The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Donal O'Connor Few cows remain high producers of milk for more than about 15 years. Carol Franco, however, was an exception. _ _ -._ At 22, Carol was still producing enough milk to make her an asset to her owner, John McKay of RR 4 St. Marys. In faét, Carol's lifetime record made her the fourth highest prpducer in Canada: BefOre her owner parted company with her in March this year, she had produced 131,663 kgs. of milk at her 19th lactation. Her fat pro- duction was 4,696 kgs. and her butterfat record was 3.57 per cent. The Holstein dairy herd which Mr. McKay maintains at his 300-acre farm had its origins in 1914. V The purebred herd was started by his grandfather, John Alexander 'McKay, who farmed just southwest of John MeKay's farm. John's father, Calvin E. McKay and his wife the former Charolotte Showers, took over the operation in 1944 and John continued the farm business when his father died in 1973. For two years he worked the farm with help-from his wife Dorothy Ann, but when he purchased an additional 100 acres in 1975, Mr. McKay hired a young man by the name of Roger McKay (not of the same McKay family) as a full- time herdsman. With his. eldest son Ken showing a keen interest in farming, Mr. McKay plans to add a further 100 acres to the farm around September. He figures the additional acreage will be sufficient to support a three-man opera- tion. Ken is already spending a good deal of time in assist- ing with the, _herd, and Carol Franco Exceptional Cow following his final year at St. Marys Collegiate, he plans to go on to Guelph. . , Approximately 50 cows are milked at the McKay farm and all heifers and bulls are raised as steers. Also at the farm is a 15 sow furrow to finish operation. Farm produce is mixed in the true sense of the word. The crops grown are corn, alfalfa, beans and wheat. JOHN McKAY stands near the entraiee to [us {aim at RR 4 St. Marys. The McKay farm, Waubuno Brook Farms Ltd., can take credit for having some fine dairy saunas} 0n]: - . _ -- . . . -,~,L L-.. L-.,. _..4 no ' a nun-f Clilb. V _ 's. V . " V‘V" . l . a: ll, 't q i i,' E l . J J.tt jf "Ir ", . . erp , I 'll, / i, LY "Being mixetHilre that, I feel we can keep the soil in better condition and keep our farm machinery inven- tory as low as possible," says Mr. McKay. _ Mr. McKay operates only his own tillage and haying equipment and hires custom operators to take off his tie does his own corn drying on the farm _and crops. WW JOHN (2%”me .‘__'_.s. euftopl drying as well. With Kimi, interest in farming and with the pro- geny of Carol's still arounti, John' McKay is optimistic about the future of the tarp. Caro1's dam, for example, had a 12-year lactation lifetime of 83,240 kgs. of milk and 287.68 kgs. of fat. Her name was Waubuno Brook Jill Lode Star. (Waubuno Brook Farms Ltd. is the name of the McKay farm. It's named after the stream which runs through the property.) Carol's 10 daughters and their grand-daughters, says Mr. McKay, have BCAs (Breed Class Averages) of over 200. His herd average is 152 for milk and 154 for fat. Trai, McKay, incidentally has three teenaged daugh- ters of his own - Terri, Heather and Lisa - all of whom, he says, "are a terrific help." And with Ken and Roger assisting, says Mr. McKay, it's easier to get away on occasion to attend conven- tions and for holidays "which wasn't possible a few years ago."