Kim and Samuel: Keeping milk production going strong

Ferme des Étangs has seen a lot of changes in recent years, but dairy farmer Samuel Grégoire has managed to keep his herd’s performance highly consistent through it all. With the help of his Uniag Cooperative agri-advisor, Kim Lamoureux, he’s keeping his eyes on the prize: profitability and work‑life balance.

“Samuel runs a tight ship,” says Kim. “He stays in control, sees things coming, and is always prepared.”

That’s been Samuel’s approach ever since he took over the family dairy farm in 2015. At the time, the buildings needed upgrading, and the herd’s performance wasn’t always up to scratch.

In 2018, a young Samuel and his father decided to invest in a new free-stall barn with a milking robot. While the cows seemed happy with the change, Samuel found that managing robotic milking put quite a weight on his shoulders. “I was the only one who knew how to do it, and my technician was four hours away,” he recalls. “I never had a moment’s peace.”

Recently, that’s led him to make an important decision: swap out the robot for a milking parlour. “This way, I know when I’m going to work and when I’m going to be done,” he says. With the money he’s saved on cattle feed and robot maintenance, he’s also been able to hire a year-round employee to help with milking.

“Samuel has managed to keep production steady through all these changes,” says Kim. “Even when he changed his milking system, the production and profit margins stayed strong.”

She’s not wrong—Samuel is currently producing 102 kilograms of quota with 70 to 75 cows in milk. He’s placed twice in Sollio Agriculture’s Dairy Performance Awards, most recently with 2.55 kilograms per day (butterfat and protein).

Lactascan: Financial monitoring for dairy farms

In the next few years, Samuel aims to achieve the best margin per kilogram possible. “I do want good production, but it has to make financial sense as well,” he says. “If I can keep the same quota but do it with fewer cows, I’ll consider that a win.”

To help him achieve that goal, his agri-advisor keeps a close eye on things. “I use Lactascan to track margins and other indicators,” says Kim. “Samuel’s always above average on those fronts, but with my technical and financial analysis, I can see if there are still ways for him to improve.”

She’s always on hand when Samuel has questions or wants to try out a new product. “We always try to see what strategy would be a good fit financially and help him stay at the top.”

Kim has been with Ferme des Étangs since she started out as an agri-advisor with Uniag Cooperative in 2011. She was there when Samuel took the reins. She was there when production went up after those initial investments. And now, she’s there to help Samuel stay the course.

Kim has been one of the most consistent factors in the farm’s success, and so has the network she represents. “I really like the cooperative model,” says Samuel. “It gives you access to a big network with expertise in a lot of different areas. And everyone works together toward common goals.”