Ferme Mario Lavoie & Fils

The Ferme République Farm, currently owned by Marie Lavoie, is located in the Republic of Madawaska in the northwestern corner of New Brunswick and, more specifically, in the community of Saint-Basile. Since 1880, the Farm has been passed down from father to son. Great-grand-father Aimé Lavoie started the big farming adventure with about fifteen animals ranging from cows, sheep, pigs, to horses and hens. In 1940, Edmond Lavoie, Aimé’s son, decided to follow in his father’s steps despite the business being only a modest operation at that time. A new chapter opened for the business, however, when, in 1949, upon a request from the owner of the Edmundston’s Notre-Dame Dairy, the Ferme République Farm started selling milk. In 1963, Edmond went ahead with the purchase 11 purebred Ayrshire animals from the region of Montreal. As such, he then entered the ROP milk recording program. He also started using artificial insemination.  Through the years, Edmond succeeded to significantly improve his dairy production and the herd’s genetics. In 1980, 100 years after the founding of the business, Edmond deservedly retired. He then decided to hand the torch to his son Georges-Aimé who, with his wife Céline, ensured the continuity of the dairy farm. Georges-Aimé first invested in the improvement of the infrastructures and the machinery to speed up the business’ growth.  In 1981, he decided to build a new state of the art stable. To deal with the challenge that such a significant investment represented, he chose to increase the milk production per cow and to buy additional quota.  As such, he improved the herd’s feeding and reproduction and opted for milk recording. Aside from the various daily tasks, the Ferme République Farm attended annually the Madawaska Regional Show for almost 50 years. At this event, it was named “Famille Terienne” in 1982 and 1995. In addition to this regional show, the Ferme République Farm also attended on numerous occasions several other exhibitions, including the Fredericton Provincial Show, the Charlottetown, PEI’s Show, the Rimouski Show, the Québec Show, the St-Hyacinthe Spring Show, the Toronto Royal, and the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1985, the Ferme République Farm was awarded a distinctive honour. It earned the best Herd Average across all dairy breeds in New Brunswick, and it also received a prize for Most Improved Herd. In 1988, the Ferme République Farm earned the Best National Average of kilogram of milk per cow per year in the Ayrshire breed, with an average of 8,059 kg and a combined BCA of 228. After 30 dedicated years to his business, Georges-Aimé decided to hand down the farm to his son Mario. As such, in 2009, Mario took possession of the family farm and became the fourth consecutive generation to work on and operate the farm. Holding a Diploma in Agricultural Business, Mario is also an inseminator; as a result, he performs the insemination of his animals. With his spouse Manon and his two children, Marie-Pier and Mathieu, Mario is very proud to carry on this wonderful family tradition. Mario’s father and mother, Georges-Aimé and Céline, still help a lot with the various tasks around the farm, in addition to an employee. In 2010, Mario bought more quota and upgraded the milking system with state of the art automatic take offs to improve milking and the milk quality. In 2012, Mario decided to improve the indoor infrastructure. He moved from a tie-stall system to a free-stall one for young animals.  As such, he can house more animals. For Mario, the Master Breeder Award represents the greatest achievement and greatest pride for an Ayrshire breeder; in other words, it is comparable to winning the Stanley Cup! Several cows contributed to earning this Master Breeder Award. Among them is République Jouet VG-88 who produced 75,872 kg with 4.06% fat and 3.59% protein, République Ytina VG-88 who produced 73,185 kg with 4.14% fat and 3.31% protein, République Gala VG-87 with 74,843 kg, and République Lala VG-89 2*. The latter was Grand Champion in Rimouski in 2006. The Ferme République Farm now owns 70 cows, of which 54 are in lactation, and 56 young animals. Classification shows 5 EX, 31 VG, 26 GP, and 8 G. The herd’s average milk production is 8,108 kg, for a BCA of 236-234-231. With regards to future projects, Mario wants to modify the buildings to improve the comfort of dry and pregnant cows. He is also very interested by the topic of sustainable energy. The Ferme République Farm is very proud of its progression over the last 133 years and hopes that this passion for the land and animals carries on for many generations. Ayrshire Canada offers its most sincere congratulations to the Ferme République Farm for its Master Breeder Award.