Frank Louwagie takes pride in his work, raising and harvesting milk from 150 Holstein cows in his family’s modern dairy barn near Mitchell, Ontario.

“We built this barn using all the best and latest ideas on how to best look after animals. For example, they lie on sand and have big, spacious stalls and they can walk freely wherever they want. They are fed by robots and even milked by robots,” the Perthshire dairy farmer said.

Louwagie’s cows milk themselves, entering the milking robot whenever they feel the need. Each cow wears a “fit bit” that tracks everything from breathing patterns to how often they chew, helping Louwagie treat sick cows before they get sick.

“Just like a mother might notice that her child is sick or just not right, we have 150 children here that we have to take care of. We don’t always notice it, but technology allows us to immediately pay attention to that animal,” Louwagie said.

Robotic feeders measure the amount of food in the cows’ troughs and only feed them when needed, which has brought huge benefits to Louwagi and his herd.

“We’ve increased our milk production by 50 percent in the last 10 years, which is amazing to me. These cows have always been able to do this, we’ve been the ones who have been getting in their way,” Louwagie said.

Perthshire dairy farmer Frank Louwagie, seen on Sept. 4, 2024, opens his farm to the public on Sept. 14 as part of the Breakfast at the Farm program. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

All of that will be on display next weekend when hundreds of city dwellers descend on Hillmanor Holsteins for a farm breakfast, an event organized by Farm and Food Care Ontario, which opens up farms so people can see farming up close and personal.

The Hillmanor Holsteins Farm Breakfast on September 14 will be the 25th such event in the past eleven years.

Louwagie said he signed on to host because he wants people to see what happens on 99.9 per cent of Ontario farms, rather than the 0.1 per cent depicted in animal cruelty films, as fewer and fewer people have any connection to farming.

“Nobody has that relationship anymore. The farm was two, three, four generations ago. Farming has really changed. As good as your grandfather treated his cows, we treat them so much better. No offense to your grandfather,” Louwagie said.

More information about the next Breakfast on the Farm can be found online, which will include exhibitions and meetings with farmers from other agricultural sectors, who will also be happy to answer questions.

“We’ve embraced technology as much as we can. And the cows have rewarded us with health, more milk, longer lives, healthier lives, it’s been a win-win,” he said.