2008 Master breeder

Great-great-grandfather Thomas Selph was a drayman in England delivering kegs to local pubs. After a hard day’s work, he was sharing a cola with one of the patrons who offered to sell his homestead in Canada. A deal was struck in that establishment in the small town of Irvine, hence the idea for name of the herd’s prefix! After arriving in Vegreville, Alberta in 1914, four Ayrshires were purchased. They were shipped by rail from eastern Canada, believed to be from Burnside and the Selwood farms. Over the course of his management, three dairy barns were built.

Great-uncle Ken Selph was the only son and a bachelor until he was 57 years old; he enticed his nephew Douglas Wyllie to join him in 1961. They ventured into a hog operation but soon found the dairy to be most profitable. Hence the current dairy barn was built in 1974. In 1979 the farm was incorporated and Douglas took over. Douglas, being an equipment operator before becoming involved in agriculture, enjoyed the crop production side of the operation. Douglas managed to keep his four sons busy and out of trouble. The farm grew in acreage continually. The middle two sons, Lorne and Brent remained home to farm; their responsibilities included management of the dairy.

All natural service was used until 1981. Herd sires were purchased from Alberta herds including Woodlands, Hethergrove and Glen Nethy. The odd 4-H calf was also purchased. Many summer holidays were spent touring the local summer fairs under supervision of great Uncle Ken. A few grand champions here and there and the odd All-Western nominations were received. Once the boys received AI instructions in 1981, the herd started to improve at a quicker pace. Emphasis leaned towards production, so the reward of a larger milk check was always appreciated.

The last several years young sire usage would be in the 90% plus range. Today, Irvine Ayrshires are climbing in the LPI rankings in Canada. In 2007, they were ranked number one best-managed dairy herd in North East region of Alberta. A smattering of Excellent cows have been raised, numerous VG cows all with strong production traits make up the herd’s portfolio. All that said, the goals of raising a young sire or having a class production leader have yet to be achieved.

Today, Douglas and Joyce Wyllie are enjoying semi-retirement lifestyle. Their past few winters have been spent in a warmer climate of the southern U.S.; come spring they return home to plant their share of 2800 acres of crop land and plant the family garden. Emphasis has always been placed on harvesting quality forage to maximize the dairy herd’s performance. The fifth generation is now coming of age and contributing to the work force. Irvine Farm has come a long way since the inception of Thomas Selph becoming a farmer. We will let you imagine what the future holds for this farm.

Now in it’s third generation Lombard Dale Farm is stronger than ever. Lombard Dale was established in 1943 by Orville and Laura Covell. It was Orville’s hard work and determination to succeed that gave the farm the start it needed to continue.

In 1978 Orville and Laura’s daughter Lynne married Ron MacMillan they bought the farm, built a new dairy barn and began to change the herd to make it they’re own. Ron and Lynne loved the show ring attending as many as ten fairs a summer, sometimes two in a weekend. Perhaps their first memorable success in the show ring came from an animal they purchased Terr Ray Princess EX 6E. This cow always impressed judges and spectators. Princess lived to the age of seventeen leaving behind several descendants in the herd. Believing you can always improve your herd by buying a good cow to have fun with and breed from, they purchased an animal looked over by others, but Ron thought she was the one. Debrae Joni EX 5E was just a Springer when they first saw her but she went on to win her class at the Royal and won Best Udder twice as well. A lot of luck was involved in making the next purchase a success. Ron, Lynne and Tim Mount bought two embryos at the Elite sale by Miral Vicky and Heligo both embryos caught and both were heifers, they each decided to keep the one born at they’re farm, that left Ron and Lynne with Mardel Heligo LD Vicky EX 2E. Vicky put two bulls through the young sire program for Lombard Dale. One, Lombard Dale TD Vortex returning as a proven sire. With the philosophy you should always sell something that will do your farm name proud Ron and Lynne agreed to consign Vicky to the Elite sale in 1999. She was the top selling animal and made her new owners at Ferme Maralie as happy as the ones she left at Lombard Dale. These three animals shaped the herd to make it what is today with some other additions along the way.

In 2004 Ron and Lynne’s daughter Melanie married someone as enthusiastic about the breed as she is Lucas Chisholm. Now managing the farm Melanie and Lucas have Lombard Dale going stronger than ever. The cows a milking better then they ever have with a herd average of 8241 3.9F 2.5P BCA`s of 230 216 235. The desire to have a high type herd as not faded either with the current classification sitting at * EX, 23 VG, 22 GP and 3G.

Lombard Dale has sold several animals in the past few years though some top sales such as the Elite sale, the Sale of Stars and the National sale in USA. With a new heifer and dry cow facility built this winter the cows should only get better. Lombard Dale currently had what they believe is the best animal they have ever bred in they’re barn Lombard Dale Nemo Helen VG 89 3YR. With a current projection of 10603 4.1 4.0 and BCA’S of 304 297 366.

Through three generations several things have changed but a few always remain the same they’re love for the Ayrshire cow and there is always a farmer’s daughter looking to marry a young man who wishes to share that love. The future looks bright at Lombard Dale.

This is the third Master Breeder title for the Marbrae Herd. The MacFarlane’s first won the award in 1965 and then again in 1999. The herd consists of about 160 head with about 60 cows in milk. There are 2 EX, 25 VG, 38 GP and 2G with a herd average of over 8000 kg.

The farm consists of 400 acres and they rent about 100 more. They grow barley, soyabeans and corn which provides all of the feed for the herd.

This farm is a favourite stop for visitors. The herd is incredibly uniform from a wide variety of sires. Young Sires are used a lot and also several different proven sires are selected for matings on the cows. As you look down the row, cow after cow they are all functional, dairy animals. Marbrae uses embryo transfer to improve their herd. They also purchase embryos.

One of the cows that had a big influence on the herd was Marbrae Lady’s Lib, EX-2E who lived a productive life until she was 20. Many of her descendants are in the herd today and contributed to this Master Breeder award. Marbrae has also had bulls in AI - Marbrae Captain, Marbrae Ambition and now Marbrae Kindle on the Young sire proving program. Another bull, Marbrae Jamboree sired a few show winners.

Marbrae is truly a family farm; Brian MacFarlane farmed first with his father, Brodie, and then formed a partnership with his wife, Holly, in 1993. In addition to the cows they also make maple syrup, which means that this is a busy time of year for them. All the work on the farm is done by the Brian, Holly and their four children. Brian is also a volunteer fireman. Dale is in his second year studying agriculture at MacDonald College and plans to return home to farm. Rachel is in her final year at High School and very active in 4-H like her younger siblings, Julie and Kevin. The four children have all had success at 4-H shows like Ormstown, Huntingdon, Howick, Lachute and the Classic at the Royal.

The passion for good Ayrshires is being passed down to the next generation so the future looks bright for Marbrae. There may be more Master Breeder titles in years to come.