ALEXANDRIA — A five-year-old cow bred on a Glengarry farm has been named 2007 Canadian Champion by Holstein Canada.

Glenrapha Bernice, produced 21,506 kilograms of milk, 1098 kilograms of fat and 698 kilograms of protein over 305 days. Her amazing production achievement is the equivalent to the production of five and one half average Holsteins in the 50s.

Bernice was sold by Gilbert Dore to Francois Paiement, of Mirabel, Quebec, and is currently owned by another Quebec farm, Ferme Syma Holstein, Ste-Elisabeth.

"We never had production like that in our barn," Dore said in an interview, referring to Bernice’s achievement. "We were more of a show herd. We showed at Williamstown and Kemptville."

The mother of Bernice produced 11,000 kilograms of milk over 305 days. Bernice was sired by a French bull, Eblack. Her grand dam, sired by Matador, classified Excellent and had a breed class average of 244, about half the production of Bernice. Breed Class Average is an index that measures the production of cows against other cows.

Dore said he always knew that Bernice would be a good producer because she was aggressive and a good eater. He remembers bringing her to a show at Williamstown after her first calf when she pushed aside the other cows around the feed bunk. "She was the boss," he says.

The herd was started by Lionel Dore in 1974 at Green Valley, near Alexandria, and handed down to his son Gilbert in 1998. Faced with the prospect of building a new barn and contentious water issues since the farm’s fields line the river bank, Gilbert decided to sell. The quota was sold in 2002 and the cows bought by a neighbour, Casey Vadenberg. Gilbert held on to the heifers until May of 2003 and now works as a milk tester for Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation.

However, cows from the Glenrapha Farm are still having an impact on the show circuit. Brittany, bearing the Glenrapha prefix, has been named reserve and grand champion at two major Quebec shows.