Innovation

Enright Dairy Farm Incorporated is not a company with a particularly smooth sailing journey. In 2008, a fire struck the farm which led to the destruction of several farm buildings. A big effort was made to rescue the remaining cow population. The rebuilding process, though challenging, led the farm to improve its model and modernize the system. Through this, the farm was able to grow and reach even higher heights. “We got through it all thanks to hard work and determination; Triumph over Adversity”, Jerry stated in the interview.

The farm started implementing robotic milking in 2017-2018, an innovation that saves on labor costs, but more importantly on medical costs for the cows. This form of technology analyzes various aspects of each cow. From how many steps they walk, how long they lie down, milk temperature, to their nutritional needs in order to formulate the feed that maximizes milk production. Another important aspect of this technology is that it analyzes the amount of urea in each cow’s milk. Urea, an organic compound, is what produces methane in the cow’s stomach, which negatively affects the environment. The farm implemented robotic milking as a way to reduce methane emissions by the cows, while still producing as much milk as possible. Integrating this practice increases the efficiency of the farm and also provides cows with overall better health and quality of life.

Scientists studying bovine DNA have been able to isolate a specific gene by separating the DNA strands. This gene, the A2A2 gene, enables milk to be digestible for lactose-intolerant people. This gene is now present in the majority of cows in Canada, growing from 5% to 75% in the last 5 years. This increases the availability of this type of milk in the market. Scientists have also discovered the gene used to digest and feed more efficiently, which overall contributes to less methane output. By selective breeding, the farm is able to take advantage of this, further increasing the quality of their milk. With these discoveries, Enright, and other farms alike, use this in order to advance into a greener and more efficient industry.

Inspiration

The farm was started in 1962 by the parents of Jerry Enright. It was a humble beginning, only starting with 2 cows and a horse. During the first winter, a cow and a horse had both died. However, this was not enough for them to give up. Along with their children, they pushed onward, and the farm has grown to 475 cows today.

Though Jerry Enright was part of the family business ever since he was a child, he was not always working on the farm. He had left for a job in construction as a young adult. It was only in 1999 that he decided to quit his construction job and focus on the farm. “I never really liked working for anyone else. I wanted to work for myself, and I saw the potential just with technology and how it could help the farm, and that kind of excited me about how I could utilize it to help the farm grow,” said Jerry.

A big challenge for Jerry is watching and caring for these calves. Monitoring their health, food, and mother nature, and making sure that each calf is born and has a genetic potential of 100% so that when they mature, they are as close to 100% as possible. Despite this, Jerry enjoys the challenge of producing the best calves and nurturing them to reach their fullest potential.

Overall impact

These practices have had a great impact on the business and show potential to be scalable to other similar businesses in the industry.

For example, their robotic milking technology, which ensures the overall health of the cows and helps with the nurturing of the cows, as well as with their implementations of selective breeding, will be able to help the farming industry by providing more efficient ways to handle their business.

With the isolation of the A2A2 gene, this can greatly improve the quality of life for those with lactose intolerance. By using selective breeding as a means for their cows to have this gene, lactose intolerant consumers will have more choices when choosing their dairy products.

The business practices the farm employs also contribute to the local community and economy by creating jobs for the younger population, ultimately making more people aware of the profession.

Business benefit

Enright Farm has a goal of producing as much high-quality milk as possible. According to Jerry, “Well, it's in our best interest as a businessperson to produce that food as cheaply as possible and also to produce as much of it as possible.” By utilizing the technology available on the farm, they can maximize production, as well as profit. The cow’s data obtained from robotic milking is immense and the number of decisions that you can make because of that is endless. This technology can also tell if there is anything wrong with the cow that wouldn’t be noticeable normally. The cows are healthier and happier, which also means there are more profits. The fact that the farm makes sure their cows are of 100% potential by using innovative means, ensures greater economies of scale all in all and helps the business further boost profits to invest in new technology and factors of production. 

Social and environmental benefit

As Jerry stated in the interview, “There’s not very many farmers anymore.” Enright also creates opportunities for young people to learn and gain experience in the farming industry. The business only has 13 employees, 6 of which are local high schoolers.

Enright’s practices and values encourage a healthy environment with the use of innovations such as robotic milking serving as a better alternative both socially and environmentally reducing costs and methane emissions, ultimately helping the environment and the local economy. Their practices ensure that the milk they produce is of top quality, which in turn, makes it so consumers can enjoy healthy and delicious milk at an affordable price. Ultimately, the business focuses on animal welfare, technological innovation, and sustainable farming practices.

Interview

Jerry Enright, Farmer

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