Producer profile

FROM LEFT are Jonas, Kurt, Sam, Marie-Louise, Cavalia Lookout, Michael, Vreni, Adrian and Nils Haeni from Lone Pine Jerseys in Didsbury, Alta.

Photo courtesy of Ella Wright

A PASSION FOR JERSEY COWS AND DAIRY FARMING

By Tamara Botting CONTRIBUTOR

Adrian Haeni grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Switzerland. “I always wanted to be a dairy farmer, so that was never a question,” he says.

In 1993, Haeni and his wife, along with her parents, immigrated to Canada.

“My in-laws and my wife had a mixed farm—some beef, boarding horses, vegetables and fruits,” he says. “When we moved here, we didn’t know anything about the Jersey breed. We bought a herd that had Jerseys in it, and then we thought we’d keep going with (them). We just totally fell in love with the Jersey cow.”

That passion for the breed has since translated to them building a successful farm operation, Lone Pine Jerseys in Didsbury, Alta. They were named the recipients of the 2021 Jersey Canada Master Breeder Award.

“That really made us happy,” Haeni says, adding Jerseys have many benefits besides having a good temperament. “The efficiency of Jerseys, the feed conversion and their health traits—that definitely was a plus.”

The breed’s high butterfat content is another added bonus. Haeni says they’re averaging 28.5 litres of milk with 5.9 per cent butterfat. They milk about 115 cows in their freestall operation, equipped with two voluntary milking systems, which were installed in 2018.

Haeni says while he doesn’t think the robotic milking has really saved any time in the milking process, the system does allow for much greater flexibility.

“You’re not tied down to the exact hours. Also, chores are a bit more relaxed than when we milked in the milking parlour.”

Haeni says between their milking cows, dry cows and replacement heifers, they run about 340 to 350 heads on average.

“We’re a bit unique. In the last three years, we’ve sold more than 80 cows per year to other dairies. We use a lot of sexed semen, so we’ve got enough replacement heifers,” he says. “We’ve got a really good market with young milking cows to sell. We always thought it’s fairer for the buyer when they can see the cow’s conformation, and also know more about her production.”

“I always wanted to be a dairy farmer, so that was never a question.” —Adrian Haeni

Haeni says they raise almost all their heifers on the farm. When they’re first born, “We have the calves in hutches for about seven days, where they get colostrum. After that, we move them into the automatic calf feeder. They get weaned off about three months or so.”

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