Bergevin Farm

It’s with a wide and very proud smile that the Bergevins announced their first Master Breeder title.  Located in Très-St-Sacrement in Howick, Quebec, the Bergevins’ farm began in 1860. The initial herd consisted of 20 Ayrshires in 1930, then it was Mr. Laurent Bergevin’s turn to continue in the 60’s with 35 Ayrshires. In 1983, courageously at only 19 years of age, Guy became owner of the business when his father passed away. Three years later he met Johanne Loiselle who, a few years later, became his associate in the business. The couple now has two beautiful children, Marc-André, 19 years old and Marie-France, 17 years old. Ferme Bergevin SENC is a family business. For Guy it’s herd management while Johanne is in charge of the office work and she also helps in the field and at the barn. The children help occasionally and they also have a part time employee who lends a hand. The herd that has never ceased to evolve today has 17 VG, 34 GP and 8 G. The production average is at 7528kg of milk with BCA’s of 217-204-219. Many stars and high productions are attributed to cows in the herd, notably Bergevin Raichue, TB 88 1*, who has a lifetime production of 89,103kg of milk, or again Bergevin Aline S, EX 2E 1*, with her production of 81,819kg. Priorities at the farm are to have a good quality of life while ensuring the well being of the animals.  It’s mainly for these reasons that intensive pasture, May to November, is still a current practice at the farm.  32 acres are reserved to this effect and a mobile fence is moved twice a day so that the herd always has fresh grass to graze. Their future is being traced quietly, their main objective is to keep the herd sensibly of the same size it is today, about a hundred head, but they want to continue improving the herd on conformation as well as in production. There are no expansion plans and Guy says it so well: « Small and magnificent » For them, the title of Master-Breeder represents a lot; it’s the recognition of their efforts throughout the years. Having realized this feat with very few purchased cows, having built a herd of cows with unbelievable longevity while maintaining a low somatic cells count, an unbelievable fertility rate, a respectable average and a minimal debt rate, all this is part of the great success of the Bergevins. Congratulations to your family for their first Master Breeder title.