Route to the Past – Oxford, the county of champion cows

(Contributed Photo).

Scott Gillies

Next time you enjoy a glass of cold milk, take a moment to consider where it came from, especially if you reside here in the Dairy Capital of Canada.

For nearly the first 100 years of settlement, most farmers relied on such breeds as Ayrshires, Durhams and the dual-purpose shorthorns to supply their families with enough milk for their family consumption. It wasn’t until 1883 that Holstein cattle were introduced into Oxford County by Herman Bollert of Cassel.

Remarkably, the Ontario Agricultural Commission published in 1881 by the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, reported that there were no examples of Holstein cattle to be found in Ontario at that time despite their qualifications and reputation as milk producers.

All that changed in a matter of a handful of years, especially as the importance of the cheese industry grew in Oxford County. Between 1883 and 1890, farmers began to show this breed of cattle at some of the local fall fairs. These included Herman Bollert and his brother William, James Rettie of Burgessville, Alfred and George Rice of Curries, and Alfred Hulet of Norwich. Each were building herds of registered cattle, paying close attention to their record of merit or rate of production of milk and butterfat.

By 1895 the Rice Brothers set a record for the first cow to produce 572 pounds of milk and 25 pounds of butter in seven days. In 1901 one of their cows took the grand champion award at the Pan American Exhibition in Buffalo and in 1906, another won the grand championship at the first National Dairy Show in Chicago. From that point on, Oxford County farms began winning more than their share of awards at provincial and local shows. As the reputation for our cattle expanded nationwide so too did the local concentration of Holsteins increase to become the largest in Canada and the need for a sales agent was recognized. The first such position in Canada was created in 1926 by Ingersoll’s own Byron Jenvey.

One of the most famous of cows of course is the Springbank Snow Countess from the farm of Thomas Roy Dent in Woodstock. Tom’s father had established his herd in 1908 by buying cattle from George Rice of Curries. In 1933, Countess became the world champion lifetime butterfat producer over all other breeds of cattle with a total of 9,062 pounds of fat (4,119 kg) and 207,000 pounds (94,114 kg) of milk in 10 lactations, a record that was to stand until 1954.

In 1937, the Holstein Association of Canada erected a life-size monument to this cow on the Dent farm. In an effort to promote not only the Association but farming in general, a papier mâché model of the cow was taken to Toronto and put on display in the lobby of the Royal York Hotel!

The Springbank Farm produced other cows and developed bulls which also became top producers and champions in their own right, including Montvic Rag Apple Sovereign, recognized as one of the greatest sires of all time. One of his descendants would turn out to be another world champion.

Princess Rag Apple Finest was owned by Salford area farmer Ralph Parker. In January of 1960, her calf Princess Breezewood R.A. Patsy set the butterfat record that eclipsed all previous records of age, breed or number of times milked daily. The new championship record was 1,866 pounds of fat from 36,821 pounds of 5.1% milk. The Holstein-Friesian Journal described her record as “well-nigh incredible”. The average cow at the time produced around 7,000 pounds of milk in a year.

Patsy was a big, rugged cow, weighing 1690 pounds on the day her record was announced.

Physically, she was described as being broad-muzzled, “wide in the floor of her chest”, with a good quality udder. She also possessed a tremendous appetite which her new owners encouraged. Her mother had been sold by Parker to the Gelbke Brothers of Vienna Ohio in 1953.

Ralph Parker had been born on a farm at Cody’s Corners but had been raised in Ingersoll with the family of James Ferguson on Canterbury Street. Following his years of service with the Royal Canadian Air Force, Ralph was able to purchase a 150-acre farm for $4,000 west of Salford in an area known locally as Tipperary on account of the number of Irish settlers. Friendships with various herdsmen helped him establish his first herd of Holsteins on the Beekist Acres Farm which resulted in the breeding of this world champion cow.

Some of that original herd was lost due to tuberculosis and his prize bull died from ingesting a piece of wire in a hay bale, but Parker persevered and continued to farm until 1969. He was awarded a Certificate of Superior Accomplishment by the Canadian Holstein Association in 2010 and passed away on his beloved farm in 2013.

Through the efforts of farmers like Ralph Parker, Tom Dent, Jim Rettie, Alfred Hulet and James Innes of City View Farm overlooking Woodstock, Oxford County came to be known as “the Holland of America” and “the Dairy Capital of Canada”. So, next time you pour yourself a glass of milk, raise it in a toast to Oxford’s dairy heritage.

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