The Olds College Smart Farm will lead the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, which will also include Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm at Langham, Sask. and the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm – Powered by New Holland at Vermilion, Alta.

The new network’s first joint project will evaluate the “functionality, connectivity and value of data” from a common suite of sensors measuring soil, climate and crop conditions.

Each of the project sites has installed Metos Canada’s wireless sensors and other data-gathering devices such as for field monitoring, weather monitoring and forecasting, water management, disease modelling, insect monitoring and crop nutrition management.

The data will go to make on-farm management decisions — timing fungicide applications, for example — and the farms will “evaluate the benefit of using data to manage those decisions.”

Some funding for the new network’s activities will come from the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), a separate network of over 60 technology and agrifood companies and organizations backed with funding from the federal innovation, science and economic development ministry. Both Olds and Lakeland are among CAAIN’s core partners.

A specific focus for CAAIN, when that network was launched in 2019, was to “create and implement a smart farm platform that integrates partners and creates the context for testing, demonstrating and scaling technologies.”

In all, the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network will pay for network-approved activities with a $2.9 million funding envelope including $1.1 million over three years from CAAIN, about $570,000 from other public-sector agencies and the balance from private-sector partners.

The Pan-Canadian network was one of nine winners of funding through CAAIN’s 2020 Closed Competition, in which other recipients include a project to develop a non-invasive approach to determine the gender and fertility of pre-incubated chicken eggs. In a separate release Thursday, CAAIN said it will announce the seven other recipients “over the coming weeks.”

On a call Wednesday with editors from Glacier FarmMedia — whose media assets include this website — Dr. Joy Agnew, Olds College’s associate vice-president of applied research and principal investigator for the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network project, said the new network has “ambitious” plans to expand to additional sites in the near future.

The initial collaboration — taking place across different agriculture zones and land bases — is expected to bring more depth to the results of the evaluation, she said in a joint release Thursday.

“Independent validation of ag technologies is critical and so is ensuring that validation is done using more than a single smart farm,” she said. “By joining with other partners, we’ll be providing farmers with information that will meaningfully inform their decisions about how and where to use sensor technology.”

The new network, she said on the GFM call, is “truly an example of a situation where one plus one plus one equals five.”

Blake Weiseth, applied research lead for the GFM Discovery Farm and agriculture research chair for Saskatchewan Polytechnic, noted the farm has been using Metos sensor data in field-scale projects and “having access in real time to similar data from other sites in Canada will expand our understanding of its value.”

Work is already underway to find more smart farm network members across Canada, the partners said, adding they expect to have opportunities to link the Pan-Canadian network with other smart farms internationally.

Glacier FarmMedia’s other Discovery Farm site, at Woodstock, Ont., is an example of a farm that could be added to the Pan-Canadian network if sufficient funding is made available, Weiseth said.

Josie Van Lent, Lakeland’s dean of agriculture technology and applied research, said Wednesday the network will also provide real value on the education side as “living labs” for the colleges’ students.

At Lakeland, the Pan-Canadian network’s activities are expected to be integrated into the college’s crop technology, animal science technology and bachelor of agriculture technology programs.

“When Olds College submitted this project for consideration, we were immediately intrigued,” CAAIN CEO Kerry Wright said in Thursday’s release. “Smart farms validate and demonstrate the use of innovative agricultural technology in a specific environment, and they provide opportunities to train students enrolled in post-secondary agriculture programs on the latest trends in ag tech.”

Another advantage for the Pan-Canadian network, she said, lies in “its opportunity to link smart farms across the country, thereby multiplying learnings and increasing the value of any data generated.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Both developments fit well with the college’s long-standing objective to help students to become well-grounded in practical aspects of applying the latest technology in crop and livestock production.

The two-year Bachelor of agriculture technology degree program starting in September consists of full-time studies at the Vermilion campus followed by practical experience off-campus, all designed to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and agricultural management and production systems.

“The first year of the program there are 10 courses that look at various aspects of crop and livestock technology,” says Josie Van Lent, dean of Agriculture Technology & Applied Research. This includes studies of precision farming essentials such as GPS and GIS, economics, advanced livestock production and management, use of robotics in crop and livestock production and all types of data collection and management.

The second year is largely one or more practicums as students work in real-world situations with placements at farms, dealerships, equipment manufacturers, and crop input service providers. All placements will have a focus on smart agriculture and/or related technologies. It’s hoped these practicums could even result in full-time job offers.

The college says it consulted with more than 40 agricultural organizations and companies to determine industry needs as it developed the degree program.

Students will complete their on-campus studies and hands-on training in Lakeland’s new agricultural technology centre, which is slated to open later this year. The 8,000-square foot building at the Vermilion campus will be an on-farm lab where students gain experience working with new technologies and analyzing new data sets.

It is expected the first year, the program will be able to handle about 40 students, with an opportunity for numbers to increase in future years. For more information or to apply, visit lakelandcollege.ca/AgTechDegree.

Expanded applied research

In the second development, Lakeland College’s applied research portfolio is growing thanks to the governments of Canada and Alberta. Lakeland is getting a $1.9-million grant to transition two critical agriculture research programs.

These programs were previously operated by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, but with recent restructuring, they are among programs being “transitioned” to colleges and universities and private industry.

The three-year grant agreement will support Lakeland College to take over pulse agronomy and beef production systems programs in Alberta. The pulse program is a mixture of extension and research projects that facilitate the growth of the agriculture and food industry and enhance rural sustainability.

The beef production systems program focuses on livestock disease and pathogens, pain-mitigation strategies and production efficiency, including beef forage and feed rations and genetics.

Van Lent says the programs fit well with the college, which has more than 3,000 acres of cropland and an extensive livestock component (beef, dairy, and sheep) already.

“And these established research programs will continue to be conducted in other parts of the province, which also helps to extend the reach of Lakeland College as well,” says Van Lent.

“This agreement supports a new model for agriculture research and increases Lakeland’s capacity to produce results of value and better serve commercial crop and beef producers,” Alice Wainwright-Stewart, Lakeland’s president and CEO says in a release. “We are excited to build on our results-oriented research partnerships with industry while also increasing opportunities for student involvement as they develop applied research skills that will serve them well in the future.”

The grant is made possible by the governments of Canada and Alberta through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) and the Strategic Research and Development Program. Another key player in this transition of provincial research programs and services is a relatively new Alberta organization known as Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR). It is an arm’s-length, non-profit corporation created to ensure research funding priorities are producer-led. Backed by some 33 provincial ag commodity groups and other organizations over the long term, RDAR will assume ongoing responsibility for funding agreements. Alberta’s government has committed $370 million in provincial funding to agriculture research over the next 10 years

More about Lakeland

Established in 1913, Lakeland College serves more than 6,400 students every year at its campuses in Vermilion and Lloydminster, and through online and off-site programs and courses. Lakeland’s agricultural sciences programming prepares graduates to make an impact in commercial agriculture and animal health. Programs are integrated with real-world learning situations and new technologies. The Student-Managed Farm — Powered by New Holland (SMF) is Lakeland’s flagship student-led opportunity. Students are in charge of managing commercial-scale crop, livestock and ag research enterprises utilizing the latest equipment and technology. With access to modern facilities, hundreds of head of livestock and 3,000-plus acres, the real world comes to them before they graduate. Lakeland’s Research Centre is a testbed for innovations in agriculture and the applied research team is driven by one goal — advancing real-world agricultural productivity and sustainability in key commercial crop and livestock species.

The college also offers programming in business, energy, environmental sciences, fire and emergency services, foundational learning, health and wellness, human services, interior design technology, trades and technology, and university transfer. For more information visit lakelandcollege.ca.

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The program, announced Wednesday, will consist of full-time studies at Lakeland’s campus at Vermilion, about 180 km east of Edmonton, plus “experiential learning practicums” off campus, en route to a bachelor of agriculture technology degree.

The program, Lakeland said, is meant to “bridge the gap between emerging technologies and agricultural management and production systems.”

“There’s a lot of technology already available and in use in the agricultural industry,” Michael Crowe, Lakeland’s vice-president of academic and research, said in Wednesday’s release.

“However, few people have an in-depth understanding of how to use it and the information it collects, or how to integrate that information into their commercial farm operations and agriculture businesses.”

Those enrolled in the program are to study smart agriculture as a management system, including data collection and analysis as well as interpretative tools and programs such as robotics, geospatial tools and artificial intelligence, as well as how to analyze and troubleshoot industry-leading hardware, software and data platforms.

Students on campus are to work on the college’s student-managed farm and at a new 8,000-square foot ag technology centre — an “on-farm lab” that’s expected to be open later this year, Lakeland said.

Students’ practicums, meanwhile, are to be done at ag data companies, technology and equipment manufacturers, dealerships, crop input service providers, agronomist service companies, crop and livestock service centres, farms, breeding and genomic companies, among other operations, the college said.

It’s expected that graduates of the program will be able to find work in assorted ag-related fields, such as in data services, development, management, precision technology, production, research or sales with ag tech companies, research organizations or equipment dealerships.

“Industry feedback indicated there is a shortage of agricultural professionals who can interface between the two disciplines — our degree program will fill that gap,” Josie Van Lent, dean of Lakeland’s school of agriculture technology and applied research, said in the same release.

Since the degree program is new, there’s no direct pathway yet set up for a master’s degree program, Lakeland said, but the college “will work with you and any receiving institution if you are interested in a graduate degree.”

In the future, the ag tech program may also offer opportunities for professional-development courses related to new tech and equipment, the college said. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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How do PGRs work?

PGRs are applied to the crop foliage. PGRs change plant physiology by reducing cell elongation, reducing stem length and shortening the uppermost internodes and peduncle. They may also alter stem diameter.

There are two types of PGRs available in Western Canada. The first are ethylene-releasing agents, such as Ethrel from Bayer CropScience, which has the active ingredient ethephon. Ethrel is registered for use on wheat, and when applied at the correct growth stage — GS 37 (flag leaf still rolled) to GS 45 (late boot stage) — it decreases plant height and increases stem wall thickness but may also increase tillering.

The second type of available PGRs are gibberellin inhibitors. Gibberellins (GA) are plant hormones that regulate cell elongation and a number of other developmental processes. Gibberellin inhibitors reduce stem elongation, shorten the crop and reduce lodging. In Western Canada, Manipulator (with the active ingredient chlormequat chloride) was recently registered for use on wheat by Belchim Crop Protection Canada (formerly known as Engage Agro Corportion).

Syngenta is in the process of registering a new product with the active ingredient trinexapac-ethyl. Trinexapac-ethyl is registered in many countries around the world, but not currently approved for use in Western Canada.

Evaluating PGRs

Since 2014, Sheri Strydhorst of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Linda Hall of the University of Alberta and Laurel Thompson of Lakeland College have been evaluating the effect of PGRs on Canadian Prairie Spring Red wheat, Canadian Western Red Spring wheat, malt barley, feed barley, oats and field peas. (Although currently PGRs are only registered for wheat in Canada.)

Their evaluations have focused on two products: Manipulator and trinexapac-ethyl (TXP) that have been shown in previous research to reduce height and lodging. Both products have a slightly different mode of action and work to obstruct different stages of GA biosynthesis, so they’re expected to produce different physiological responses, says Strydhorst.

Research results are variable because PGR performance depends on crop species and variety. “Some PGRs work better on some crop species than others,” says Strydhorst. “For example, in response to chlormequat chloride (CCC, the active ingredient in Manipulator), wheat shows the largest height reductions, and barley has an intermediate response. However, barley is more responsive to TXP than CCC in terms of height reduction and improved standability.”

The researchers are also looking at various tank mixes using these products.

The researchers are also looking at various tank mixes using these products. Strydhorst says they are trying to tank mix these two active ingredients to improve the consistency of PGR responses. “However, we have not identified the ‘optimal’ tank mix amounts of these actives, nor are they registered for use in Western Canada,” she says. “Also, not all cultivars show similar height or lodging responses to PGRs.”

Application timing

Correct application timing is crucial for good results and to avoid crop damage. Ethrel should be applied when most of the tillers are between early flag leaf emergence to swollen-boot stage, and should not be applied after more than 10 per cent of the awns have emerged.

Alberta research has found the most effective application time for consistent height reductions with Manipulator is between the beginning of stem elongation, when the first internode begins to elongate and the top of the inflorescence is at least one centimetre above the tillering node, to the time when the second node is at least two centimeters above node one.

“The research also suggests that the ideal staging for trinexapac-ethyl on wheat is similar to Manipulator, but additional research is required for both Manipulator and trinexapac-ethyl to identify the option of co-application with fungicides,” says Strydhorst.

Research results

Strydhorst and her colleagues have seen negligible effects of PGRs on yield. “PGRs can positively or negatively affect yield, but results are inconsistent depending on crop lodging, environmental conditions, crop species and cultivar,” she says. Strydhorst also says preventing lodging leads to other quality and production benefits.

Lodging can reduce yields from seven to 35 per cent with the greatest yield reductions occurring when lodging happens within 20 days after anthesis. The magnitude of yield loss to lodging depends on several factors: variety susceptibility to lodging; growth stage and severity of lodging; wind and rain events; or early snowfall. Later lodging, during ripening, can increase sprouting, increase the need for grain drying and lowering grades. Lodging can also cause costly harvesting delays.

“Increased amounts of lodging can be seen where there are insect or disease infections, increased fertilization and higher seeding rates,” says Strydhorst. “By preventing lodging we can prevent these yield and quality reductions, and the improved standability helps speed harvest times.”

On occasion they have also seen a reduction in protein levels with PGRs. “The protein content of AC Foremost wheat not receiving a PGR was 12.5 per cent, with Manipulator 12.4 per cent and with trinexapac-ethyl 12.5 per cent,” says Strydhorst. “The significantly lower protein content of Manipulator-treated wheat could be concerning when protein levels are near the minimum requirements. However, our small-plot research trials found that when either PGR was used in combination with a foliar fungicide application, AC Foremost protein reductions were avoided.”

Do you need a PGR?

Growers in a high-yield environment, with high fertility and with a history of lodging issues should consider a PGR, says Strydhorst. They should also consider the variety. “For example, in a high-yielding environment, AAC Brandon will lodge more readily than AAC Penhold which has improved genetic resistance to lodging,” she says. “PGRs should not be used under conditions of heat or drought stress as they often reduce yield. In these conditions, lodging is not likely a concern and Mother Nature acts as your PGR.”

Many wheat varieties inWwestern Canada have good (G) or very good (VG) lodging resistance built in, so why use a PGR? “These G or VG lodging resistance ratings are simply not sufficient to keep high yielding wheat crops standing in environments with abundant moisture and high levels of fertility,” says Strydhorst. “Additional agronomic tools are still needed in these intensified production environments even on wheat varieties rated as G or VG for lodging resistance.”

There is some evidence that, because PGRs disrupt plant hormones, there can be some secondary effects such as delayed senescence (aging in plants), increased resistance to environmental stress or increased root growth. “PGRs are systemic but non-residual, which can result in undesirable side effects such as stem elongation in some varieties and temporary, short term height reduction,” says Strydhorst. “PGRs can also alter tiller growth. Both Manipulator and Ethrel can increase tiller growth, which may increase or decrease yield. Altered tillering may be attributed to changes in photoassimilate and nutrient availability or PGR-induced changes in plant hormonal patterns. The most noticeable side effect we have observed in our small plot research trials is delayed maturity.”

When environmental conditions are prime for lodging, they’re also ideal for disease pressure. If conditions warrant a fungicide application, they likely warrant a PGR too. “In some instances, we have observed that when a PGR was used in combination with a foliar fungicide application, protein reductions were avoided,” says Strydhorst.

The economics of PGRs

After some limited economic analysis, Strydhorst has shown the cost of a seven per cent yield loss (due to lodging) on a 65 bushel/acre CWRS wheat crop to be around $29.35/acre, a 15 per cent loss to be $62.89/acre and a 30 per cent loss to be $146.75/acre based on $6.45/bu. wheat prices. She doesn’t have any information on the direct economic value of a PGR as no yield increase is expected, and the benefits from a faster harvest are hard to quantify. “I think growers need to look at PGRs as a risk management investment.” She says. “If they can prevent or reduce lodging, harvest will be better and faster.”

PGRs are not a fit for every acre in Western Canada but they are certainly an option for use in high yield environments where there is a history of lodging.

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This is the story of Devon Walker, a farmer, husband and parent near Lashburn in northwest Saskatchewan.

Where do you farm?

Devon Walker is a fourth-generation farmer in the Lashburn area, in northwestern Saskatchewan. Devon and his wife Pamela are the parents of three children.

What crops do you grow?

Devon farms 2,200 acres of canola, wheat (hard red and CPS), yellow peas, faba beans, and malting barley.

How long have you been farming?

Devon started farming in 2010. He recently took over the management role of the farm from his father. He says the transition process took about seven years.

In 2008, Devon graduated from Lakeland College in Vermilion with an applied degree in environmental management, conservation and reclamation. He worked in the open pit coal mining industry near Hinton, Alberta. Then he moved home and worked in the heavy oil sector for two years, while trying to farm simultaneously.

Farming was always the end goal but he had to wait for the opportunity, he says. Eventually push came to shove “and all the eggs were in the farm basket and it was time.”

What’s your favourite farming season?

“I personally like the start of every season on the calendar year. The first little bit of seeding is awesome and the end is always terrible,” says Devon.

Overall, his favourite season is harvest, as he’s reaping the fruits that he’s sown. But, he adds, “the first bit of harvest is awesome, and by the end of the season it’s like: ‘Get me out of this glass cage of emotion.’”

It’s similar with grain hauling, he adds.

What’s a good decision you made on the farm?

In 2017, the Lashburn area struggled with excess moisture. “We had a very late seeding date for our area.”

He decided to seed his canola first, because he’d been quoted saying that he could deal with frozen wheat, but not frozen canola. The result was “ugly, gross wheat,” but good canola. He says he’s happy with that.

His other good decision came about in his early years of farming. When he was first farming, and also working in the oilfield, he asked farmers he considered successful for advice. “And everybody said the farm suffers if you’re not all in.”

So he decided to “jump into agriculture with both feet first.”

Is there a decision you regret?

Devon tries not to dwell too much on negative choices. “You obviously have to learn from your mistakes, but I don’t so much regret.”

He tries to stay modest with how he farms. “I think my regrets would be small, at this point.”

However, looking back on 2017, he can think of one decision. “I guess booking some $9 wheat would have been a smarter choice this season.”

What opportunities do you see in agriculture?

“When I left the farm to go to school, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity in agriculture. Land prices were low, producers were not overly optimistic.” But he noticed a lot of farmers would be retiring, and he appreciated his upbringing on the farm and the skills he learned. He wanted to make sure he kept those skills and passed them on to his kids, as it seems to have worked for his family for several generations.

Then he saw there would be opportunity to grow the farm, make a living, and raise a family. Going forward he sees this opportunity continuing for new producers. There are plenty of succession programs out there through agencies such as Farm Credit Canada. He also sees opportunities for current producers to grow their operations.

What challenges do you see in agriculture?

Devon sees land ownership as a future challenge. His farm is okay in the immediate future. But further down the road, when he wants to do a big land purchase, “I think the price may not be very attainable for me, or other growers of my size.”

Traditionally retiring farmers approached neighbours who they wanted to farm their land. But now there may be several bidders on a land parcel, and the dollars are high, he says.

Renting is a good partnership, but there’s not always much certainty beyond the contract term. And as urban people with no other agricultural connection inherit or buy farmland, farmers will have to communicate “agriculture’s way of life” to them, he says.

What do you like to do for fun?

“Family stuff is really awesome right now.” Devon and his wife have a five-year-old, a two-year-old, and a baby. Devon enjoys community activities such as threshing bees and Halloween activities for the kids. He also enjoys swimming with the family and curling.

You could have done anything. Why did you decide to farm?

He has three main reasons:

Having been raised on the farm, he had the knowledge and skill to do it. Agriculture gave him an opportunity to challenge himself, with the skills he learned. And as the farm evolved, that gave him a chance to make it his own.

There was a changing of the guard underway. Agriculture hadn’t seen a massive group of farmers retiring since the late ‘70s, Devon points out. Devon looked at the demographic shift and saw that land would be available for him to farm.

Agriculture underwent big changes between the time he left the farm and when he came back. The future looks positive, and “full of tech gizmos and programs and options.”

“There’s really been a big shift in every aspect of the farm. It’s new and exciting.”

What’s the farm implement you can’t live without?

“I can’t live without my John Deere 4450. That is the one piece of machinery on our farm that hasn’t changed since 1985. My father bought it the year I was born.”

Devon remembers riding with his dad the day he paid it off, and how proud his father was. The 4450 used to be the big tractor on the farm that handled tasks such as pulling the anhydrous wagon. It was the biggest tractor Devon learned how to drive when he was a teenager.

“I logged a lot of hours in it.”

The JD 4450 is an iconic-looking tractor. Devon compares it to the Johnny tractor from the kid’s books.

“It’s got a little blade on the front so we plow our snow with it. And we run the grain augers with it. And we run the grain vac with it.”

He likes the 4450 so much that he bought a 4430 from the neighbours.

“My dad and wife laugh because if I get a day in the summer where I’m not busy I’ll find a way to fire that tractor up and do something around the yard, whether it’s levelling gravel or moving an old shed or dragging a grain bin across the yard to a better spot.”

Follow Devon on Twitter @walkerfarm306.

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Hollinger, who is in his late 20s, farms with his father and grandfather near Neudorf, Saskatchewan, cropping about 3,700 acres of grain land and running 250 head of commercial and purebred Angus.

“Our land is well-suited to both cattle and grain,” Hollinger said during an interview at the 2016 Canadian Western Agribition.

Hollinger is a Lakeland College alumnus, and credits the Vermilion program for giving him practical knowledge in everything from animal nutrition to pharmacology. “It’s just a tremendous college in that respect, that it’s so hands-on,” he says.

Weather is always a challenge, as 2016’s growing season proved. Market fluctuations are also a risk. The Hollinger family is looking at marketing more steers directly to buyers, although auction marts are still a good option, Hollinger says.

They also forward-price both grain and cattle. “You know what your payments are so you have to get some on the books.”

Marketing grain has given him insight he uses on the cattle side. He’s noticed how farmers tend to sell on the downward trend because they were waiting for prices to go higher. And it’s important to know the break-evens on both sides of the operation so he knows what he needs to sell at to make a profit or pay the bills.

Young producers ready for challenges

But unlike earlier generations, today’s producers face consumer scepticism. Hollinger sees a need for farmers and livestock producers to educate consumers. “That’s one big challenge because there’s a lot of consumer misperception,” he says. “Especially with social media and TV.”

Hollinger isn’t the only young producer who feels that way. Teresa Mann is finishing her last year at Lakeland College, where she serves as the general manager of the college’s purebred herd. Mann grew up on a commercial cattle operation, and has developed her own purebred Simmental herd. She plans to complete an animal science degree at the University of Saskatchewan after graduating from Lakeland.

Asked what challenges she sees ahead for young producers like her, Mann mentioned changing technology. But in her opinion, the big one is adapting to what consumers want while also educating them about food production. She sees a bigger role for ag advocates in the future.

Communicate with the public

Royce Moellenbeck, who is still in high school, agrees that his generation will need to communicate with the public. Moellenbeck said most of his classmates in rural Saskatchewan have a general idea of what happens on the farm, but even they miss some of the more subtle things. “They’ll call a straw bale a hay bale. Mostly things like that.”

Moellenbeck’s family raises purebred Shorthorns, along with commercial cattle, east of Humboldt. Moellenbeck plans to work in ag marketing and raise cattle. He’s been coming to Agribition since he was a baby, and notes it was the first year his family won Grand Champion Bull at the show.

Agribition provided Moellenbeck with plenty of opportunities to talk about agriculture as families and school groups walked through the barns.

“A lot of them will have questions to ask about what do you do, what’s your role and stuff,” he says. Moellenbeck enjoys talking to people about agriculture and explaining what he does at the show.

Mann, a 10-year veteran of Agribition, was helping show Lakeland College’s genetics and programs at Agribition. She said she was getting plenty of questions from kids, adding “it’s great telling them what we get to do on a daily basis at school because it’s part of our learning program.”

Hollinger said he’s closing in on 20 years of attending Agribition. Hollinger tends to have more conversations with parents, but some kids were interested in what he was doing, too. He said he encouraged questions from the public.

“We’re here to market our product and really they’re the end consumer,” he says.

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The 72’x160′ loose housing structure that connects to a double seven herringbone milking parlor is working well for the Brousseaus at Moo-Lait Family Farm at St. Paul, Alta., and the cows didn’t miss a beat either.

“We are happy with every aspect of the barn,” says Richard. “Everything works as well as we had planned.

“A lot of that has to do with the fact that Richard visualized the movement of cattle through this barn, I don’t know how many times, before we even started building,” says Nicole. “We considered a lot of plans and we really wanted to make it functional.” And the transition of bringing the cows into the new barn for the first milking March 18 was flawless too. They had brought the cows into the barn a couple of times before it was completely finished for a bit of a rehearsal. The cows seemed to be as ready for the move to the new barn as the Brousseaus.

The Brousseaus who along with their three children farm in partnership with Nicole’s parents, Bert and Yvonne Poulin, were earlier this year named the 2014 Outstanding Young Farmer nominees for Alberta. They will be in Quebec City later this month competing in the national awards program.

Building the new loose housing barn, that replaced a long-standing and outdated tie-stall facility, is an important milestone for the dairy farm.

“It really gives us a new starting point in the growth of the dairy,” says Richard. “We had maxed out our old facilities and now we have some room to growth, and this new barn is easily expanded as needed.”

The Brousseaus returned to the farm part time in 2006 working towards being full time dairy farmers in 2008. Nicole was born and raised on the farm, and later went to Lakeland College in Vermillion. Richard was born on a Vermillion-area grain and hog operation. They both attended and later worked at Lakeland College before deciding in 2006 to get involved in the dairy business along with Nicole’s parents.

In 2006 they were milking about 25 head. As Nicole and Richard got involved they bought their own cows and quota and began to increase the milking herd. Along with increasing numbers, they’ve also worked to improve the overall quality and genetics of the cattle.

Today they are milking 50 head. The new loose housing barn was initially designed to handle a 60 head herd. When they started milking cows about eight years ago, production averaged about 18 kilograms of milk per cow per day. And today production is averaging 30 kilograms per cow per day.

“It is a combination of several things that have made a difference,” says Richard. There is no natural service now, the cows are all bred to top sires through A.I. and cows are all selected for type and production characteristics.

They also produce most of the ingredients used in a dairy ration that is milled and prepared on farm. Along with a high forage component, they buy dry distillers grain and a custom mineral premix for the ration. And as a main protein source for the milking herd they have replaced canola meal, with pea meal, from the pea crop they produce.

“Working with a nutritionist, we aim to have a ration that optimizes production but is high in forages and doesn’t push the cows too hard,” says Richard. “We want to increase milk production, but we also want healthy cows with some longevity and that starts with a healthy rumen.”

Along with the dairy, the Brousseau’s crop about 1,000 acres of deeded and rented land producing barley, peas, oats and alfalfa. The new loose housing barn has been perhaps the most visible change in the operation in recent years, but they’ve also made changes that include switching crop production from conventional to minimum tillage, soil testing to better manage crop fertility program, and good rotations.

While they are still getting comfortable with the new barn, plans eare to increase the milking herd (and quota) to 60 head, and then to focus on optimizing the milk production of those cattle.

“And machinery-wise, for the amount of cropping we do, we have always operated with used equipment, and we plan to continue with that,” says Nicole. “But we also want to look at replacing or refreshing some of this equipment as well.”

Along with farming, they are actively involved in school and outside activities with their three children. Nicole is involved with the school council church programs, while Richard is a vice-chair of the St. Paul seed cleaning plant and vice-president of the archery club. Both Richard and Nicole will be members of the advisory committee to the Lakeland College animal science program this year.

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