West River Holsteins
West River Holsteins is operated by Jack Thomson and Rhonda MacDougall, along with their children, Shamus, Bryce, Keith and Elise, and their farm employee team. The farm was purchased in 1998 and since then, the farm has been actively involved in Open Farm Day. The farm milks 135 purebred, registered Holsteins. Milking is done 3 times a day, at 3:30 am, 11:30 am and 7 pm.West River Holsteins is a dairy farm with approximately 280 head of purebred Holsteins just outside Antigonish. This family farm was purchased from John and Tony Corsten and family in 1998. After Jack and Rhonda graduated from McGill University's Macdonald College, Jack gained experience working for the NS Dept. of Agriculture, as a dairy herdman, and as a Sire Analyst in Ontario. It was always Jack and Rhonda's dream to own dairy farm, so Jack felt very fortunate to be able to purchase a farm in their home community. The farm has changed significantly over the past 20 years, with a fire in 2007 destroying the original dairy barn. The farm currently farms approximately 500 acres, including approximately 75 acres of corn silage.
