28 The Business of Ontario Agriculture Better Farming | October 2024 UP CLOSE with our calves to get a closer look at the genetics we are working with. We also want to give kudos to the technology used by agriculture in general, which has allowed the industry to advance the care and health of our animals. Scott: We’ve jumped into using some more technology with robotic milking and robotic calf feeding. On the field crop side, we rely on the expertise of custom farmers. We do a lot for our own crops, but we really count on them for their expertise in precision planting and harvesting. In the past few years, we’ve been looking at commercial composting – it’s basically large-scale composting – whether it is with our own manure or on a larger scale. We are looking at starting with our own manure. That’s the latest and most exciting advancement for us. We also take it for granted sometimes, but following genetic lines and implementing genomic testing are important for bringing the genetics of our herd to the surface for planned and corrective mating. Jaime spends a lot of time on that area, which is important to our farm. What do the next 10 years look like? Ericka: I think the next 10 years will look like a lot of transfer of roles and responsibilities, along with the generational transition of ownership. It will be going through the succession planning process and transitioning the farm. Jaime: In the next 10 years there will be a lot of learning and change. We are all very curious and excited for next 10 years. We also just had a big 10 years. We built our new barn in 2016, put in robots, increased our quota, bought the farm beside us, and expanded our trucking company. There’s probably a lot to come but we don’t necessarily know what it is yet. Your biggest farming challenge? Scott: Our biggest challenge has been finding growth opportunities. In the dairy industry, growth and production comes with quota limitations and the price of ag land. We are still technically in the GTA and are subject to some of those challenges in the way of traffic and people. Outside of that, weather has been my other biggest challenge. Beth and I have been able to concentrate on the things we can control, but one of the things we can’t control is weather – drought to be specific. Ericka: We are in a spotty area, weather-wise. If other places are getting rain, we aren’t always getting it. Jaime: And we have sandy soil. Our farm is on the Oak Ridges Moraine – the landform that joins the Niagara escarpment and runs parallel to Lake Ontario. It influences weather patterns quite heavily. What keeps you up at night? Jaime: There are so many opportunities, and it can be challenging trying to balance which to take advantage of and which to appreciate and pass on and wait for the next. Opportunities really are created so if you are going to pass on one, you have to create space for another, no matter how big or small. It also relates to what we do aside from farming. There are so many opportunities, I wish that days had more than 24 hours so you could fit everything in. What do you do in your time off? Jaime: We have been very fortunate to travel a lot internationally. We went to China in 2009, travelled around Europe in 2012, went to Ireland in 2015, and have been to most of the provinces in Canada. A goal you have for your herd? Jaime: Producing 1.8 kg of butterfat per head per day is something we have West Port Adonis Ricco Red VG-87 and West Port Alchemy Jellybean EX-90 4E. WIlson Family photo
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