My exchange began with being home from home as my host was Graham Johnston of Jameston Holesteins. He farms with his father in the Brampton area of Toronto, milking approx. 60 cows. His cows are sired by A.I. bulls such as Ignitor and September Storm and are mainly classed as being excellent or very good by an outside pedigree classifier. Careful breeding ensures he has good quality cows and high yields.
When we arrived they had just finished off their round baling of hay, this year it had been delayed due to the wet weather. As well as this they plant alfalfa, corn and barley, all these crops are used to feed the cows meaning that they only have to buy in minerals and pellets to supplement the cows' diet.
As well as seeing around the farm we also spent some time seeing the sights of Toronto such as the CN Tower, Hockey Hall of Fame and taking the Hippo tour - a bus that can also operate as a boat, meaning that we could tour the city sights by road and sail along the harbour of Lake Ontario.
All exchangees had a chance to see how Junior Farmers operate by attending a Peel County club meeting. Clubs are much smaller than home with only an average of 15 members, the meeting itself seemed more like our committee meetings.
Graham my host is currently the JFAO member of the year and he explained how winners were chosen on their merit and experience within the organization. Clubs can nominate as many people they like, not like our system of 1 member per club.
The second week arrived quickly and I moved on to Elmira and Guelph, we have spent time touring farms and businesses such as Gencor, a leading semen supplier. Here we got to observe some of their most popular bulls such as the Holestein Comestar Latherus and got to view the preparation of straws.
Later on in the week we visited a rural development scheme that refurbished an old theatre and railway station in a bid to promote better community facilities and relations. In the same area we visited a plant farm that makes its own compost from the surrounding woods as a cost cutting alternative to the bought variety. Nina the owner explained how plants are wintered outside under the snow as this method produces hardy plants that grow in varying conditions.
The Wellington area has a high percentage of Mennonites (a religious order) living there and we had the opportunity to see how their popular mode of transport - the buggy was made and also had a ride in one. They are also skilled craftsmen so we got to visit a wood work shop and see their high quality furniture.
As the week draws to a close we have also visited various dairy herds, a robotic milking machine, the construction site of a new barn and a pig unit.
We are now preparing to leave the Toronto area and head to the Ottawa area for the next fortnight.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and family, the YFCU for selecting me for this exchange and those companies who contributed financially to the costs, Irwin Feeds, United Dairy Farmers and the Northern Bank, without you I wouldn't be here.