Ferme Du Petit Lac

Few Ayrshire herds have a history such as Du Petit Lac Ayrshire. Over generations, this herd deserves its first Master Breeder title. The story of the herd began in 1909 when Mr. Jacques Rousseau started a purebred Ayrshire herd he called Du Petit Lac. 33 years later, in 1942, his son Leo-Paul took over the farm and pursued with the herd. Seven years later, the business went up in flames, destroying all the buildings. The animals survived but Léo-Paul had to sell them because he had no more forage to feed them. He kept only a few calves. Loving cows, he does not let the ordeal discourage him; he rebuilds and buys crossbred cows, mainly Holsteins. However, Ayrshire breeding does not end, and the little calves he had kept remained to keep the breed on the farm. In 1974, two years after Réal, of the new generation, took over the farm, he buys purebred Ayrshires - the first ones since the fire. Things happen fast with Réal. In 1975 many changes occur when the buildings are expanded and modernized. They also join Milk Recording. In 1987, the last crossbred animals are sold and the Du Petit Lac herd is once again 100% purebred Ayrshire. Réal’s son, Frédéric and his wife join the farm in1997. A year latter, they invest in the construction of a new barn with natural ventilation as well as quota. Eight years later, Frédéric’s younger brother, Jean-François claims his place on the farm and the two brothers later bought back the shares from their parents, Réal and Hélène. Frederic’s wife, Caroline Couture, is co-owner with her parents of Ferme Coubert, a dairy farm in the Estrie region. Therefore, in 2005, another association occurs between Ferme Coubert and Frédéric. In July 2006, the cows from the Du Petit Lac herd were moved to Ferme Coubert and the calves vice versa. Today, the cows in milk, dry cows and calves up to 6 months are kept at the main farm in Compton. The calves are later transferred to Lingwick, where Jean-François manages and looks after the animals Their breeding philosophy is passionate and simple. They want well-balanced cows that last a long time, animals that move on strong feet and legs preferably with well-attached udders. Presently the herd consists of 210 head including 100 cows; 90 head of which 45 are Ayrshires with the Du Petit Lac prefix, the rest are Holsteins. The production average is at 8544 kg, with 4,4% fat and 3,5% protein for a BCA of 236-242-242. Regarding Classification of the Ayrshire herd, we find 3 EX, 20 VG, 16 BP and 2 G. Up to now, the Du Petit Lac prefix has raised 9 cows that became EX. The highest classification is however that of Du Petit Lac Sylvester Hamande who is EX 95 2E. With six titles of Grand Champion, three as Reserve Grand Champion, notably at the 2008 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, two Junior Champion, two Tout-Québec, one Reserve Tout-Québec, as well as one All-Canadian and one Reserve All-Canadian, this cow is the pride and joy of her owners, with reason. She comes from one of the best families in the herd. Her dam, Du Petit Lac Hamanda is classified VG 88 and has a lifetime production of 88 474 kg of milk. She is still in the herd. Her grand-dam, Du Petit Lac Shine Colka, is the matriarch of 33% of the herd. This EX 4E cow is a 2 star brood cow. Du Petit Lac Star Turene, is also an important part of this herd, her progeny accounts for 30% of the herd. To mention only a few daughters, Du Petit Lac Milkman Coquette EX 90 4E, has left her mark. She has a lifetime production of 112 736 kg of milk in 11 lactations, she had 7 daughters in 11 calvings and lived to 16 years of age. Her sister, Flacha 2, Excellent 90 3E, has a star and still produces in the herd at 13 years old. Finally, Du Petit Lac Machine Amy GP has 1 star for 12% of the herd. Notably, two daughters classified VG 86, of which Du Petit Lac Charlot Jamy who is still in the herd at 11 yrs old. Many animals also made their mark in the show ring. It was in 1994 that we saw Ferme Du Petit Lac at the fairground for the first time. Since then, numerous banners and championship as well as performance awards have been won, at both, regional and provincial level. In 1997, even their milk production was honoured, having the best BCA, 26-35 records class at Canadian level, 2nd highest production average in Quebec and 6th Canadian. For the Couture-Rousseau family, Ferme Du Petit Lac Ayrshire, their motto is to always continue to surpass themselves in order to leave a rich inheritance to the future generations, what they have been doing brilliantly to this day.