Crystal Springs Cheese lies on the corner of Range Road 222, nestled among the fields of the southern Alberta prairies.

Jim Eby is a contented man, living his dream. The Waterloo, Ontario, area farm he calls home was purchased by his parents, Howard and Annie, in 1959.

When Clarence Markus and his wife, Wendy, took over his family’s 60-cow dairy, Markvale Holsteins in Beachville, Ontario in 1985, they knew they wanted to set the business up so that, someday, their children might have the opportunity to farm.

One of the stops on the B.C. Dairy Expo Farm Tour earlier this year was the Holberg Dairy Farm in British Columbia. Nearly 1,000 visitors arrived and expressed their liking for the bright open barn and calm, contented cows.

“Early retirement,” Bas Froese-Kooijenga says with a laugh when asked what he hopes the Sunnyside Creamery he owns with his wife, Martha, will accomplish.

“Fire! Fire! Wake up! Wake up!” Ruby Peterson woke abruptly to a call from a neighbour informing her that their dairy barn at Peterson Farms, Agassiz, British Columbia, was ablaze.

Christmas is a magical time. From the twinkling lights, decorations and Christmas carols, to cups of hot chocolate and skating on a frozen pond, everyone has something they love about Christmas festivities.

“When will I finally get my own cow?” At 7 years old, Xavier Malenfant from Saint-Cyprien, Quebec, wasn’t kidding at all when he asked his godfather and uncle that question. Four years later, Dave Labrie says without a doubt, the decision to buy a Brown Swiss cow for his nephew was the right one to make.

A new greensite dairy for Velrob Farms isn’t just a part of the Veldman family’s succession plan. It is also an extension of their efforts towards sustainability.

Farming around weather patterns is a constant challenge for dairy producers. The frequent rains this year are resulting in very tight windows for fieldwork.