ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The New York Ayrshire Club is gearing up to host the 2008 National Ayrshire Convention June 4-7 in Rochester, N.Y. at the R.I.T. Inn and Conference Center.
Besides the annual business of the Ayrshire association, the convention will be packed with tours, workshops, contests and the national sale.
Other tours include the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse and the Strong Museum of Play of Rochester.
A tour of Sonnenburg Gardens and Mansion, a state historic park located in Canandaigua, N.Y., will kick off the convention. Sonnenburg is a 19th-century estate that showcases early 20th-century horticulture and architectural styles.
The Strong Museum of Play is home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and is recognized as one of the nation’s top museums for families and children.
The Erie Canal Museum is housed in the 1850 Weighlock Building where the canal boats were weighed. The museum gallery is full of exhibits that give visitors a look at canal life.
Herd tours
New York Ayrshire herd tours include: Jackson Hill Farm, Sunny-Acres Farm, Haynes Farm and Lincolnshire Farm.
• Jackson Hill Farm consists of 750 acres of hill ground in Steuben County, and is owned and operated by the Atherton family. They are in their fifth generation of Ayrshire breeders with 80 milk cows and 100 youngstock.
They grow corn for silage and hay for haylage and dry hay.
• Haynes Farm has been in operation since 1850, and has been an Ayrshire dairy herd since 1926, when Robert Haynes Sr. purchased the first Ayrshire cow.
Today, the 65-cow dairy is owned by Scott Haynes.
The 277-acre farm uses rotational grazing supplemented with a TMR ration purchased from a neighboring dairy.
• Sunny Acres Farm has been in existence since 1865, and has been designated a Century Farm by New York State. Sunny Acres is run by Doug and Kathe Evans along with their children.
In addition to farming, Doug runs a veterinary practice specializing in dairy reproduction. The farm consists of 240 acres and over 88 head including 50 milking cows.
The herd average is over 20,000 pounds of milk.
• Lincolnshire Farms was started in 1944 by Robert Place with Ayrshire cows.
Today, Lincolnshire is home to 75 cows and about 100 head of young stock.
The family is currently farming 400 acres for winter forage, which is primarily a corn silage and dry hay diet. The whole herd is rotationally pastured from late April to late fall.
Sale
The national Ayrshire convention sale will be held June 7 at the Hemlock Fairgrounds, Hemlock, N.Y., located 20 minutes from the convention. This sale is offering more than 60 quality consignments and embryo packages.
Highlights include:
• Covey Farms Wilton Libby, VG-87 reserve All-American junior 2-year-old with a record of 2-01 29,376 milk, 1064 fat, 855 protein projected. Libby is bred to Palmyra Tristar Burdette and is due July 25. She is consigned by Evans, McDonald and P&A, Georgetown, N.Y.
• Steve McDonald and Pam Jeffrey, West Kingston, R.I. send Halle a fancy Solider Junior 2-year-old. She is out of Diamond Ridge BBBK Hannah, VG-87.
The dam, Hannah, was All American senior 3-year-old in 2007, and All American senior 2-year-old in 2006, and also was named reserve grand champion at the Central National Show in 2007.
• Also highlighting the sale will be S&M Ayr Pardners Hope, the reserve All American winter yearling selling fresh. Her dam is a VG-88 point cow with 18,260 milk, 708 fat and 539 protein.
The second dam is a VG-89 with 18,930 pounds of milk. Hope is the consignment of Stillmore Cattle Company, Perry, Minn.
Workshops
“Golden Profit Opportunity” is the title of the workshop that Sam Leadley will present. Leadley is the calf/heifer management specialist for the Attica Veterinary Associates, Attica, N.Y., a practice devoted solely to bovine care.
He consults with dairy farmers and heifer growers with the economic goal of raising healthier, faster-growing animals through better management practices.
Working with the veterinary clinic laboratory, he runs a Colostrum Quality Control Program. He also lectures and teaches classes primarily in the Northeast and Midwest.
The junior Ayrshire membership will be as busy as the adults with board and committee luncheons, dairy bowl contests and banquets. The National Ayrshire Princess will be crowned, as well as the outstanding youth named.
For more information, schedule of events and registration forms, go to www.nyayrshire.com.
