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Houriganâs Dairy Farm
John, Nancy and Matthew Hourigan, Elbridge, New York With a rich farm history dating back to 1804, John and Nancy Hourigan say they are fortunate to have the opportunity to be dairy farmers. Shortly after the couple married, they began working on his parentsâ dairy farm while raising cash crops. With seven cows of their own, they rented neighboring farms until their current farm came up for sale in 1977. Since then, they have expanded and modernized to a current farm of 800 cows and grow close to 8,000 acres of crops including corn, hay, wheat, soybeans and green beans. The first calf John purchased was created by artificial insemination (A.I.) and his father relied on A.I. and the New York Artificial Breeders Cooperative (a predecessor of Genex) as early as 1950. Today, service is provided by the Genex âBig Gunsâ team with Kelly Lavancha as the daily contact. âWeâve stayed with Genex through the years because it all comes down to genetics and service. Genex has a knack for hiring people dedicated to their job and doing it right.â John appreciates the expertise of these employees and relies on Genex to make all breeding decisions. The herd has a longstanding tradition of using high Lifetime Net Merit sires with good Productive Life and Daughter Pregnancy Rate. âI leave it all up to the technicians, theyâre the experts! Theyâre doing well and my herd is where it needs to be.â j John and Nancy Hourigan with Kelly Lavancha of Genex.
John is not afraid to look to Genex for help beyond the daily breeding. A few months ago John and his herdsman, Woody, realized the night crew was having a hard time catching and reporting heats. They approached Genex and together developed and presented a training program for the Hispanic workers on the dairy. The program was well received and heat detection has since improved. Reflecting on their humble beginnings and their passion for the industry, the Hourigans are involved in activities and organizations that support the local economy while also securing a future for dairying. After conserving their farmland through New York Stateâs Farmland Protection Grant, Nancy became a strong advocate for farmland preservation. Together with other passionate agriculturalists, Nancy was a founding board member of the New York Agricultural Land Trust. This groupâs sole purpose is to conserve New York farmland for the purpose of agricultural use, a philosophy many farmers agree with. Today the group has staff on board and is working on conserving 10,000 acres of farmland. In perpetuity, the land will not be able to be developed so generations may continue to grow the rich New York farming heritage. ďŽ A Author Bio: Angie Kringle grew up on a dairy farm in northwest Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in dairy science. Angie served as a GENESIS Cooperative Herd Intern before becoming the CRI Communications Specialist.
Š2012 CRI
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