They've participated in the
Cookshire Agricultural Fair for four generations, the family of Neil Burns.
He's a livestock and crop farmer in Island Brook in Newport. With his sons
Matthew and Cameron, who form the sixth generation, Burns takes 10 or so
animals to the fair each year to compare them with those of other farmers.
"We show our livestock in friendly exhibitions," said Burns. He coddles his
cattle, and he hopes to win some prizes with them. But that's not his major
motivation. His Ayrshires are trained to be halter led. "They are well fed and
well shaved, and we work on the quality of presentation before bringing them
before the judges," he added.
He describes his son Matthew as enthusiastic about agriculture and
especially about raising Ayrshires. Matthew doesn't hesitate to go to
competitions elsewhere in Quebec. He goes to Ayer's Cliff, Brome, Richmond,
St-Hyacinthe and other locations to demonstrate that the cattle he raises are
classed at the highest level of excellence.
Not long ago, he participated in a 4-H meeting that brought together young
people who are preoccupied by the protection and conservation of natural
resources. The majority of Ayrshires come from Quebec, said Burns. "About 75 %
of this race is raised in Lac-Saint-Jean and in the Montérégie, especially in
the western part of the region and in St-Hyacinthe."
Passing in front of the Burns
farm is something to see. The house of red brick, the barn which has just been
enlarged for the comfort of the cows, the rolling hills in the Island Brook
area of Newport, and the corn field that borders on the road - the passerby
can't help being impressed. It must be said that the cultivation of cereals is
not a usual sight in this zone.
