Just outside of Truro, Nova Scotia, bordering the Cobequid Bay, stands a new state of the art dairy facility known as Charles Hill & Sons Limited. Charles Hill and Sons is a fifth generation family farm, currently run by Tara Hill-MacMillan and husband Al, alongside Tara’s father, Geordie Hill. The farm currently milks between 150-160 cows, in a recently constructed facility housing 4 GEA Monobox automated milking systems.
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Charles Hill & Sons Limited
“It’s always a pleasure to step foot on the farm”, notes Jack Duff, Territory Manager & Dairy Nutrition Advisor.
Often greeted on Monday mornings with freshly baked muffins and cookies (baked fresh by Tara), the farm is always a great first stop of the day. The farm strives to maximize nutrition, quality forages and cow comfort in order to produce quality component rich milk, while maximizing the health and wellbeing of their animals.
“A strong focus is spent on doing things right”, Jack explains.
From the calves, heifers, lactating group as well as transition cows, the farm strives for excellence – and it shows.
“The transition diet is simple but it works” explains Jack. “Minimizing stress, maximizing cow comfort and balancing a proper diet in Newton, gives us the benefits of good transitions and strong milk production in her subsequent lactations”.
The farm is clean, the air is fresh and the cows are comfortable. Alley scrapers, slatted floors, as well as a compressed manure bedding system delivered to the stalls on a rail system above the barn, lessens the labor hours associated with maintaining such a large facility.
In 2017 the farm was nominated for the Farm Environmental Stewardship Award, by the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA). The award recognizes the dedication and commitment to protecting the environment while participating in the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) program. In a world where the industry rises and falls on public perception, this farm does an excellent job of positioning itself well in the eyes and minds of the community.
“The farm is not only a good steward of the environment, but also an excellent ambassador for dairy farming and the agricultural industry as a whole”, says Jack.
Dairy Nutrition Advisor & Territory Manager
Jack Duff
Charles Hill & Sons Limited
> Truro, Nova Scotia
Owners: Geordie Hill, Tara Hill-MacMillan and Al MacMillan, 5th generation
Milking 140-160 Holstein
Kg: 40-42
Fat: 4.3%
Protein: 3.20%