Fundraising
The Girls Have Settled In At The New Dairy Education And Innovation Centre
It's good to get a head rub whenever you want.
One of the cows is connected to the Lely Astronaut A3.
The inner workings of the Lely machine with the cover removed. You can see the milk entering the collection container.
The teat cups have come off the front teats while the rear ones are still accepting milk.
The Lely identification collar allows the recording of production and dispensing of feed for each cow.
The cows resting on the new water mattresses covered with processed shavings in the new free stall barn.
Dairy Centre Opened
It’s official!
The Dairy Education and Innovation Centre was officially opened at Kemptville Campus on Friday, May 27, 2011, in a ceremony conducted in a tent erected in front of the new facility for this special occasion.
The revitalization of dairy is an important step in sustaining the agricultural heritage of the college, which will celebrate its centenary in 2017. It’s also the culmination of renewal efforts that began nearly two decades ago.
“I commend my predecessors for their vision and determination in developing and convincing higher authority of the critical need and importance of this state-of-the-art dairy facility in Eastern Ontario,” said Campus Director Claude Naud, the master of ceremonies.
That theme was also prominent in the message delivered by Karen Chan, assistant deputy minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), on behalf of the minister, Carol Mitchell: “The ministry has long been a proud supporter of this campus and its vision of advancing agricultural education and research. That’s why, through the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), we were pleased to invest in building this new centre.” She noted the investment will help strengthen the dairy industry, which is the province’s largest agricultural sector with a farm gate value of nearly 20 per cent of Ontario’s total agricultural production.
Rob Gordon, dean of Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), said, “This new dairy facility will be pivotal to allowing us to continue our commitment to training and creation of new knowledge for our next generation of dairy producers. We are grateful for the support of our partners throughout the dairy industry, alumni and friends as we continue to deliver hands-on experiential education, demonstrating modern dairy technology and herd management.”
While seven guest speakers may seem like a lot, it’s an accurate reflection of the extent of the co-operation between agencies and organizations needed to deliver to Kemptville the distinction of being the first Canadian teaching barn to feature a robotic milking system – a Lely A3 model.
Total cost of the project was in excess of $1.5 million for renovation of the former bull-test station, purchase of the equipment and doubling the size of the dairy herd to 60 head, an expansion which will now begin in earnest.
Representing Dairy Farmers of Ontario, which facilitated the necessary increase in the milk quota, Wes Lane said, “I can really appreciate the tremendous effort that was put forth by many Kemptville alumni in getting this dairy education and innovation centre to the point it is today. It obviously took some strong leadership, passion and dedication to pursue the vision and we commend those who so willingly took part. Of course, DFO also wants to recognize the grassroots support that was provided by the many alumni, farmers, friends, companies and businesses throughout the region who helped to see this project through. It is a credit to all of you.”
Kemptville College Alumni Association and Kemptville College Foundation ran co-ordinated parallel campaigns that combined to raise nearly $380,000. Alumni President Tony Desnoo said it was a chance to give back a little “after having been given so much.” He recognized board members Mac Johnston of Ottawa and Norm Blodgett of Peterborough, key campaigners Ed Schouten of Richmond, Nick Thurler of South Mountain and Robert Byvelds of Williamsburg and canvassers Dick Straathof of Arnprior, Mark Donnan of Stirling, Barton McLean of Napanee, Jim Wert of Newington and Jessica Schouten.
Foundation President Dave Morrow of Perth said “failure was never an option,” no matter how much canvassing or how long it took. He recognized fundraisers Colin Carson and Bill Curnoe of Kemptville, John Fraser of Richmond and John Joynt of Smiths Falls.
Stewart Cressman, board chair of ARIO, the agency that contributed more than $1 million to the project, saluted the community support. He said that the day is gone when the province would fund projects with little or no community contribution: “Now it’s got to come from the grassroots up.”
After the speeches in the tent, a ceremonial ribbon was cut outdoors in front of the facility on a grey and rainy day. The guests, numbering well over 100, then entered the new barn for the unveiling of the donor wall.
Guests were then able to check out the facilities that Dr. Naud had declared would “propel Kemptville Campus to the leading edge of dairy technology” with a “design that surpasses current industry standards, is adaptable to future developments in dairy production and herd management, and allows us to innovate our practices.”
The innovation centre is only 100 metres distant physically, but light years apart, from the tie-stall dairy barn built in 1926. On hand to guide the journey were Lely Canada Inc. General Manager Jerry Claessens and his team whose tools included a demonstration video on a big screen.
Alumni President Tony Desnoo thanked Alumni members for their fundraising success.
Ceremonial ribbon cutting by Dr. Claud Naud, Campus Director, Wes Lane, Director of Communications and Planning, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Karen Chan, Chief Administrative Officer, Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Stewart Cressman, Board Chairman of Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and Dr. Rob Gordon, Dean of Ontario Agricultural College.
Dave Morrow, President of the Kemptville College Foundation and Tony Desnoo, President of the Kemptville College Alumni Association unveil the donor wall plaque.
Norm Blodgett, his son Scott from Toronto, daughter Elizabeth Horsley of St. Catharines and son Peter, owner of Darling Insurance and Realty Ltd., Peterborough stand in front of the donor wall generously donated by Norm, a Year '52 grad and member of both the Alumni and Foundation boards.
Signage generously donated by Scotiabank Agricultural Banking
Stewart Cressman, Paul Sharp and Tim Rennie in the new Dairy Centre.
Dwight Bennett, Wes Lane and fundraiser Ed Schouten at the opening.
Chris Guy and fundraiser Nick Thurler in new Dairy Centre.
Three ladies test out the new water mattresses provided for the health and comfort of the cows.
Albert Koekkoek, Dairy Centre Manager sports a holstein tie.
