Ferme La Seigneurie

In 1910, Antoine Robichaud bought the first lot that now constitutes the centre of the farming business of his great-grand-son Bruno.  At that time, little did he know that the property he had just purchased would have, 105 years later, 147 cultivated hectares and 124 wooded hectares. François, his son, took over the family farm, which he operated in addition to his blacksmith farrier’s trade. But the great adventure of the Ferme Robichaud, as we now know it, truly started in 1957, when Arthur and Marsienne Couillard, Bruno’s parents, took over the family land. At that time, the farm had 14 cross-bred Ayrshire cows, 43 cultivated hectares, and 50 wooded hectares, as well as a small maple grove. Quickly after taking over the ownership of the family farm, Arthur began the transformation from traditional farming to commercial farming. This transformation was completed progressively, by renovating, expanding, and, mostly, modernizing the farm buildings, by selecting and increasing the size of their dairy herd, by gradually acquiring the tools and mechanized machinery required, and by extending their arable farmland. In 1966, he built a wooden silo. That same year, milk recording started with 25 Canadienne cows, the Ayrshire breed having slowly been abandoned. Arthur  and Marsienne were honoured at the Mérite agricole of 1969. In 1972, Arthur extended the barn by 70 feet and, 3 years later, he bought their fourth lot, which belonged in the olden days to his maternal grand-father. In 1974, thanks to their rigorous hard work, they obtained the 4thposition at the Médaille d’Argent of the Ordre national du mérite agricole. In the 80s, the business became substantially bigger, with the addition of 2 concrete silos and a 100-foot cow barn. The farm then had 80 Canadienne cows.  In more recent years, mostly, they have earned a very enviable reputation, owing to the numerous trophies won at the Rimouski and Québec Shows, as well as the breeder and exhibitor honours awarded to the owners for their Canadienne herd. In 1981, the first Ayrshire cows made their appearance within the herd. The cows were purchased from Joseph-Armand Beaulieu and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Rosary of Rimouski: two distinguished herds. They constituted the base of the pure-bred Ayrshire herd, known then and to this day under the prefix La Seigneurie. Breeding choices were made, mainly, to favour milk production. Ayrshire heifers replaced Canadienne heifers. In 1988, when Arthur sold his farm assets, there remained no Canadienne cow. The society Ferme Robichaud et Fils Enr. was established, owned by Viateur Robichaud and his spouse Martine Roussel and Bruno Robichaud and his spouse Édith Deschênes. They operated this farm together for nearly twenty years. In 2007, Viateur and Martine decided to sell their share of the business. With their children Roxane, Anthony, Samuel and Iseult, Bruno and Édith decided to continue operating this ancestral farm, which is now at its 5thgeneration. From a joint-ownership dairy farm which had 140 animals and some sixty kilos of quota in 2007, it has since become a self-sufficient family farm with 115 Ayrshire animals and more than fifty kilos of quota. The 2014 herd’s average was 9,348 kg, with a BCA of 260-260-269. In the herd, there are: 2 EX, 12 VG, 34 GP, and 13 G. What earned the Robichaud Family the prestigious Master Breeder Award is mainly their milk production, which was obtained thanks to tight management and by favouring cows’ longevity. A few examples are: La Seigneurie Noblesse VG-87, who produced 95,231 kg of milk and will calve over the next few months for the tenth time; La Seigneurie Tayara VG-85, with 54,952 kg in 6 lactations; La Seigneurie Tournesol VG-87, with a production of 50,192 kg in 5 lactations; La Seigneurie Urielle VG-86, 54,084 kg in 5 lactations; and, La Seigneurie Uta EX 2E 90, with 40,921 kg in 4 lactations. Over the last eight years, sires have been chosen mostly for their conformation, albeit without neglecting milk, fat, and protein production. During the last few rounds of classification, results were seen, through the classifications of VG young heifers in their first lactation, such as La Seigneurie Oblique Yoga VG-85, La Seigneurie Magnat Zabou VG-85, La Seigneurie Xénia VG-85, and La Seigneurie Yamina VG-85, as well as EX cows, such as La Seigneurie Uta EX 2E 90 and La Seigneurie Ulyssia EX 90. Bruno and Édith’s greatest pride remains their children: Roxane, 24, is finishing her Master’s Degree in Agronomy, specialized in Dairy Bovine Nutrition; Anthony, 22, has started a B.A. in History; Samuel, 19, has started a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy; and, Iseult is in grade 9 (secondary 3). They all contributed in their own way to the success of the business. Without their help and advice, things would probably have been a lot different, and a lot less fun. Over the next few years, the Robichauds hope to acquire more quota. They also want to consolidate their business and improve their herd. But, above all, they wish to retain their Master Breeder title for still many more years to come. Ayrshire Canada offers its most sincere congratulations to Ferme La Seigneurie for its Master Breeder Award.