Ontario goat milking producer aims to resume production within a year

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

by JIM ALGIE

Fire that destroyed 900 of Ed Donkers’ dairy goats and one of Ontario’s largest goat milking operations near St. Thomas, Saturday, should create opportunities for other producers.

But it won’t likely keep out Donkers of the goat business. A director of the Ontario Goat producers association, Donkers hopes to return to business within 12 months.

Police wakened him at 1:25 a.m., Saturday, almost 90 minutes after he had retired for the evening, having returned home from a London Knights hockey game in nearby London, Donkers said in a phone interview, Monday. He had driven by the barn and all was in order until police officers wakened him.

“The firemen had already arrived and they couldn’t find me. They thought I was in the barn trying to save my goats and the odds are I would have been,” Donkers said.

“That’s when the barn collapsed. It was fully engulfed really quickly,” Donkers said. The 33,000 sq. ft. barn included a main section built in 2003 and a 2011 addition. It contained a computerized milking system featuring automatic identification for individual milkers, a double 24 rapid-exit system and milking meters.

A separate barn housing as many as 1,200 young animals was undamaged, Donkers said.

He expects many young does in the flock to begin producing kids in about three weeks.

Donkers figures he’ll have to sell off his existing stock before rebuilding. Since the fire, neighbours and business associates have made generous offers of help.

Ontario Fire Marshal’s investigators have concluded the fire originated in the building’s electrical system although a precise cause has not been determined, Donkers said.

Because of the size of the operation, Donkers’ insurers insisted last year in a detailed survey of the property and found no problems.

He’s a member of the Ontario Dairy Goat Cooperative, which ships much of its milk to Woolwich Dairy Inc. The company produces cheese at a plant in Orangeville.

Woolwich officials have been in touch with the co-op to offer assistance, Donkers said.

His loss should create an opportunity for others to help make up the shortage, Donkers said.

A former cow dairyman, Donkers began milking goats in 2007.

“I liked being a cow farmer; I love being a goat farmer,” he said. “I’ve been very passionate about being a goat farmer. I’ve had hundreds of people through my barn,” Donkers said.

“I will not be milking in 2014 probably; it’ll be 2015 before I can come back to produce by the time I rebuild and restock and everything,” Donkers said. It was part of a rough week in the Donkers’ family including heart bypass surgery for Ed’s father, Leo.

“He’s a retired farmer who loves to come to the farm and see the goats,” Ed said of his father. “He’s good now; he’s recovering but it hit him hard when he found out” about Saturday’s fire.

“I generally work a 15 hour day every day,” Donkers said. “I used to spend all that time in the barn and now it’s gone. I lost a lot there,” he said. BF