Réjean Morin and Véronique Lévesque of La Ferme Morine in Coaticook have retained their crown as Agropur’s milk quality champion for the second year running.
“It’s a wonderful acknowledgment that tells us we’re doing a good job, our methods are sound and we have strong herd management,” says Lévesque. After their first win last year, Morin compared their victory to winning “the Stanley Cup of milk production.”
“We’ve had to accomplish so many different things to come in first. It is meticulous work. It’s about minutiae,” Lévesque explains. “It makes you proud, because you work at it every single day.”
The farm has been in Morin’s family for three generations. Their home dates back to the late 1800s, but Morin’s grandfather purchased the farm in 1948. His father took over in 1971 until Morin took the reins in 2001. Lévesque joined the family in October of 2001, and they hope one or both of their sons will carry the business into its fourth generation.
Describing their relationship with their 40-head Holstein herd, including 35 lactating cows, Lévesque says “For us it’s like they’re part of the family. They are like children. We work with them from morning to night. We call them by their names, not numbers. Because we love them.”
