Yorellea Farms, located in rural St. Eugene, Ontario, is celebrating their families’ multigenerational dedication to the farm, cows and top management with a Master Breeder Shield – their first!
Give a brief history of your operation along with how you got your start in registered dairy cattle. Who is involved on the farm now and what is their role?
Yorellea Farms is owned and operated by husband and wife duo, Tim LeRoy and Kelsy Mode, along with Tim’s dad, Ralph, and Uncle Jeff. Tim manages the herd, but everyone is involved in all aspects of the daily operation of the farm. Ralph’s wife, Dorothy, works off the farm and helps out whenever she can. The earliest record of the farm dates back to 1847, when our family purchased the land. Ralph and Jeff’s dad, Solomon, began registering the herd of 20 head in 1967 under the Yorellea prefix. In 1979, Ralph and Jeff built a freestall barn with a double 5 herringbone parlor. The herd expanded to 70 milk cows. Tim joined the farm full-time in 2007 and a sand-bedded freestall facility with two Lely robots was built in 2013.
Which cow families have influenced your herd the most in terms of contributing points for the Master Breeder Shield?
In 2002, we purchased a 4-H calf, Nixholm Lee Nell VG-88 15*. Four years later we purchased embryos out of her maternal sister, Nixholm Linjet Laverne EX-92-4E 11*, from Harold K Nixon, a local dairy farmer. Descendents from these two cows represent the true type model and contributed 28% of the points towards this shield. Another family that has had great influence on our herd is the Yorellea Inquirer Angela family, which gave us our first excellent cow, Yorellea Jolt Elvira, as well as Yorellea Windbrook Manhatten who we sold but did well in the show ring. Finally, the Yorellea Blitz Goldylocks family has produced many problem free, productive cows who had a hand in contributing points to this Master Breeder Shield.
Who are a few of your herd favorites today that represent the ‘complete cow’ in your mind?
Our herd favorites today include two mother and daughter duos:
- Dam: Yorellea Fantasy Ivory, VG-87 3* (9th lact. – 173,180KG) | Daughter: Yorellea Dempsey Octavia, EX-93-2E (4th lact. – 83,330KG)
- Dam: Yorellea Superpower PrettyLady, EX-92-3E (4 Superior Lactations) | Daughter: Yorellea Sidekick TipsyLady, VG-86-2YR
Other standout cows we love working with:
- Yorellea Superpower Oceana, EX-93-3E
- Yorellea Denver Raven, EX-4YR
- Yorellea Superpower Summer, VG-87-2YR
- Yorellea Atmosphere Tish, VG-2YR
How has the operation and your goals changed overtime? What are some management strategies you’ve implemented that have had the most positive impact on your herd?
In 2013 we built a new sand-bedded freestall robot barn which has allowed us to expand our herd to 110 milking cows. Cow comfort was the main focus when building this facility with the goal of increasing production and longevity. The facility has done that and more, helping us achieve this shield. After a successful transition into the new barn, production increased by 30% and now 50% of the herd is 3rd+ lactation.
Other management strategies we’ve adopted include an accelerated growth program for calves from birth to weaning as well as honing in on calf and heifer health. This helps our youngstock reach their fullest genetic potential as we aim to have all heifers calved by 23 months of age.
Additionally, a revamped, two-group dry cow program has improved postpartum cow health and increased peak milk production. Transition cows receive a DCAD supplement prior to calving. Regular herd health and hoof trimming visits have also had a positive effect on the herd.
Describe what this honor means to you. Do you have any advice you’d offer to new breeders?
Achieving this Master Breeder Shield is a great honor and accomplishment for our farm and we couldn’t be happier. The award is validation to multiple generations of our family’s hard work. It demonstrates that dedication to our livestock, land and farming community has paid off over the years.
What’s next?! Tell us about the short- and long-term goals you have for the future of your operation and herd.
Our goal is to continue progressing in all aspects of our farm by keeping up with top herd management, producing high quality forages and making sound breeding decisions. Keeping on top of herd health and cow comfort is also important to us to ensure each individual can reach their full genetic potential. If all goes well, maybe one day we can achieve a second shield!
Yorellea’s quick stats:
- Herd breakdown: Milking- 110, Dry- 18, Youngstock- 90
- Herd classification average: 18 ME, 6 EX, 72 VG, 32 GP
- Herd production average: 42KG 4.2%F 3.3%P (13,300KG per lactation)
- Sires they’re currently using: Unix, Bullseye, Haniko, Doc, Delta Lambda, Master, Unstopabull
