Golden Sunset Farms brings in golden cattle, excited to work with unique breed

A local family farm has brought in some golden cattle to add to their dairy operation. 

Vern and Lorie Peters at Golden Sunset Farms have their children actively involved with every aspect of their farm in Ile des Chenes. 

Vern says dairy prices are slowly rising. 

“It's a stable income and it's been good for the farm,” he says. “And we enjoy cows, so the enjoyment of the cows is more important than the price of milk.” 

Their daughter Liesl is excited to work with the Guernsey breed. 

“Well, there's not a huge amount of them in Canada and their unique specifically to me because my grandpa talked about them when I was younger,” she explains. “He was born in Western Canada, and he had them in BC. When he moved to Manitoba, he didn't have any and he always talked about these golden cattle. So, then I just kind of fell in love with them.” 

Liesl and her dad bought a few Guernsey cattle last fall. 

“We're starting with that and we're cross breeding some with Holsteins.” 

Liesl notes the milk from golden cows is quite a bit different than what many people are used to. 

“They're a bit different in that they have higher butter fat and protein compared to a Holstein,” she says. “They're not as high as a Jersey, but a little bit higher than Holsteins. Also, why they're called golden cattle is that their milk has a bit more of a golden color to it because of the higher fat. And there is more Omega 3’s in them and certain vitamins and calcium.” 

@steinbach_online

What we learned at Meals on the Farm from Liesl Peters as she showed us the barn at Golden Sunset Farm. She recently started a herd of Guernseys and told us about them, why she loves the barn and also told us how to tell when cow is happy.

♬ My Wish - Rascal Flatts

Breed History: Guernsey cattle were developed on the Island of Guernsey which is one of the Channel Islands off the coast of France. The breed was developed about 1,000 years ago by monks who moved to the island and brought with them the best bloodlines of French cattle, Normandy Brindles, also known as Alderneys and the Froment du Leon breed from Brittany. Guernsey cattle also inhabit the Islands of Alderney, Herm and Sark. In 1819 a law was passed on the islands prohibiting the importation of live cattle to the islands for any purpose. The breed has constantly been improved and maintained pure since that time. 

Guernseys in Canada: The first Guernseys arrived in Canada unintentionally. Guernseys were being taken by ship to New England states, when rough seas forced a landing in Nova Scotia. The residents were so impressed by the cattle that asked the Federal Minister of Agriculture to import some of these easy tempered, golden cattle. In1878, Sir John Abbott, who later became Prime Minister of Canada in 1891, made the official importation of Guernseys to Canada. The breed became very popular in the Maritimes and eventually several herds traveled overland to British Columbia. 

Characteristics: Guernseys are generally a beautiful golden fawn colour with white markings although variations from a brownish red and white to a very light fawn and white are common. They are a medium size dairy cow with most mature cows weighing 550 kgs to 700 kgs. 

Guernseys are known for their quiet temperament, calving ease, early maturity, and efficiency in converting forage to milk solids. The breed is adaptable to extreme climate conditions as well as various housing systems. Guernsey milk is characteristically high in milk solids and has a distinctive golden colour, resulting from its unusually high content of Beta Carotene. - guernseycanada.ca 

Golden Sunset Farms also includes around 1,450 acres of grain. 

We visited the farm as part of Meals on the Farm, delivering a delicious meal for everyone. We were also given a tour of the operation. 

@steinbach_online

Meals on the Farm presented by Steinbach Credit Union visited Golden Sunset Farms, near Ile des Chenes for lunch. We ate, watched our generous sponsors, give the family some prizes, and got a tour of the farm! Enter your farm for Meals on the Farm presented by Steinbach Credit Union on your Steinbach online app.

♬ Humble And Kind - Tim McGraw

Meals on the Farm is made possible through the generous support of the following businesses: 

SCU 

MHV  

Steinbach Dodge 

Marc Hutlet Seeds 

Richardson Pioneer 

Masterfeeds 

H&L Motors 

Hanover Doors 

Denton Krentz 

Space Age Kal Tire 

Titan Trailers 

TC Energy 

HUB International 

LMS Ag 

MNP 

McVicar Farm Services 

Scotia Bank 

Cornerstone Timberframes 

KK Penner Tire Centres

Meals on the Farm at Golden Sunset Farms.

-With files from Carly Koop, Corny Rempel

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, SteinbachOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the SteinbachOnline app.