Nelson Zandbergen
Farmers Forum
EASTERN ONTARIO — Twenty years ago, there were 6,000 dairy farms in Ontario. Today, there are 3,274 dairy farms. Another 70 producers called it quits over the last year, according to the latest numbers from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
That leaves no shortage of former-dairy farmers in the countryside and Farmers Forum asked three of them about their transition to retirement.
Joseph Davidson
Joseph Davidson, 56
Winchester Springs, Ont.
Number of milking cows: 31
Years as a dairy farmer: Lifetime (starting at age 7)
Sold cattle: October 2022
What’s the best thing about being out of dairy farming?
“More free time to do what I want. I was doing it by myself all the time, and it got to be too much.”
What’s been the toughest thing?
“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t really have a problem or issue.”
What advice do you have for retiring dairy farmers?
“Set a date. I told myself I was getting done at the end of October, and I stuck to that. So there were no regrets at all when the end of October came along, I was more than fine with everything. To have a plan is what I’d be saying, and have a purpose to get out, so you’re not sitting in the house all the time wondering what you should do. I still have heifers to feed that I’ll be selling in the spring.”
Do you consider yourself retired?
“In one way, yes, retired from milking and dairy. But totally retired? No. I’m going to be doing 300 acres of cash cropping. I guess I’m semi-retired.”
Fred Stuyt
Fred Stuyt, 60
Richmond, Ont.
Number of milking cows: 60
Years as a dairy farmer: Lifetime (since age 8)
Sold cattle: May 2017
What’s the best thing about being out of dairy farming?
“No longer having the long hours. There’s quite a decrease in workload.”
What’s been the toughest thing?
“Missing the cows. I had a registered purebred herd… When you’re breeding cattle your whole life, you tend to get a little more attached to the cow families that you have. It’s kind of a culture shock going 24/7 and then all of a sudden, it just kind of stops. It’s important to keep busy after the cows go, which I did, but you have to make that adjustment.”
What advice do you have for retiring dairy farmers?
“Have a plan with what you’re going to do with your time after you’re done, whatever that may be. It depends on your finances and everything, but just have a plan to keep busy. Idleness is unhealthy, in a lot of different respects. I’m cash cropping but then the winter gets slow, so you either help the neighbour or whatever…. You need something to get you out of bed in the morning.”
Do you consider yourself retired?
“No. I always say semi-retired. I’ll be semi-retired until I die (laughs)… Once a farmer, always a farmer. I cash-crop 250 acres and do some other things.”
Roger Courville
Roger Courville, 60
Crysler, Ont.
Number of milking cows: 45-50
Years as a dairy farmer: Lifetime (since age 10)
Sold cattle: March 2022
What’s the best thing about being out of dairy farming?
“Freedom. I have to say, I’ve never had it. It’s been the best thing, to do whatever you want whenever you want.”
What’s been the toughest thing?
“There hasn’t been anything tough. Seriously, we were ready. We had been planning for a while. When you’re planning your exit, and your exit ends up being what you were anticipating … we were fortunate things went well. The sale went well, and the cows went to good places.”
What advice do you have for retiring dairy farmers?
“Make sure you have something to do. It’s a big change to being busy seven days a week, to the cows being gone. Have a plan. Make sure you’re ready, so you feel good after the cows are gone. That’s how we feel about our sale. We’re proud of everything we offered.”
Do you consider yourself retired?
“Semi-retired. I’ve got the land and there’s lots of work to do around here, stuff we never had time to do before. Now we’ve got clean-ups and fence lines and stuff like that.”
