yeah first

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of all right and we were happy with that right

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and then she just got into the right hands with

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nathan thomas taking her first and he's a good

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cow guy right so great guy yeah and then from

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there she just kind of kept developing too so

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yeah now Just refresh for me, Candy Cane, you

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guys had her up until Spring Show this year or

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recently? When did you sell Candy Cane to Oakfield?

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Spring of 2024. 2024, last year. That's what

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I thought. Yeah, we showed her as a four -year

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-old Saskatoon. Yeah. With Aaron. Yeah, I want

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to say Aaron was a judge then. Aaron was. Aaron

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was. In chatting with him afterwards, Aaron was.

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Because he commented that he barely, not barely

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remembered, but he remembered her, but was extremely

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impressed with how far she's come along. And

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obviously he was because he made her grand. So

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to say he was impressed was an understatement

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at the least when you're grand champion at World

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Dairy Expo. Yeah. Well, and she turned some heads

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at Saskatoon. We had a lot of interest. We had

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a lot of interest in her. She's a slower maturing

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cow, which is kind of the way we like it here.

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So, yeah, she didn't come out as a two -year

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-old, you know, like some of the other ones do.

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But that's okay. Her story was a bit different.

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But she's a different style than I would say,

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what I'll call them, the bigger, more massive.

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two -year -olds she's one who's actually come

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into herself as a mature cow or as she gets older

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then probably she wasn't probably a big massive

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cow as a young cow i wouldn't assume by the way

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she looks now no because to be honest the cows

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that are on the money is two -year -olds you

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never see them back not always very seldom very

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seldom like you stop and figure out how many

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two -year -olds were hot as two -year -olds okay

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you know what apple did it she looked good as

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a two -year -old and she got She matured well,

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right? Yep. But a lot of them, when they're big

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-name two -year -olds, yeah, you know what? Sometimes

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they got no more room to mature into an older

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cow. And it's stressful on them. Yeah. Well,

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there are two factors. First is the stress of

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the show and stress of calving them that quickly,

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that often, and trying to have them still mature

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and develop. hard to do i know that you get a

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lot of interest out of those cows that do well

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at the shows and stuff sometimes it's embryo

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interest or whatever and you know what when you

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start flushing and stuff they lose time and maybe

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they don't cap back in or don't catch right away

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and let's face it those cows that take a year

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off sometimes they just never come back yeah

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not everyone Well, I would say if you take, we

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did a thing one time looking at the number of

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two -year -olds that came back as five -year

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-olds, just trying to see how often. And it's

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a very short list, very short list. And then

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if you look at the number of cows. Now, if you

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correlate it to maybe three and four -year -olds,

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the correlation goes way up, though. Once they've

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had that second calf and they start getting going,

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then you start to see more correlation into the

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ones that mature better. But that first calvers

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onwards, very low. That depends too on what the

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judge is looking for. If he picks a two -year

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-old that's a little immature, she might come

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back a few more times. Right? Yes. And the style

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is headed that way more now, but for a long time

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it was not that way. We'll word it that way.

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We're working on getting better, but even candy

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cane would be more of a style that's more of

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a modern style. Um, even if you look, I think

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when I was looking at it here, when you look

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at the two cows, Patricia and Candy Cane, as

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much as they have a lot of similarities, they

00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:35.639
also like, uh, Candy Cane, I would say is very

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much more of a modern style. Like you, she's

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not a, I would, I'd say a cookie cutter to her.

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I guess I call it great aunt. I'll call it, uh,

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that had done it before. Patricia was not a tall

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cow either. No, no, no, no. Balanced and long.

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Very long. Very long cow. So, what makes me ask

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you the question is, is this something, like,

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do you breed for show type, or how would you

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describe your breeding strategy? They've got

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to be balanced. And functional. And we do breed

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for a lot of type. And probably not as much for

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milk as many would, but I just... I think it's

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funny because she wins the five -year -old class

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and she wins the production record too. So it

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just goes to show you can make cows milk. Well,

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we were always taught that if you have a functional

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cow, like if classification is following what

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it's supposed to do to create functional cows,

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then functional cows should make milk. And yes,

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there are some type bulls that don't. produce

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milk right but cows that are being fed properly

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and are functionally correct should make milk

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so that's the basis of our herd we like to milk

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pretty cows we'll call them right we like to

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make beautiful cows um but they have to be functional

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and they do have to work at the end of the day

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we don't keep cows that don't fill the bulk tank

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either because we can't afford to no one no one

00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:20.980
really can afford to do that anymore and sometimes

00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:23.820
maybe they're not a 12 000 kilo two -year -old

00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:27.799
but they got high fat and it balances out where

00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:30.899
they're still paying the bills so we'll uh we'll

00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:33.179
take a slower maturing heifer that maybe takes

00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:37.120
a couple lactations to make a big record but

00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.879
it has she hasn't had a free ride because she's

00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:42.440
done it in fact or whatever right so she's still

00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:47.000
she's still making the money Now, maybe for people

00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.919
to understand, like you're not a 500 or a thousand

00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.879
head dairy farm where you have a lot of cows

00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:57.379
to help cover the bills. Maybe describe for people

00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.019
kind of what is your operation there in Saskatchewan?

00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:08.360
We're a 70 cow tie stall barn. It's not fancy,

00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:14.789
but it's pretty functional. It's an older farm,

00:16:14.909 --> 00:16:18.289
so anyone that's been in Western Canada recognizes

00:16:18.289 --> 00:16:23.830
the Strudwick name. So we did take over. We bought

00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:25.769
their farm. We bought the Prairie Diamond Farm

00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:30.470
from the Strudwicks. And yeah, they were fantastic

00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:33.889
partners when we moved in, like, for people to

00:16:33.889 --> 00:16:36.690
purchase from, because they're cow people. They

00:16:36.690 --> 00:16:39.750
were very much active members of Holstein Association

00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:42.730
and everything as well. Yeah. But the herd come

00:16:42.730 --> 00:16:45.909
with us from, from Sheridan. Yeah. The cows all

00:16:45.909 --> 00:16:48.669
came. So we just bought the facility. Okay. Yep.

00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:54.570
Yep. So, uh, yeah, the cows all moved in 2015.

00:16:55.269 --> 00:16:59.909
Um, and along with them came three little girls

00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:04.289
and just Michael and I. So for the last 10 years

00:17:04.289 --> 00:17:10.809
yet, we have worked quite hard. to get up and

00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:13.250
established and going on our own and we've been

00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:17.430
very blessed um with the cows that have come

00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:20.710
through our barn that we've bred and also with

00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.490
the people that have attached themselves to us

00:17:23.490 --> 00:17:27.009
and we really owe a lot to the team that we have

00:17:27.009 --> 00:17:31.869
around us friends neighbors mentors family you

00:17:31.869 --> 00:17:34.829
know without the people around us it would be

00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:37.690
a different story as well And both parents come

00:17:37.690 --> 00:17:39.950
from Derry backgrounds, so it's not like we jumped

00:17:39.950 --> 00:17:41.589
into something we didn't know what we were doing.

00:17:42.130 --> 00:17:49.769
Well, no, and I said with Jessica, before we

00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:52.230
were recording, I was reminiscing that her family

00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:55.250
has a show history. That's how I am familiar

00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:59.390
that way with Acme Star Lily. Can you kind of

00:17:59.390 --> 00:18:01.309
give us a bit of your background, Jessica, and

00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:03.349
kind of your family and come to the highlights

00:18:03.349 --> 00:18:06.619
that way, if you don't mind? For sure. I grew

00:18:06.619 --> 00:18:09.059
up at Crestmare Holsteins, Evan Merrilee Simonton.

00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:14.420
Yeah, I grew up showing cows. My dad is very

00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:17.559
passionate about his Holsteins and genetics.

00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:21.660
So we grew up in the show ring. And then they

00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:24.619
were the owners of Acme Star Lily and later had

00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:27.519
partners with Alta Genetics and Continental Holsteins.

00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:32.299
had a fun ride um through my early teenage years

00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:37.180
being a part of that um and my my dad still is

00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:39.720
in the barn he still milks cows with my brother

00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:43.500
lee um and crestamere still exhibits cows they're

00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:48.920
some of our biggest competitors and my sister

00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.700
still shows cows as well she's moved over to

00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:56.339
jerseys with the charlin farms with the kingdoms

00:18:56.339 --> 00:19:00.250
in ontario so Still a very, very active show

00:19:00.250 --> 00:19:02.329
family. It's kind of where we have our family

00:19:02.329 --> 00:19:05.309
reunions is at the show barns for the most part.

00:19:07.009 --> 00:19:10.710
Three different provinces, right? I saw some

00:19:10.710 --> 00:19:13.069
of your nieces and your sister just about a month

00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:16.410
ago in Ancaster at the show with your brother

00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:20.210
-in -law. They're very, very active in the Jersey

00:19:20.210 --> 00:19:23.990
breed. I wouldn't say they've gone very heavily

00:19:23.990 --> 00:19:26.190
Jersey, but that's obviously because of John's.

00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:31.140
John comes from the Jersey background. He was

00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:34.660
an associate at Expo there and did a fabulous

00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:40.420
job. Michael, if you don't mind sharing your

00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:42.460
family's background and how you got into all

00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:48.980
this. My mom and dad started the registered Holsteins

00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:52.359
in 1978. That's when the prefects was registered.

00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:57.660
so that was a few years after they got married

00:19:57.660 --> 00:20:03.220
they yeah started milking cows feeding pigs and

00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:06.099
then it turned into like they started chipping

00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:09.740
cream at first but then it turned into quota

00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:11.700
and stuff like that and they bought some registered

00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:16.359
cows and got going they uh raised three boys

00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:20.720
on the farm so yeah being teenage boys i can't

00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.950
imagine that was easy at the time but uh Somehow,

00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:28.490
somehow they made it through it. And yeah, but

00:20:28.490 --> 00:20:33.150
I don't know. I started doing a few shows or

00:20:33.150 --> 00:20:35.170
maybe the first show I went to, I met Jessica.

00:20:35.670 --> 00:20:40.650
Sure did. And after that, I guess that sparked

00:20:40.650 --> 00:20:42.789
something that took a few years of convincing

00:20:42.789 --> 00:20:47.509
to get her on the same page. But after some negotiating

00:20:47.509 --> 00:20:50.049
and her realizing there wasn't any better options,

00:20:50.109 --> 00:20:53.819
then, you know, I succeeded. Are you trying to

00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:55.920
say there's limited options in the West, or are

00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:59.000
you just being humble? I'm just saying, I think

00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.519
she was checking out other options, but yeah,

00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:04.859
when she came down to it, I was the best that

00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:08.839
was available at that time, maybe. I will refrain

00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:13.660
from commenting. I will add, though, that Michael

00:21:13.660 --> 00:21:16.859
has... been breeding the love hill prefix herd

00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:20.039
since he was 15 years old he has been in charge

00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:23.339
of the breeding decisions there so the love hill

00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:29.220
herd that you see is largely based on his decisions

00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:32.779
and the help that he received when he was in

00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:36.180
his early teen years and i and my mom and dad

00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:39.839
letting me do it yeah like absolutely yeah And

00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.039
when I came along, I introduced them more into

00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:44.720
showing. It was actually Skycrest Holsteins that

00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.339
brought us together. Another Western pro -herd.

00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:52.539
Great, great family. Yep, that we're both friends

00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:57.640
with. So I guess when we got together, then he

00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:00.920
came more to the shows, which was perfect for

00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:02.819
him because Michael's always had an interest.

00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:07.549
He was probably... born one generation too late

00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:10.809
because he is a lot like the dale beanerts of

00:22:10.809 --> 00:22:15.470
the world and the worm atkins you know just love

00:22:15.470 --> 00:22:19.410
cows and it's actually to dale beanert's credit

00:22:19.410 --> 00:22:22.890
also that we have such a tremendous k family

00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:27.329
because that is where the uh beanert encounter

00:22:27.329 --> 00:22:30.240
kim came from yeah yeah think about that when

00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.559
you go back yeah which is the that's katricia's

00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:36.960
dam yeah and that was a deal between michael

00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.579
and and dale and however that all worked out

00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:42.799
but i believe we were at skycrest when dale approached

00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:47.380
me they just built their tie stall bar yep and

00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:49.859
dale said uh i have a cow for you if you want

00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:51.519
something with good pedigree and i said well

00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.259
always like interested but i said i don't know

00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:58.829
like are you talking big money he said no He

00:22:58.829 --> 00:23:02.589
said, if you're interested, send your mom and

00:23:02.589 --> 00:23:05.309
dad with a check and I'll make it happen. And

00:23:05.309 --> 00:23:11.849
it did. My mom and dad went to pick up this cow

00:23:11.849 --> 00:23:14.970
that was springing with her second calf. She

00:23:14.970 --> 00:23:19.769
was bred to blitz at the time. We had a bull

00:23:19.769 --> 00:23:24.150
calf and she never made it in Dale's dispersal

00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:26.769
because she had calved a month early as a heifer.

00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:30.039
uh so never made much on her i think she went

00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:33.960
84 points as a two -year -old for dale and then

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:38.200
uh we kept her in for the second time and yeah

00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:41.039
i uh when my mom and dad got home with her i

00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:43.700
said so what does she look like and they're like

00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:49.640
yeah looks like a springing cow so and he was

00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:54.009
nothing fancy and She didn't work overly hard.

00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:58.569
At that time, we never fed a TMR or nothing.

00:23:59.230 --> 00:24:02.089
I think in six lactations, she never made 60

00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:08.210
,000. It was a different time back then where

00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:12.730
they never pushed anything for milk. In 2009,

00:24:12.910 --> 00:24:18.079
you did breed her to Goldwood. I did. That was

00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:19.980
a good decision. Yeah, and now I'm trying to

00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:22.380
think how old I would have been in 2009. You

00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:30.259
were married two years. You're about 27. And

00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:32.799
Patricia was born on my birthday. Oh, really?

00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:36.339
Did not know that. Okay, okay. She's named after

00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:38.559
your cousin. Yeah, and I had a little cousin

00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:41.720
at that time named Patricia, so that's how she

00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:46.609
got that name. Oh, wow. Those omens all certainly

00:24:46.609 --> 00:24:51.029
worked out well as she matured. Now, I think

00:24:51.029 --> 00:24:52.869
you said you sold her as a two -year -old or

00:24:52.869 --> 00:24:55.069
just as a young cow originally? Two -year -old.

00:24:55.130 --> 00:25:01.150
She was fresh. Fresh. Dale Beaner picked her

00:25:01.150 --> 00:25:06.190
for a national convention sale in Manitoba that

00:25:06.190 --> 00:25:10.569
year as a bred heifer. She was due right after

00:25:10.569 --> 00:25:16.159
Christmas, and we sold her in March, April. yeah

00:25:16.159 --> 00:25:21.680
so captain she was very good as a two -year -old

00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.839
i even think i think at that time john peters

00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:27.039
might have scored her or somebody like that yeah

00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:31.700
at that time you know what we wanted to get better

00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:34.720
cows and stuff so you know what letting letting

00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:37.279
a cow like that go at that time was like not

00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.990
easy but It worked out. Well, she went to TNL

00:25:40.990 --> 00:25:44.890
and from TNL. She went to Van Exel Entourage

00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:48.990
and Nathan and On to Butler's on the milk source

00:25:48.990 --> 00:25:52.490
and yeah, just you know got the job done. She

00:25:52.490 --> 00:25:58.130
did she did indeed and then In 2015 she got the

00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:01.869
big job done. So yeah as you mentioned earlier

00:26:01.869 --> 00:26:06.210
2015 was a busy year for you guys busy busy because

00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:09.359
the what why Just because of the farm that was

00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:11.299
available or why the move from Alberta? Because

00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.599
you're both Alberta kids. What was the prompting

00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:19.220
to the Saskatchewan move? Needing a farm to milk

00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:23.579
it at that point. Okay. We had milked with Michael's

00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:27.940
parents for about eight years. Yeah. Since we

00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:32.039
were married. And there was just a lot going

00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:38.019
on and succession plan was not working the way

00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:42.880
we had hoped it would and so just the way it

00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.720
all shook out in the end is we purchased a farm

00:26:45.720 --> 00:26:47.980
in Saskatchewan it was what was available to

00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:51.240
us at that time but we could make work just to

00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:56.799
get going and keep milking cows so that's just

00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:00.279
the way it shook out and we don't dwell on There

00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.779
you go. We look forward. In two or three years

00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:06.180
now, who knows? And you know what? It was maybe

00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:08.779
the best move that could have ever happened to

00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:13.380
us. Yeah. That's how we came to be here. And

00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:15.920
the Strudwick Farm was available. And they were

00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.960
looking for someone to move in. And the rest

00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:24.039
of Western Canada was not available. And that

00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.539
is a tricky one. Now, you guys have the motto.

00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.240
From my homework here, it's all about the cows.

00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:33.359
Now, and you talked about kind of the throwback

00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:36.019
to Dale Bienert and Norm Atkins and everything.

00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:40.180
So are you someone who uses genomics or data

00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:42.900
or that stuff heavily, or do you still go by?

00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:46.599
Genomics, what are those? Okay, that's what I'm

00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:50.599
asking. I'm just saying, when Jessica said about

00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:54.970
you being a throwback to them. I figured I already

00:27:54.970 --> 00:27:57.589
knew the answer to this question. So when you

00:27:57.589 --> 00:27:59.690
make your breeding decisions, how do you make

00:27:59.690 --> 00:28:02.549
your breeding decisions then? You know what?

00:28:02.609 --> 00:28:06.930
Genomics is there. I have a hard time using it

00:28:06.930 --> 00:28:11.309
as a breeding tool because in our instance, a

00:28:11.309 --> 00:28:14.910
lot of our cows are old. And I can use a new

00:28:14.910 --> 00:28:20.750
bull on a cow that's excellent 94, that's 5E.

00:28:21.470 --> 00:28:24.029
And I will not get genomic numbers. I don't care

00:28:24.029 --> 00:28:26.930
what new bull I use because my cows are so old.

00:28:28.309 --> 00:28:32.349
So it's there. It's not like we don't use any

00:28:32.349 --> 00:28:35.049
genomic bulls. It's just not the tool that we

00:28:35.049 --> 00:28:37.630
use. Yeah. You're not basing it off of that.

00:28:37.630 --> 00:28:39.230
It's your number one decision. You're right.

00:28:40.150 --> 00:28:43.890
Pacifiers, milk recording, cow families. Cow

00:28:43.890 --> 00:28:45.849
families. There's probably number one. Yeah.

00:28:46.190 --> 00:28:48.309
Cow families would be number one. If I don't

00:28:48.309 --> 00:28:50.750
like the bull that the family's out of, we won't

00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:55.049
use them. Okay. So that's still a key part to

00:28:55.049 --> 00:28:58.549
your decision -making process. Well, when I see

00:28:58.549 --> 00:29:02.869
bulls that are out of three unscored dams, I

00:29:02.869 --> 00:29:04.609
don't care what the numbers are. I can't use

00:29:04.609 --> 00:29:08.430
them. Yep. Yep. They just don't make sense for

00:29:08.430 --> 00:29:12.250
me to jump on that bandwagon. Well, and I think

00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:14.890
based on the comments you've made and the longevity

00:29:14.890 --> 00:29:18.150
of the age of the cows you have, I think you're

00:29:18.150 --> 00:29:20.390
looking for the, you want families to pass on

00:29:20.390 --> 00:29:23.789
what they've been passing on from year to year

00:29:23.789 --> 00:29:26.750
and over a long -term period. And you don't get

00:29:26.750 --> 00:29:30.089
old cows by not using those type of bulls. So

00:29:30.089 --> 00:29:32.130
I think that's. Well, and to be honest, like

00:29:32.130 --> 00:29:34.710
we've had cow families over the years and like

00:29:34.710 --> 00:29:37.589
there's been good daughters, but I could probably

00:29:37.589 --> 00:29:41.930
say like our Love Hill Susie Adam family. And

00:29:41.930 --> 00:29:44.910
our Love Hill CL Heaven family and the Patricia

00:29:44.910 --> 00:29:48.630
family. Those have been our three main. And the

00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:51.109
Terrace and Narcissus. Yeah, the Narcissus cow

00:29:51.109 --> 00:29:54.369
we bought when we first got married. Yep. And

00:29:54.369 --> 00:29:56.349
the Felicia cow we bought when we got married.

00:29:56.509 --> 00:29:59.089
Yeah. Those are probably the main families and

00:29:59.089 --> 00:30:01.750
we still. There's probably five cows that they

00:30:01.750 --> 00:30:04.910
trace back to. For the beef of our herd, yeah.

00:30:05.150 --> 00:30:07.230
When you're making breeding decisions, are you

00:30:07.230 --> 00:30:10.819
looking at it as a like. iterative process like

00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:12.839
I'm breeding for not this just her daughters

00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:14.640
but the next two or three generations because

00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:16.940
I think you guys seem to talk a lot about just

00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:20.039
how the families breed through so I would assume

00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:22.019
that your breeding decisions reflect that too

00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:27.299
well right now it's we breed a lot for feet and

00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:31.660
legs rump structure it seems like our mammaries

00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:36.480
are there and I don't want to say everybody's

00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.440
got good cows, but you're always looking for

00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:42.680
one thing to improve on. So for us, it's like

00:30:42.680 --> 00:30:49.160
we want better legs in our barn. Legs, rumps,

00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:53.240
like I'm not a high pin cow fan, never have been.

00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:56.759
And I know some people go, oh, well, in the show

00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:59.160
ring, it don't matter. Yeah, but they still have

00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:03.089
to be functional outside the show ring. And it

00:31:03.089 --> 00:31:07.069
does matter now. Yeah. It does more so now. I

00:31:07.069 --> 00:31:09.670
would say very much more so now. And I think...

00:31:09.670 --> 00:31:14.750
Sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead. Sorry. I was just

00:31:14.750 --> 00:31:17.430
going to say, like, our breeding decisions come

00:31:17.430 --> 00:31:22.430
down to what is the cow lacking, what improvements

00:31:22.430 --> 00:31:25.150
need to be made on her that her daughter will

00:31:25.150 --> 00:31:30.029
have, hopefully. So then when you made the decision

00:31:30.029 --> 00:31:32.789
to breed that resulted in candy cane, you did

00:31:32.789 --> 00:31:36.210
choose sidekick. What was it about sidekick that

00:31:36.210 --> 00:31:39.369
you felt would produce a cow probably capable

00:31:39.369 --> 00:31:41.809
of candy cane or that type of cow? Why did you

00:31:41.809 --> 00:31:46.089
choose sidekick? I honestly don't remember that

00:31:46.089 --> 00:31:49.210
choice of breeding on that cow. That's not one

00:31:49.210 --> 00:31:51.250
that sticks. You know what the Katrina does?

00:31:51.450 --> 00:31:55.940
Because at that time, Goldwyn was hot. And you

00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.980
had a cow that you thought would work on him

00:31:57.980 --> 00:32:01.019
that needed the strength on everything else.

00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:05.059
Yep. So probably sidekick at that time, there

00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:07.519
was a lot of cows being bred sidekick here. And

00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:11.299
it just seemed like at that moment he was, he

00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:16.180
had what we figured we needed. We actually sold

00:32:16.180 --> 00:32:19.799
a lot of sidekick daughters. Yeah, we have. Good,

00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:24.880
good ones. Yeah. What would you describe Candy

00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:28.740
Cane as a calf? Was she like a showy heifer,

00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.519
or how would you describe her as a heifer? Immature.

00:32:32.619 --> 00:32:35.599
Average. Average. Immature. She was actually,

00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:39.279
like the kids do, 4H, and she was, a kid from

00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:42.539
town had her as their project calf, actually.

00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:47.839
She was an off age. She's an October 20th. Yeah,

00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:52.589
so she just had her as her calf. Kids picked

00:32:52.589 --> 00:32:55.609
other animals, like our own kids picked other

00:32:55.609 --> 00:32:59.190
ones. She was always ornery. I'll tell you, like,

00:32:59.349 --> 00:33:01.589
she's been home for broke since she was a calf,

00:33:01.750 --> 00:33:04.869
so sorry to Jamie Black, but she just always

00:33:04.869 --> 00:33:07.569
got that attitude. If she doesn't want to go,

00:33:07.609 --> 00:33:10.769
she's not going. She's not low. She has. She

00:33:10.769 --> 00:33:13.509
was a nice heifer, though, because I'll give

00:33:13.509 --> 00:33:16.509
it to my dad, a little bit of credit going out

00:33:16.509 --> 00:33:21.710
to him. She went out to pasture. in Alberta for

00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:25.809
the summer as a red heifer or young heifer. And

00:33:25.809 --> 00:33:28.829
my dad asked the price on her. He's like, I really

00:33:28.829 --> 00:33:31.430
like that heifer. Who is she? What is she? How

00:33:31.430 --> 00:33:32.750
much do you want for her? Is she going to stay

00:33:32.750 --> 00:33:39.369
here? I said, no, she's got to come home. So,

00:33:39.390 --> 00:33:42.529
he saw something a little bit in her. So, she

00:33:42.529 --> 00:33:47.460
wasn't... He's had an eye. He saw Lily before

00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:49.660
all the other guys got in. He's got an eye there.

00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:51.660
There's no question. He had her as a calf, though,

00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:56.339
so this is different. You talked about her being

00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:58.299
ornery. I was thinking about the first time I

00:33:58.299 --> 00:34:01.059
saw her, like myself, face -to -face was Jamie

00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:03.839
showing her in, I think it was New York. And

00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:07.660
your comments about ornery? Yeah. I would say

00:34:07.660 --> 00:34:10.000
he had a much easier, not saying it was easy

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:13.739
at Expo, but a much easier go -round. with her

00:34:13.739 --> 00:34:17.500
at Expo than he did in New York. She was a lot

00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:20.860
more cooperative at Expo than New York in the

00:34:20.860 --> 00:34:24.820
spring. I think that was a test for him in the

00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:28.460
spring show for sure. Yep, I could have told

00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:30.820
you that because she was not easy at Saskatoon

00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:37.840
either. Hey, but I will say she got stubborn

00:34:37.840 --> 00:34:41.719
again by Supreme. in her class and everything,

00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:44.079
she just strolled along for the most part. I

00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:46.519
was like, geez, it's not the same heifer, same

00:34:46.519 --> 00:34:49.800
cow to go. And Jamie, I think probably is going

00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:51.840
to say we jinxed it because when she got to Supreme,

00:34:52.019 --> 00:34:54.880
she was a little more back to her. I was down.

00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:59.300
I was happy and Supreme, like where they judged

00:34:59.300 --> 00:35:03.940
it. She went so hot. She was so done. Like, he's

00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:05.079
like, I don't know if we're going to get her

00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:06.780
from the Supreme ring all the way back to the

00:35:06.780 --> 00:35:11.710
Coliseum. Yeah, she was done. Yeah. Yeah. That's

00:35:11.710 --> 00:35:13.510
what I'm saying. When he was walking in the dark,

00:35:13.570 --> 00:35:15.889
you could tell Jamie was like, put a spotlight

00:35:15.889 --> 00:35:18.309
on me because I ain't moving and he ain't coming

00:35:18.309 --> 00:35:21.389
with me. And the spotlight goes and he's like,

00:35:21.409 --> 00:35:24.309
everyone else come help me because he knew that

00:35:24.309 --> 00:35:28.230
when she makes up her mind, she sticks to it.

00:35:28.250 --> 00:35:30.809
We'll leave it at that. Yeah. Because when she

00:35:30.809 --> 00:35:33.449
wants to lead, she goes beautifully. Yeah. That's

00:35:33.449 --> 00:35:35.250
what I mean. As I say, it's her own will because

00:35:35.250 --> 00:35:37.989
I'm like, when she goes. and she's a fabulous

00:35:37.989 --> 00:35:40.969
walking cow like everything about her but uh

00:35:40.969 --> 00:35:44.610
when she uh doesn't want to go she also lets

00:35:44.610 --> 00:35:46.909
you know so that's she's got personality we'll

00:35:46.909 --> 00:35:52.650
leave it at that um they have to now i was doing

00:35:52.650 --> 00:35:55.329
a bit of homework for this and you know you guys

00:35:55.329 --> 00:35:57.570
do only have 70 heads so there's like relatively

00:35:57.570 --> 00:36:00.949
smaller herd but you did rank among the top herds

00:36:00.949 --> 00:36:06.349
in the master breeder categories so um What does

00:36:06.349 --> 00:36:08.289
it mean for you guys, those type of things? Is

00:36:08.289 --> 00:36:10.349
that something you set as goals, or is that just

00:36:10.349 --> 00:36:15.289
more a side effect of your other goals? It's

00:36:15.289 --> 00:36:19.389
a goal. It's a goal, but you can't sit here and

00:36:19.389 --> 00:36:20.989
breed cows to say you're going to be a master

00:36:20.989 --> 00:36:25.090
breeder. Because everything has to align on that

00:36:25.090 --> 00:36:29.750
as well. Such a small number of producers receive

00:36:29.750 --> 00:36:32.489
that every year. yeah we've been close a couple

00:36:32.489 --> 00:36:34.570
times and then all of a sudden one year you have

00:36:34.570 --> 00:36:36.809
more registrations and your numbers bump and

00:36:36.809 --> 00:36:40.110
everything categories shift categories and everything

00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:44.429
else so yeah it would uh it would definitely

00:36:44.429 --> 00:36:49.969
be cool one day is it a goal yes does it change

00:36:49.969 --> 00:36:54.989
our day -to -day basis no and the other thing

00:36:54.989 --> 00:36:57.170
you mentioned is about getting them to good homes

00:36:57.170 --> 00:37:00.320
and i would I think in both cases, you know,

00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:02.300
you look at the names involved with Patricia

00:37:02.300 --> 00:37:03.960
and there was a lot of good homes there. And

00:37:03.960 --> 00:37:08.599
then you look at Oakfield and Jamie as well and

00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:11.820
the team there. You know, it's worked out very

00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:14.539
well for you guys to have them go to these homes

00:37:14.539 --> 00:37:18.179
where they kind of work well. And it sounded

00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:19.519
like you're still in quite a bit of contact,

00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:22.119
even with the lambs as you went through all this.

00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:23.880
What does that mean to you to kind of still be

00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:28.579
involved? I think that's almost the coolest part

00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:35.280
of the candy cane story for us is that we gained

00:37:35.280 --> 00:37:39.699
a friendship out of the deal. They were really

00:37:39.699 --> 00:37:42.099
just acquaintances when we first started. And

00:37:42.099 --> 00:37:46.880
then, you know, we, we followed up to make sure

00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:49.480
the cow traveled well and stuff like that. And

00:37:49.480 --> 00:37:51.559
then it just kind of grew from there where they

00:37:51.559 --> 00:37:53.880
would send us updates about how she was doing.

00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:57.670
And then. It really means something to us to

00:37:57.670 --> 00:38:02.369
be able to watch the cow develop and continue

00:38:02.369 --> 00:38:06.110
to get better. And we will give them full credit

00:38:06.110 --> 00:38:10.989
for taking her to that next level and doing that

00:38:10.989 --> 00:38:13.010
because they're phenomenal cow people and they

00:38:13.010 --> 00:38:16.670
really love beautiful cows as well. So we have

00:38:16.670 --> 00:38:20.230
a lot of similarities, which is, I think, why

00:38:20.230 --> 00:38:25.010
we bonded a little bit with them. And yeah, it

00:38:25.010 --> 00:38:29.769
was just by chance. You know, we always give

00:38:29.769 --> 00:38:32.929
glory to God for what he's done for us, Andrew,

00:38:33.050 --> 00:38:36.730
because we can only do our best and God has to

00:38:36.730 --> 00:38:40.349
orchestrate the rest. And for them to be at our

00:38:40.349 --> 00:38:43.650
farm two years prior at a convention and then

00:38:43.650 --> 00:38:46.869
sit on the bus next to Michael again in 2024,

00:38:47.369 --> 00:38:50.050
you know, those are not things that you plan

00:38:50.050 --> 00:38:55.010
to have happen. They just happen. And so it's

00:38:55.010 --> 00:38:57.849
been a cool ride and it means the world to us

00:38:57.849 --> 00:39:01.090
to be able to go along with them for this part

00:39:01.090 --> 00:39:06.869
of the ride and for them to include us. And we've

00:39:06.869 --> 00:39:09.650
also gained a huge appreciation and respect for

00:39:09.650 --> 00:39:12.050
what they do with cows. Our goal is always to

00:39:12.050 --> 00:39:14.610
have honest cows. So what you see in the show

00:39:14.610 --> 00:39:18.469
ring is what you find in our barn. And I think

00:39:18.469 --> 00:39:22.690
Oakfield runs their operation very well. closely

00:39:22.690 --> 00:39:26.530
aligned to how we view that as well so i would

00:39:26.530 --> 00:39:30.469
say as you get to know uh jonathan and alicia

00:39:30.469 --> 00:39:32.730
you'll realize that their passion for just genuine

00:39:32.730 --> 00:39:36.230
cattle genuine business the whole part is as

00:39:36.230 --> 00:39:39.750
sincere and as deep as anyone you will find like

00:39:39.750 --> 00:39:42.010
they just they just love good cows any type of

00:39:42.010 --> 00:39:45.429
cow like whatever commercial cow show cow index

00:39:45.429 --> 00:39:50.010
cow they just have a genuine passion for Doing

00:39:50.010 --> 00:39:51.949
the best they can with every type of cow that

00:39:51.949 --> 00:39:54.110
way. That's why I say when she went to a good

00:39:54.110 --> 00:39:57.210
home, she did very much go to a good home. And,

00:39:57.289 --> 00:39:59.010
you know, how do you decide which ones you're

00:39:59.010 --> 00:40:02.789
going to sell? It always sucks because it seems

00:40:02.789 --> 00:40:05.530
like everybody wants the good ones. Those are

00:40:05.530 --> 00:40:08.530
the ones you want to keep. And my wife goes to

00:40:08.530 --> 00:40:10.329
the show and tells me we're going to sell this

00:40:10.329 --> 00:40:12.570
one and this one. And I bite my tongue and be

00:40:12.570 --> 00:40:16.329
like, oh, no. But they always seem to do well

00:40:16.329 --> 00:40:18.309
for the new owner. So I guess that's not a bad

00:40:18.309 --> 00:40:23.670
thing. We have one at Elmview right now too that

00:40:23.670 --> 00:40:26.610
we sold last fall. She was at Expo and looked

00:40:26.610 --> 00:40:30.210
pretty good. She continues to develop for them

00:40:30.210 --> 00:40:34.550
as well. She's pretty fresh. They'll probably

00:40:34.550 --> 00:40:36.110
take her to the Royal. She'll look different

00:40:36.110 --> 00:40:43.570
then. Give her a bit more time. She just wasn't

00:40:43.570 --> 00:40:45.969
quite as long into lactation as some of the other

00:40:45.969 --> 00:40:48.900
cows in that class. no that's right and some

00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:51.280
of them just need that time for the body and

00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:55.599
to just fill back out right yep yeah yeah we

00:40:55.599 --> 00:41:00.000
won't say that we don't know like how to get

00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.880
good cows to a good level but we're a busy family

00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:07.420
with the girls are involved in a lot of different

00:41:07.420 --> 00:41:10.300
things because we want them to have a more than

00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:16.590
just the farm mindset um and our biggest challenge

00:41:16.590 --> 00:41:21.610
is usually feed and we cannot grow grass in Saskatchewan.

00:41:22.449 --> 00:41:27.630
Well, that would be a huge, um, part of a show

00:41:27.630 --> 00:41:32.650
program. I'll say so. No, very huge. I think,

00:41:32.690 --> 00:41:34.949
especially when you talk about the level of world

00:41:34.949 --> 00:41:39.349
dairy expo, it takes a lot of work, like a lot

00:41:39.349 --> 00:41:41.730
of work. And you look at a lot of these programs

00:41:41.730 --> 00:41:44.670
where it's a dedicated team and there's a, as

00:41:44.670 --> 00:41:49.630
a young couple and getting going to have the,

00:41:49.650 --> 00:41:52.409
you don't have the resources or the time to make

00:41:52.409 --> 00:41:54.730
that happen. And that's kind of, sometimes it's

00:41:54.730 --> 00:41:57.769
a, it's not even as much a cost factor as a,

00:41:57.769 --> 00:42:00.010
for the cow to get to the level she needs to

00:42:00.010 --> 00:42:02.829
be. I don't have the time or the current capabilities

00:42:02.829 --> 00:42:06.150
to do that, but someone else does. And that's

00:42:06.150 --> 00:42:08.210
kind of the reality of kind of the business.

00:42:08.550 --> 00:42:10.309
It's not a bad thing. It's a great thing. It's

00:42:10.309 --> 00:42:13.650
just recognizing the bad and. finding the right

00:42:13.650 --> 00:42:17.010
partners to work with to make that happen you

00:42:17.010 --> 00:42:21.329
have to recognize your limitations and yeah your

00:42:21.329 --> 00:42:23.230
strengths and your weaknesses and your limitations

00:42:23.230 --> 00:42:26.289
and your opportunities and we had opportunity

00:42:26.289 --> 00:42:28.929
to sell the cow earlier too like in saskatoon

00:42:28.929 --> 00:42:30.889
there was a lot of guys that come up and wanted

00:42:30.889 --> 00:42:34.769
a price so jessica give them a price and when

00:42:34.769 --> 00:42:37.989
i got up later that week there was still a lot

00:42:37.989 --> 00:42:43.309
of talk and uh She was not priced crazy or anything.

00:42:44.210 --> 00:42:48.469
And nobody seemed to want to pay that to us.

00:42:48.610 --> 00:42:51.409
So after she won the four -year -old class, then

00:42:51.409 --> 00:42:52.989
we had a whole bunch of guys come back and want

00:42:52.989 --> 00:42:55.849
to buy her then. And I said, no, that's like

00:42:55.849 --> 00:42:57.670
betting on a hockey game and waiting for the

00:42:57.670 --> 00:43:00.190
third period to be done before you place your

00:43:00.190 --> 00:43:04.610
bet. So I said, no, she's X amount of money now.

00:43:04.769 --> 00:43:08.050
Well, that's too much. I said, then it's too

00:43:08.050 --> 00:43:11.269
much. You don't like to take her home. And we

00:43:11.269 --> 00:43:14.269
walked away from it. And to be honest, it was

00:43:14.269 --> 00:43:15.789
probably the best thing that happened because

00:43:15.789 --> 00:43:19.670
where she ended up, they're phenomenal cow people

00:43:19.670 --> 00:43:23.570
and we can't give them enough credit. And yeah,

00:43:23.750 --> 00:43:27.809
it was on a 2024 National Holstein Convention

00:43:27.809 --> 00:43:29.710
where we were sitting on the bus going to the

00:43:29.710 --> 00:43:31.630
Master Breeder Banquet where we struck up the

00:43:31.630 --> 00:43:37.210
conversation. Now, I would think now after having

00:43:37.690 --> 00:43:39.849
become the first people to ever breed two -time

00:43:39.849 --> 00:43:43.670
grand champions at World Dairy Expo. The interest

00:43:43.670 --> 00:43:48.710
level, though, and the kind of potential for

00:43:48.710 --> 00:43:50.909
marketing the herd has gone up, though, I would

00:43:50.909 --> 00:43:55.650
say, nowadays. I hope so. It's still quite early.

00:43:55.730 --> 00:43:59.809
I get that. But I would say that... No, the phone

00:43:59.809 --> 00:44:03.710
hasn't stopped. Well, I guess there's been a

00:44:03.710 --> 00:44:07.190
lot of... ask about embryos but you'd expect

00:44:07.190 --> 00:44:09.710
that from a grand champion cow i don't necessarily

00:44:09.710 --> 00:44:13.809
know that it's coming from two times yet no no

00:44:13.809 --> 00:44:16.130
but i mean even just in general i mean even just

00:44:16.130 --> 00:44:19.570
the interest would be there there's two dollars

00:44:19.570 --> 00:44:22.130
here on the farm and yeah we like them and they've

00:44:22.130 --> 00:44:26.469
we'll we'll see what happens big interest in

00:44:26.469 --> 00:44:29.880
them and yeah like at this point They were priced

00:44:29.880 --> 00:44:32.340
high because we don't want to sell them. And

00:44:32.340 --> 00:44:35.699
if they sell for that price, in all honesty,

00:44:35.820 --> 00:44:40.239
we can't turn it down. Yep. Economics. I was

00:44:40.239 --> 00:44:42.920
going to say, still a young couple. You live

00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:46.599
in a quota system. So there's always ways to

00:44:46.599 --> 00:44:49.239
invest cash if you really want to keep growing.

00:44:49.699 --> 00:44:55.460
Yep. Yeah. And you also talked about the kids.

00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:57.239
And I know you guys have done farm tours. You

00:44:57.239 --> 00:45:01.809
mentioned stuff like that. um how much does it

00:45:01.809 --> 00:45:04.610
mean to you like i know for you jessica this

00:45:04.610 --> 00:45:07.150
was about the age when you were watching lily

00:45:07.150 --> 00:45:09.550
what does it mean for you to have your kids like

00:45:09.550 --> 00:45:11.550
your daughter involved in that now and what is

00:45:11.550 --> 00:45:15.610
what has her reaction been like well all three

00:45:15.610 --> 00:45:21.210
of them um yeah so the two that are in high school

00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:25.280
got a free pass to skip their first class so

00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:30.079
they were sitting in the car watching the show

00:45:30.079 --> 00:45:32.659
and then the one that's still in elementary i

00:45:32.659 --> 00:45:36.760
said if she does well in her class i will come

00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:39.739
and pick you up from school and so when she won

00:45:39.739 --> 00:45:43.340
the five -year -old class i owed it to her to

00:45:43.340 --> 00:45:45.599
be able to watch champion at least regardless

00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:51.119
of how it whatever happened right um So they

00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:54.199
were all watching from various places that day

00:45:54.199 --> 00:45:58.000
and they were crying, they were laughing, they

00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:01.820
were super excited. They know, they have an idea

00:46:01.820 --> 00:46:05.719
of what it means because we've been, they've

00:46:05.719 --> 00:46:08.380
been coming with me to the show since they were

00:46:08.380 --> 00:46:12.340
born. I would take them in a backpack or a stroller

00:46:12.340 --> 00:46:16.559
and go to the show. So they've slept on hay bales

00:46:16.559 --> 00:46:23.969
on a show pack for... 14, 16, 11 years. So they

00:46:23.969 --> 00:46:29.570
get it. They understand the work that goes behind

00:46:29.570 --> 00:46:33.130
the scenes because they do it. They are the crew

00:46:33.130 --> 00:46:37.170
at the show. My average age of my show crew is

00:46:37.170 --> 00:46:42.789
usually like 16. We have a couple fitters that

00:46:42.789 --> 00:46:47.010
are older sometimes. so they're super excited

00:46:47.010 --> 00:46:50.289
and i hope that they take the excitement with

00:46:50.289 --> 00:46:53.789
them but they also have a realization for the

00:46:53.789 --> 00:46:57.789
work that goes into it and that it doesn't happen

00:46:57.789 --> 00:47:02.269
every day it may never happen again but that

00:47:02.269 --> 00:47:04.829
doesn't mean that you can't work hard towards

00:47:04.829 --> 00:47:10.469
it yeah and they're pretty involved like they

00:47:10.469 --> 00:47:13.730
do chores on the farm they they have to be like

00:47:14.409 --> 00:47:18.090
It's a matter of survival around our place. If

00:47:18.090 --> 00:47:19.750
you're not in the barn, then you're in the kitchen

00:47:19.750 --> 00:47:24.050
cooking supper. Yeah. And then they each own

00:47:24.050 --> 00:47:27.010
their own animals, too. So they all have Holsteins

00:47:27.010 --> 00:47:32.289
here. Ronell actually had her face on Facebook

00:47:32.289 --> 00:47:36.170
not too long ago with a loyal daughter that actually

00:47:36.170 --> 00:47:40.329
comes from the Catricia family. Lucky little

00:47:40.329 --> 00:47:46.530
girl. Lucky young lady, I should say. They own

00:47:46.530 --> 00:47:49.570
a jersey that they got from their aunt and uncle.

00:47:49.750 --> 00:47:52.710
I was going to say, is that John's influence

00:47:52.710 --> 00:47:55.949
in here or what? That's a whole other story.

00:47:56.130 --> 00:47:58.570
If you want the whole story, it's quite funny,

00:47:58.630 --> 00:48:02.949
but it's pretty long. And then they also have

00:48:02.949 --> 00:48:07.840
a herd of beef cows. They have about 25. beef

00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:10.980
cows that they have invested in and that's their

00:48:10.980 --> 00:48:14.340
college fund. Kind of thanks to Michael's mom

00:48:14.340 --> 00:48:16.360
and dad got them that for their first birthdays.

00:48:17.139 --> 00:48:23.300
Fantastic idea. Mom and dad pay the feed bill

00:48:23.300 --> 00:48:25.300
and the kids get a calf check. It works great.

00:48:26.059 --> 00:48:31.519
That's a good program. I don't see the complaints

00:48:31.519 --> 00:48:34.679
in that. No, they're usually never any complaining.

00:48:34.719 --> 00:48:37.260
That's for sure when the checks roll in. Especially

00:48:37.260 --> 00:48:40.820
not this year. That's very nice of Gary and Diane

00:48:40.820 --> 00:48:43.360
to do for them. Have you had a chance to talk

00:48:43.360 --> 00:48:45.539
to them since winning Supreme? Have your parents

00:48:45.539 --> 00:48:48.780
said much to you about that, Michael? Oh, yeah.

00:48:48.880 --> 00:48:52.960
I talked to them when I was down there. So, yeah.

00:48:53.059 --> 00:48:58.800
No, it... Yeah. pretty they're pretty happy and

00:48:58.800 --> 00:49:01.340
stuff and yeah you know what some sometimes at

00:49:01.340 --> 00:49:03.500
that moment there's not really words to describe

00:49:03.500 --> 00:49:06.940
anything because it's an emotional rush and it

00:49:06.940 --> 00:49:10.440
uh yeah i talked to my mom the night it happened

00:49:10.440 --> 00:49:13.980
and yeah i think she was crying and uh the next

00:49:13.980 --> 00:49:16.219
day well my dad was in the field that day or

00:49:16.219 --> 00:49:19.400
whatever and my phone was going crazy so the

00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:22.039
limited number of calls i made that friday night

00:49:22.039 --> 00:49:25.400
but uh saturday morning i talked to him for a

00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:27.400
while when i was in the airport and yeah it was

00:49:27.400 --> 00:49:33.599
uh very yeah very touching like it was yeah it's

00:49:33.599 --> 00:49:36.139
an accomplishment and you know what like they

00:49:36.139 --> 00:49:41.340
started in 1978 and here we are how many years

00:49:41.340 --> 00:49:43.519
off what are we just about well they just had

00:49:43.519 --> 00:49:47.090
their 50th anniversary 50 years later you know

00:49:47.090 --> 00:49:51.670
we're reaping the benefits from a start you know

00:49:51.670 --> 00:49:55.449
what i mean and jessica the year that he probably

00:49:55.449 --> 00:49:57.429
can relate to it somewhat obviously from the

00:49:57.429 --> 00:50:00.070
lily have you had a chance to talk to him oh

00:50:00.070 --> 00:50:03.409
yeah they were watching for sure that day they

00:50:03.409 --> 00:50:06.510
were online um and they were calling throughout

00:50:06.510 --> 00:50:10.710
the day actually because they were pretty excited

00:50:10.710 --> 00:50:16.119
like really excited yeah It's pretty awesome

00:50:16.119 --> 00:50:19.860
to be able to share it with them. I look at things

00:50:19.860 --> 00:50:23.619
here, guys. You've been Saskatchewan's outstanding

00:50:23.619 --> 00:50:26.360
young farmers. You've been among the top master

00:50:26.360 --> 00:50:28.840
breeders. Now you've done something no one's

00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:33.079
ever done and bred two World Dairy Expo Grand

00:50:33.079 --> 00:50:37.800
Champions. What ones of those stand out most

00:50:37.800 --> 00:50:39.719
for you? And I don't know what portion to choose,

00:50:39.820 --> 00:50:42.179
but what do those mean to you and which ones

00:50:42.179 --> 00:50:45.889
kind of stand out most for you? This one means

00:50:45.889 --> 00:50:52.050
the most to me. Why? Why? Because, you know what?

00:50:52.989 --> 00:50:57.150
She wasn't sold as a baby calf or anything, so

00:50:57.150 --> 00:51:00.690
I feel like we did have a bit of hand in developing

00:51:00.690 --> 00:51:03.849
her, and we probably could have took her out

00:51:03.849 --> 00:51:06.969
as a younger cow, but we just didn't feel that

00:51:06.969 --> 00:51:11.710
she was maybe quite ready. so it took three calves

00:51:11.710 --> 00:51:14.110
for us to decide that it was time to take her

00:51:14.110 --> 00:51:16.269
we wanted to take her as a second calver but

00:51:16.269 --> 00:51:19.289
the spring uh the spring she was going to go

00:51:19.289 --> 00:51:23.070
to bc uh jessica ended up having a hernia surgery

00:51:23.070 --> 00:51:28.389
so we kiboshed all that and yeah we just let

00:51:28.389 --> 00:51:30.369
her we never showed her that fall because she

00:51:30.369 --> 00:51:32.349
was stale again and then we waited for her to

00:51:32.349 --> 00:51:35.829
come back in and i just feel like we had more

00:51:36.910 --> 00:51:39.150
Jessica, myself, and the three kids involved

00:51:39.150 --> 00:51:44.929
in this one. The Outstanding Young Farmers was

00:51:44.929 --> 00:51:51.070
all of us too. They're completely different.

00:51:52.070 --> 00:51:55.730
They're so different. Being a part of that Outstanding

00:51:55.730 --> 00:51:59.949
Young Farmers group is an amazing group of people.

00:52:00.329 --> 00:52:04.909
Perhaps we owe a little bit of what goes on here

00:52:04.909 --> 00:52:08.420
to that group. um we first were introduced to

00:52:08.420 --> 00:52:12.699
them in 2017 like just getting to watch friends

00:52:12.699 --> 00:52:18.280
of ours win for Alberta um and you want to talk

00:52:18.280 --> 00:52:21.719
about a group of farmers all different kinds

00:52:21.719 --> 00:52:24.440
of farmers that just have visions and dreams

00:52:24.440 --> 00:52:29.199
and drive like it's an amazing group of people

00:52:29.199 --> 00:52:34.170
and so it was a huge opportunity and benefit

00:52:34.170 --> 00:52:38.210
for us to be part of that group too. And, you

00:52:38.210 --> 00:52:46.110
know, yeah, it's just, it's wild. Yeah. So, and

00:52:46.110 --> 00:52:48.070
it's completely removed. There's not a lot of

00:52:48.070 --> 00:52:52.030
dairies that are involved in that group. There's

00:52:52.030 --> 00:52:55.230
a handful of them, but they're, they're quite

00:52:55.230 --> 00:52:59.670
a mixed group of farmers there. So yeah, that

00:52:59.670 --> 00:53:05.550
one, Like, it's definitely cool. And then, like,

00:53:05.570 --> 00:53:09.309
the Candy Cane win now when you say, like, the

00:53:09.309 --> 00:53:11.829
Love Hill Prefects has bred two champions. Like,

00:53:11.869 --> 00:53:13.869
sometimes when you read the articles of all the

00:53:13.869 --> 00:53:18.030
great herds or whatever in years past and they've

00:53:18.030 --> 00:53:22.690
never done it, yeah, it gives you just a feeling

00:53:22.690 --> 00:53:27.409
that you're like, man, I guess I do fit in. Or,

00:53:27.449 --> 00:53:29.010
you know, like, I don't know what the feeling

00:53:29.010 --> 00:53:32.300
is. it kind of gives you goosebumps to think

00:53:32.300 --> 00:53:35.320
that yeah you could have done something that

00:53:35.320 --> 00:53:38.420
no other no other prefects has done right yep

00:53:38.420 --> 00:53:41.460
no it's huge it's huge there's ones who've had

00:53:41.460 --> 00:53:44.300
a lot of success but yeah i was even just doing

00:53:44.300 --> 00:53:46.559
it through cow families and you know there are

00:53:46.559 --> 00:53:48.840
ones that have had two twos in the cow family

00:53:48.840 --> 00:53:52.000
like frosty and put loose and stuff but like

00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:54.380
even that's a short list and then even to say

00:53:54.380 --> 00:53:56.559
all under one prefects under one breeding program

00:53:56.559 --> 00:53:58.619
i know that's that's the first time ever and

00:53:58.619 --> 00:54:03.159
that's Extremely impressive. My question is,

00:54:03.179 --> 00:54:06.059
is there a third? Is the goal the third? The

00:54:06.059 --> 00:54:14.800
first one might be better. You always got to

00:54:14.800 --> 00:54:20.659
dream bigger, right? So now when she goes to

00:54:20.659 --> 00:54:22.679
the show next week, I'm going to say nothing's

00:54:22.679 --> 00:54:24.460
for sale because maybe it could be the next.

00:54:26.719 --> 00:54:29.639
There's still bills to pay. I was going to say,

00:54:29.699 --> 00:54:32.320
I could hear Jessica saying, we still got bills

00:54:32.320 --> 00:54:34.079
to pay and there'll still be a couple I'm planning

00:54:34.079 --> 00:54:38.079
to sell while we're there. When you say kids

00:54:38.079 --> 00:54:39.719
probably going off, I know they have the beef

00:54:39.719 --> 00:54:42.039
herd, but there is still school and everything

00:54:42.039 --> 00:54:45.880
else down the road, I'm sure. Very involved in

00:54:45.880 --> 00:54:50.699
sports as well. Oh, what sports do they do? They're

00:54:50.699 --> 00:54:54.639
all figure skaters. One runs competitive track.

00:54:55.659 --> 00:55:00.099
One is getting into curling. One is just a genuine

00:55:00.099 --> 00:55:04.000
cowgirl. They're all in 4 -H. And they're all

00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:06.639
very active in their youth groups at church.

00:55:06.980 --> 00:55:09.599
Wow, you guys must be busy, busy then. Life is

00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:15.389
very busy. that word busy doesn't describe it

00:55:15.389 --> 00:55:19.809
you talk about running the show program and then

00:55:19.809 --> 00:55:21.329
you talk about the kids and you mentioned then

00:55:21.329 --> 00:55:24.550
about having the kids uh uh being active in things

00:55:24.550 --> 00:55:26.289
and then you describe just how active they are

00:55:26.289 --> 00:55:29.449
i'm like yeah you don't have the time to do uh

00:55:29.449 --> 00:55:32.750
the other that's uh not there but right now it's

00:55:32.750 --> 00:55:34.869
like okay somebody's taking the cows out on the

00:55:34.869 --> 00:55:37.090
tractor somebody's feeding them hay somebody's

00:55:37.090 --> 00:55:39.889
graining them like yeah Somebody is doing all

00:55:39.889 --> 00:55:41.769
these little things that need to be done because

00:55:41.769 --> 00:55:45.230
there's not enough hours in the day for Jessica

00:55:45.230 --> 00:55:48.070
or myself to get around to it, right? Yep. Yep.

00:55:48.570 --> 00:55:52.230
And I also coach figure skating and lead the

00:55:52.230 --> 00:55:57.150
4 -H club. Oh, wow. Wow. A fun story for you.

00:55:57.190 --> 00:56:00.090
About a month ago, I was a figure skater as a

00:56:00.090 --> 00:56:03.469
young kid before I got into hockey. And I decided

00:56:03.469 --> 00:56:05.769
I didn't want to be a figure skater. So I was

00:56:05.769 --> 00:56:09.550
laying on the ice and kicking my feet. And my

00:56:09.550 --> 00:56:12.250
coach, who ended up being my sister's coach all

00:56:12.250 --> 00:56:15.929
the way up into nationals, comes over trying

00:56:15.929 --> 00:56:18.449
to get me to get off the ice. And I kicked so

00:56:18.449 --> 00:56:20.690
hard with the toe pick that I stuck it in her

00:56:20.690 --> 00:56:25.150
forehead. And to this day, she still has the

00:56:25.150 --> 00:56:29.670
scars of the four picks in her forehead where

00:56:29.670 --> 00:56:32.869
I ducked the toe pick. She kids that, Andrew,

00:56:33.050 --> 00:56:35.809
the day you decided to go play hockey, I was

00:56:35.809 --> 00:56:39.590
the happiest coach in the world. That's hilarious.

00:56:40.349 --> 00:56:44.190
Now. Yeah, now. She laughs about it now. But

00:56:44.190 --> 00:56:47.010
at the time, it was not. I sure hope you were

00:56:47.010 --> 00:56:49.809
like under the age of 10 and not 16 or 18 when

00:56:49.809 --> 00:56:55.070
that happened. I was 7, so yes. It's better that

00:56:55.070 --> 00:56:57.909
way, yeah. But I was throwing a hissy fit and

00:56:57.909 --> 00:57:01.309
kicking my feet. I did become a goalie, so we

00:57:01.309 --> 00:57:03.429
still had kind of points on our skates, but the

00:57:03.429 --> 00:57:06.010
toe picks were a little too much of a weapon.

00:57:27.120 --> 00:57:33.739
Now you guys do live kind of outside of the beaten

00:57:33.739 --> 00:57:40.110
path for show hurts and not a large herd. And

00:57:40.110 --> 00:57:43.670
usually that kind of defines success. And you

00:57:43.670 --> 00:57:45.570
guys have been able to have success without being

00:57:45.570 --> 00:57:47.369
on the beaten path, without having to have a

00:57:47.369 --> 00:57:50.389
large herd. What advice would you give to other

00:57:50.389 --> 00:57:52.329
people who find themselves in that situation

00:57:52.329 --> 00:57:58.289
on how they can achieve success? Well, I do want

00:57:58.289 --> 00:58:00.530
to, we're going to have to have a shout out to

00:58:00.530 --> 00:58:05.019
Saskatchewan producers here because We actually

00:58:05.019 --> 00:58:08.139
live, there's not a lot of us. We may be kind

00:58:08.139 --> 00:58:13.199
of off the beaten path, but the group of dairies

00:58:13.199 --> 00:58:19.159
that we live around here are phenomenal breeders

00:58:19.159 --> 00:58:25.300
and passionate breeders. And so, you know, there's

00:58:25.300 --> 00:58:27.519
10 or 12 of us that are quite close together

00:58:27.519 --> 00:58:32.500
and we help each other if someone needs help.

00:58:34.130 --> 00:58:36.730
We celebrate each other's victories when someone

00:58:36.730 --> 00:58:41.530
does well. And so I think that community really,

00:58:41.670 --> 00:58:45.469
it's such a tremendous benefit. So we don't,

00:58:45.469 --> 00:58:48.389
we're not out here on the prairies completely

00:58:48.389 --> 00:58:53.309
alone. I mean, and there's a group, you know,

00:58:53.309 --> 00:58:55.710
up north and through the middle a little bit

00:58:55.710 --> 00:58:57.590
too. They're just a little bit further removed,

00:58:57.690 --> 00:59:00.409
but like a three hour drive to go visit a friend

00:59:00.409 --> 00:59:05.789
up there is nothing. it's like nothing i mean

00:59:05.789 --> 00:59:09.869
it's eight hours to go home right so um saskatchewan

00:59:09.869 --> 00:59:14.070
has been a pretty incredible place and all of

00:59:14.070 --> 00:59:17.650
western canada has been super supportive of our

00:59:17.650 --> 00:59:21.730
farm and michael and i and we probably can't

00:59:21.730 --> 00:59:27.130
thank the breeders in western canada for supporting

00:59:27.130 --> 00:59:32.320
us enough because they have had huge impact on

00:59:32.320 --> 00:59:35.000
our operation and who we are today, just growing

00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:37.340
up with them and showing with them and stuff

00:59:37.340 --> 00:59:40.780
like that. So I just have to put that out there.

00:59:41.760 --> 00:59:45.480
Nope. It's a really tight group. It's one thing

00:59:45.480 --> 00:59:46.960
I even remember, like I think even going back

00:59:46.960 --> 00:59:50.500
to your dad's days, but the Western group as

00:59:50.500 --> 00:59:54.300
a whole was almost like a family with each other.

00:59:54.599 --> 00:59:58.079
And I think that still continues to this day

00:59:58.079 --> 01:00:03.579
in that way. Uh, I was thinking about it because

01:00:03.579 --> 01:00:05.920
one of our cows, one of the cows we bred that

01:00:05.920 --> 01:00:08.760
ended up being the NASCO production winner at

01:00:08.760 --> 01:00:12.300
Expo was a boy from up there, Ian Crosby. And,

01:00:12.300 --> 01:00:15.860
uh, Ian's a fabulous guy. Just love his cows

01:00:15.860 --> 01:00:18.159
and passionate. And I call it, he bleeds the

01:00:18.159 --> 01:00:21.119
Western way. He, uh, he's one of the ones that's,

01:00:21.119 --> 01:00:26.460
I think helps keep it going in the, uh, making

01:00:26.460 --> 01:00:28.760
it a family and making everyone feel welcome.

01:00:30.449 --> 01:00:33.150
With Ian and the group. So no, it's a great,

01:00:33.170 --> 01:00:36.409
great community. You guys have out there. What's

01:00:36.409 --> 01:00:38.789
the goals now for love home? What do you, what

01:00:38.789 --> 01:00:40.570
do you guys, what's the, what's the motivation?

01:00:40.769 --> 01:00:43.429
What's the drive? What's the next level that

01:00:43.429 --> 01:00:50.230
you want to achieve? The future. We're honestly

01:00:50.230 --> 01:00:55.119
like at a point now where. The kids are getting

01:00:55.119 --> 01:00:57.599
older, so it's too soon to tell what they want

01:00:57.599 --> 01:01:01.300
to do, but we have to look to what we are physically

01:01:01.300 --> 01:01:06.420
capable of doing and where we need to be if they

01:01:06.420 --> 01:01:11.000
so choose to be dairy farmers. So we're kind

01:01:11.000 --> 01:01:15.880
of back to the transition phase as far as the

01:01:15.880 --> 01:01:19.599
farm as a whole and just looking to what the

01:01:19.599 --> 01:01:24.280
future might hold that way. every day is still

01:01:24.280 --> 01:01:26.900
the same we want to keep breeding functional

01:01:26.900 --> 01:01:30.880
cows we want to still breed cows that we enjoy

01:01:30.880 --> 01:01:33.679
milking and we can have a little bit of fun with

01:01:33.679 --> 01:01:37.500
taking them to the show and you know for all

01:01:37.500 --> 01:01:40.820
the acclaim that we have we still don't have

01:01:40.820 --> 01:01:43.239
a grand champion banner hanging anywhere on our

01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:49.860
farm so there's still some small goals Because

01:01:49.860 --> 01:01:52.099
my wife called him before we get to that point.

01:01:54.039 --> 01:01:55.699
You're going to be like, from now on, no, honey,

01:01:55.739 --> 01:01:57.880
we can't sell any. We can't sell any. We got

01:01:57.880 --> 01:02:04.840
to pay bills. Yeah. So there's always something

01:02:04.840 --> 01:02:07.400
there, you know, we'll just continue doing what

01:02:07.400 --> 01:02:11.639
we're doing and continue planning for the future

01:02:11.639 --> 01:02:16.179
as best we can. And yeah. You know, candy cane

01:02:16.179 --> 01:02:18.139
being grand right now, maybe not the greatest

01:02:18.139 --> 01:02:19.719
timing because now your kids are going to be

01:02:19.719 --> 01:02:22.119
hooked. And they're right at that age where they

01:02:22.119 --> 01:02:23.840
have to make those kind of start making those

01:02:23.840 --> 01:02:25.280
life decisions. So they're going to be like,

01:02:25.320 --> 01:02:27.239
well, of course, I want to breed the next generation.

01:02:27.760 --> 01:02:30.500
And then you're going to have multiple kids who

01:02:30.500 --> 01:02:33.360
want to be dairy farmers. And there you go. Then

01:02:33.360 --> 01:02:36.079
you have the same challenge again. Of course,

01:02:36.099 --> 01:02:38.579
the 11 year old was just eavesdropping that conversation.

01:02:38.820 --> 01:02:41.320
And she's like, excuse me, mom. And she comes

01:02:41.320 --> 01:02:45.719
out holding her. Jersey Dairy Show Junior Champion

01:02:45.719 --> 01:02:51.559
Banner Alberta Dairy Fungus 2025. You're right.

01:02:51.760 --> 01:02:55.719
Uncle John. And Uncle John would be extremely

01:02:55.719 --> 01:03:01.940
proud. I know John fairly well, and I bet that

01:03:01.940 --> 01:03:04.139
he would be like, switch them to Jersey, guys.

01:03:04.300 --> 01:03:06.719
Switch them to Jersey. What they're trying to

01:03:06.719 --> 01:03:09.210
brainwash them to do. There's a whole backstory

01:03:09.210 --> 01:03:13.570
behind that jersey cap. I can imagine with John

01:03:13.570 --> 01:03:16.269
that there would be. Well, Michael's actually

01:03:16.269 --> 01:03:18.809
the instigator because he sent a Holstein there

01:03:18.809 --> 01:03:23.750
for Christmas one year. So he instigated it and

01:03:23.750 --> 01:03:27.210
then we didn't know that there was a jersey coming

01:03:27.210 --> 01:03:29.750
but he thought Lee was probably feeling left

01:03:29.750 --> 01:03:32.889
out and so last Christmas he sent Lee's kids

01:03:32.889 --> 01:03:40.139
in Ayrshire. No, we'll wait and see where the

01:03:40.139 --> 01:03:42.820
Crestomere Ayrshire herd, how that develops.

01:03:43.099 --> 01:03:44.800
But actually, she's a pretty sweet little heifer.

01:03:46.639 --> 01:03:48.980
So, are you a little more... I bought her off

01:03:48.980 --> 01:03:51.320
a master breeder herd in Vancouver Island in

01:03:51.320 --> 01:03:53.739
a dispersal, so it's not like I just bought a

01:03:53.739 --> 01:03:57.460
Ayrshire. No. I'm trying to pick on the good

01:03:57.460 --> 01:04:00.150
one. Yeah. I'm thinking that you may be a little

01:04:00.150 --> 01:04:01.690
nervous about what you're getting for Christmas

01:04:01.690 --> 01:04:04.170
this year, though, guys. Well, the girl's got

01:04:04.170 --> 01:04:06.389
a jersey, and she wound up to be junior champion,

01:04:06.530 --> 01:04:08.989
so they may be up the game just a little bit.

01:04:09.630 --> 01:04:13.030
You still could have some shorthorns and some

01:04:13.030 --> 01:04:14.949
Guernseys if you really wanted to try. Oh, and

01:04:14.949 --> 01:04:18.050
Canadian. Well, hopefully the 11 -year -old's

01:04:18.050 --> 01:04:20.130
not listening anymore because she actually bought

01:04:20.130 --> 01:04:22.889
a cow -calf -shorthorn pair last year on the

01:04:22.889 --> 01:04:26.710
beach side. Then she watched Expo and was like,

01:04:26.829 --> 01:04:30.630
hmm, I kind of like that shorthorn cow. And I

01:04:30.630 --> 01:04:35.829
went, you already got one. Some things you might

01:04:35.829 --> 01:04:42.199
want to nip in the bud. Anyways. Cool. That covers

01:04:42.199 --> 01:04:44.400
all of my questions, and I think you guys have

01:04:44.400 --> 01:04:46.900
been incredible. That's great, and you guys have

01:04:46.900 --> 01:04:49.619
had historic achievements, so I want to say thanks

01:04:49.619 --> 01:04:55.300
for taking the time. Remember that none of this,

01:04:55.619 --> 01:05:01.619
the awards, glory, any of that, just to remember

01:05:01.619 --> 01:05:05.480
that you can't take any of that with you when

01:05:05.480 --> 01:05:08.699
you leave this earth. But all of it can be taken

01:05:08.699 --> 01:05:13.139
from you in an instant. So every day we just

01:05:13.139 --> 01:05:15.840
give God the glory and we are so thankful for

01:05:15.840 --> 01:05:17.880
the way he has blessed our farm and our family.

01:05:19.539 --> 01:05:22.840
And so we just want to live our life with integrity

01:05:22.840 --> 01:05:26.920
and faith. And we just feel that if we do these

01:05:26.920 --> 01:05:31.480
things and we work hard, you just can't fathom

01:05:31.480 --> 01:05:33.780
the blessings that God may give you along the

01:05:33.780 --> 01:05:36.570
way. So that's just our encouragement for people.

01:05:36.869 --> 01:05:38.570
And I think you guys are the perfect example

01:05:38.570 --> 01:05:40.929
of that because you've had a lot of achievements,

01:05:41.010 --> 01:05:43.610
but you're also still so humble. And I can tell

01:05:43.610 --> 01:05:47.329
that it still means so much to you guys. So big

01:05:47.329 --> 01:05:49.690
testament to your faith as well as just who you

01:05:49.690 --> 01:05:54.329
guys are. So thanks for sharing that. Yeah. Thank

01:05:54.329 --> 01:05:56.769
you for having an interest in what we do, Andrew.

01:05:56.929 --> 01:05:59.329
Well, there you have it. The Love Home story

01:05:59.329 --> 01:06:01.929
isn't just about breeding two world champions.

01:06:02.539 --> 01:06:04.960
It's proof that excellence doesn't require unlimited

01:06:04.960 --> 01:06:08.420
budgets or thousands of cows. It requires looking

01:06:08.420 --> 01:06:11.719
at actual cattle, trusting cow families, and

01:06:11.719 --> 01:06:13.780
having the courage to ignore what everyone else

01:06:13.780 --> 01:06:17.840
is doing. If a 72 -cow farm in Saskatchewan can

01:06:17.840 --> 01:06:20.840
beat every genomic powerhouse twice, maybe it's

01:06:20.840 --> 01:06:23.380
time we all started looking at our cows instead

01:06:23.380 --> 01:06:26.320
of our screens. Thanks for listening to the Bullvine

01:06:26.320 --> 01:06:29.739
Podcast. If this story changed how you think

01:06:29.739 --> 01:06:32.070
about breeding, share it with someone who needs

01:06:32.070 --> 01:06:35.429
to hear it. And remember, sometimes the future

01:06:35.429 --> 01:06:38.650
of dairy farming looks a lot like its past, just

01:06:38.650 --> 01:06:41.070
with better cattle and the courage to trust what

01:06:41.070 --> 01:06:44.329
you see. Until next time, keep challenging the

01:06:44.329 --> 01:06:44.969
status quo.