Tavistock's Walnutlawn farm selected as one of three recipients of the Master Breeder award.
TAVISTOCK - Holstein Canada has announced their 2014 Master Breeder recipients, which include a farm family from Tavistock.
This is the second time Walnutlawn Farms Limited operated by the Zehr family has taken home a shield and joined the ranks of the most elite cattle breeders in Canada.
Manager of Classification and Field Service at Holstein Canada Doctor Bethany Muir says the Zehrs are in judging group 7 with just 21 breeders total being awarded this year.
"They do approximately 40-59 female registrations per year. Basically within their herd category they are competing against 338 other herds in 2014 and that's associated with about 270,000 registrations."
Muir says within their herd category -even though there were 338 herds which competed this year- only three were selected for 2014.
The Master Breeder designation is recognized world wide says Muir. "If you look in any of the international magazines over the next few months, you will often see other countries promoting the Canadian Master Breeders because it is a world class system both for what it takes to get the shield and the kind of complication to which we require the points to be calculated."
Walnutlawn Farms Limited is one of just eight operations this year receiving their second Master Breeder shield.
Muir says becoming a Master Breeder is a conscience effort at every cattle breeding spread over a 16 year window and is often something families and generations are working toward their entire lives.
"You make the decision to breed a holstein cow to a sire and the result of which is a calf is born -- a holstein female calf -- and then that animal is raised and milk recorded and classified and depending how well they do in those two categories they earn points."
The Zehr family will be recognized at a special ceremony in April.
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