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andrea.gal@farms.com

Better Farming

February 2017

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travel and to work on dairy farms in

both Alberta and Australia.

Patenaude made the decision to

move back home following the death

of his grandfather, to whom Paul

attributes much of the farm’s suc-

cess.“I credit my father and grandfa-

ther for the majority of knowledge I

use day-to-day on the farm,” he says.

Patenaude remembered his

grandpa when opportunities arose

to expand the farm. “I was willing to

move and expand the farm. See it

grow. That’s the way my grandpa

would want it.”

Describe your role on your farm operation.

This is my new role (managing my

own facility part of the family farm).

Before, I enjoyed working with

genetics and in the show barn, but I

wanted to manage my own opera-

tion. I also contribute to the (pro-

duction of) crops and help out on

the main farm when they need help.

Howmany people does your farm employ?

We have 15 full-time and three

part-time workers – two of which

work in my barn.

Hours you work per week?

In the summer it can get up there but

on average it’s around 75 hours per

week.

Howmany emails do you receive per day?

If you include junk and spam it is

about nine but, other than that, three.

I don’t rely on emails very often –

mostly texting or calls.

Howmany texts?

I’ll throw 50 texts out per day. Is that

a lot? It depends. 35 to 50.

Hours a day on a cell phone?

Maximum an hour, probably under

an hour a day.

What about your smartphone?

Every day I use my smartphone, I rely

on it quite a bit. Any person my age I

imagine does.

Whether it’s for the herd itself or to

use Internet, it’s always by my side.

Email or text?

Text is the way to reach me. If you

email me, I might not get back to you

for three days.

Any favourite apps?

DHI (Dairy Herd Improvement), it’s

pretty handy to have in my phone. If I

want to see how close a cow is to

calving, I can look it up. And I don’t

have a computer on my farm, but I

don’t necessarily need one anymore.

The Weather Network is a must for

me, whether it’s the temperature,

wind or rain, I’m checking it at least

twice a day. I also use the NHL and

social media apps quite a bit.

Does anyone else in your community use

social media?

Social media, like Facebook and even

Snapchat, is a way I keep in touch

with other farmers my age.

Hours a day on the Internet?

For work it would be under an hour.

In total, one to two hours a day.

How often do you travel?

The last big trip I took for vacation

was Australia for three weeks and

New Zealand for three weeks.

Number of hours in the office each day?

Not very many. It’s not my depart-

Paul Patenaude