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wp 18 -- Beugog Citizen ~ Tuesday, May 10, 1994 Three farms win Master Breeder Shields by Heather McCrae Three dairy farms in Scugog Township and their owners were presented with the prestigious Master Breeder Shield, one of the highest awards given by the Holstein Association of Canada. Dr. Roger and Bonnle Holtby of Holtbyhoime Holsteins. this award two weeks ago ft the Association's Annual Meeting in St Hyacinthe, Quebec, were Rod McKay of Willowtree Farms, Murray and Roger Holtby of Holtbyholme Holsteins and Les and Robert Smith of High Point Farms The heart of the Canadian Holstein industry is breeding Not only does the breeder have to understand cows, recognizing the importance of bloodlines and top mires, but must use all the breed improvement available to upgrade the herd The whole concept of the Master Breeder Shield originated in 1929 from Bob Holtby, who worked as a classifier and fieldman with the Receivin tools Holstein Association of Canada. A real Holstein enthusiast, the late Mr. Holtby felt there should be an award given to people who were advocates of a "balanced breeding progrdm" using only Excellent and Very Good cows and placing equal emphasis on type and production, the latter being above the herd average. In this county alone, there have been approxim- ately 15 breeders in the last 65 years receive their Master Breeder 8hield, and when you have three farms, all within a radius of four kilometres of each other, that says something for the area! Rod McKay of Willowtree Farms told the Citizen he got a good start in farming in 1978 with help from his parents, Bill and Melba McKay Also contributing to the success of the farm have been, Marlene, and sons, Jordan, 12, and Alex, 9 Willowtree Farms is well known in the area for its strawberries, apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables. Even though Rod received his Master Breeder Shield two weeks ago, he learned of his great achievement last November At that time, Rod and Marlene had decided to go into market gardening on a larger scale and chose to sell their dairy herd and go into the beef industry, rajsing a full limousin herd "Il be trying to develop as good a quality beef herd as I did with the dairy herd," is how he described it to the Citizen Indeed, receiving this high SOYBEANS APACHE" MARATHON T 8902 CRUSADER TALON T 8508 (10%) Cg ma Livant RE I0 watlable at wow as embed RRL Bethany: award from the HAC is a fitting way fo end one chapter before embarking on another! Another recipient of the Master Breeder Shield is the father/son team of Les and Robert Smith of High Point Farms. For Les, this is his second time to earn this citation. Receiving his first Shield in 1967 when he was farming with his brother, Lloyd, under Smith Bros. They consequently . a Les Smith and his son Robert of High Point Farms. divided the herd in 1976 and half the cows were transfrred to High Point Farms, jointly operated by father and son. The Smiths own 240 acres together and, milking almost 30 cows is, according to Robert, "a family affair". While Robert's wife, Colleen, conducts tours and helps out on the farm, their children, Sarah, Mike and Jennifer are always there to lend a hand and are actively involved in 4-H. "The Master Breeder Shield isn't something that every Holstein man gets," the older Smith told the Citizen. "You have to be the best to get it.* With these three farmsiand Hanover Hill within the same viefnity and Roybrook Holsteins in Brooklin, that says thi for the area. p For Roger Holtby, earning the Breeder's Shield is very rewarding as it was his great uncle who originated the concept. Roger and his father, Murray, operate Holtbyholme Holsteins south of Manch After serving his time in the RAF during World War II, Murray Holtby returned home in 1945, enrolled in the agricultural diploma course and, after graduating two years later, started up Holtbyholme Holsteins. Roger, being a fifth generation Holtby to farm the land, came home in 1978 after graduating from OVC in Guelph and since then has been combining farming and his veterinary practice. Dr. Holtby told the Citizen "there are 15,000 breeders registered with the HAC and thirty breeders across Canada received their Master Breeder Shield this year. Three of these were from Port Perry alone, which says something for the OFA unhappy with budget Rod and Marlene McKay of Willowtree Farms. (photos on this page courtesy Marlene Werry). Rural Ontario residents are once again the governfnent's forgotten people. Roger George, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said; "the budget failed to build on the hype of Byemier Rae's March expansion of the mandate 5f the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food to include Rural Affairs." "The QFA was not looking for mega-bucks," Gearge said, rather a reaffirmation of this government's commitment to the agri-food sector and Ontario's rural communities and a recognition of the role that rural * Ontario has to play in the creation of new wealth for the provincial economy." The OFA is calling the budget speech "a communications disaster", citing the virtual absence of the second largest secjor of the Ontario economy from mention in the budget as proof that people in the Ministry of Finance are still oblivious to the potential of the agri-food sector and the entrepreneurship of rural people to help drive the @ntario economy. "What I heard today was fanfare about building Highway 407 and new subway, linés in Toronto," said George. "What about the townships in rural Ontario with no money to put gravel on the roads? We have areas with no police protection and where hospital care is minimal. Rural Ontario needs infrastructure too." S193) Complete Seed Supplies & Service 3 1/2 miles south of Blackstock = Market Report on Old Scugog Roed Prigéa quoted at market (905) 986-4331 ing Monday. A Licenced Seed Processing Establishment Wm Maple Glen Bm OAC Eclipse Bm Maple Donovan Mm AC Harmony Board Prices includes basis price. $/ $/Metric Bushel Tonne S10) 70) BEANS SWAIN SEED 0s 986-4331 | Soya Bean Innoculant m Seed Grain ® Small Seed # Lawn Seeds available Corn Old 3.42 134.63 Corn New 3.11 122.42 Soys Old 8.73 320.76 Soys New 7.87 289.16 Canola 360.50 Prices supplied courtesy of W.G. THOMPSON & SONS LIMITED . Hwy. 7A & 35, Ri Bethany