~ A Few Words About Pryme Farms ~
~ The Story of how Ryan and Christie Prins started Pryme Farms ~
We purchased our property in Wooler, Ontario in early 2008 and have built a new home to raise our three boys, Keagan, Hunter, and Russell. On our previously vacant acreage, we have recently built new barns and fencing for our stock and have added many neccessities such as an additional driveway, a chute and head gate for herd health/breeding, extra penning, hydro and water lines, and a grainery, to name a few. There have been other additions made as well in terms of equipment and stock. There are still several plans for adding to our venture moving forward including more barns and other farm infrastructure. We're just getting started!
Ryan's agricultural background stems from dairy farming and he works for a large dairy operation, Lincswold Farms, in Codrington, Ontario. Ryan is very passionate about the dairy industry and raising quality cattle. He is trained in artificial insemination and continues to learn about the latest in having a successful breeding program. In addition to his experience with cattle, Ryan also has years of experience in raising Registered Boer Goats.
(Keagan helping Dad at Lincswold Farms)
Christie's background is with breeding, raising and showing quality Quarter Horses with her parents. Though horses were their main lifelong business, beef cattle and other livestock were usually a part of life as well. Christie has also enjoyed raising rare and fancy breeds of chickens and we continue to do so now as a fun hobby with some of our favourite breeds.
Our number one focus at Pryme Farms is Goats! (Though cattle do take up a lot of our time and work too!) We have a herd of registered Boers as well as a growing number of registered dairy goats for use in our cross breeding meat market program and also for sale as registered breeding stock. Additionally, we keep a small number of good quality commercial does in our production herd that give us hardy market kids.
We initially purchased a few does in 2008 from a previous partnership in animals from another herd but have since taken a new turn in our breeding program. In fact, in our herd now we do not have any animals from those lines. We made the decision to disperse them as well as their 2009 offspring but we wish those customers who bought them the best of luck with those animals in their respective operations and hope they are meeting your individual herd needs.
Sometimes in the livestock industry, meeting your goals means being aggressive in making herd changes as you move forward. We have only found satisfaction and benefit in the big changes we have made. It is not always easy to part with animals from your herd but the key to being a great breeder is looking at each animal objectively and honestly evaluating whether or not they will meet the specific needs of your program; and every operation has its own unique goals and needs. What fits for one breeder may not for another.
As a follow up to our dispersement of our original animals, we have now carefully created a new herd that we are very excited about and are constantly adding to with argueably the best genetics in North America, bloodlines old and modern! Our enthusiasm in this endeavor has really gotten the ball rolling and we are committed to building on each year's successes as we move forward. To learn specific details about our Boer herd please visit our 'Pryme Boers' page.
We have been promoting our Boers in the showring and have been fortunate enough to have found some success. As we continue to build, our focus remains on acquiring solid genetics, new up and coming genetics, and does with strong dam lines that display high motherability. The foundation stock we have already chosen stem from exceptional and proven bloodlines and we are currently working on adding additional new breeding stock to our Boer program. Check back on a regular basis to hear about these ongoing new arrivals to our herd which include strong additions to our dam line and exceptional new herd sires. The goats we continue to add are nothing less than fantastic and we are very confident in the contributions they will make to 'Pryme Boers'.
Along with our thriving goat business, we continue to raise Holsteins. While raising upcoming heifer calves we are also raising small groups of bull calves for sale as veal. We have been breeding our cows with mostly sexed semen, increasing the number of heifer calves born. Some of our heifers are kept in the herd and some are sold as bred or fresh.
When you visit our farm you will also see that we keep poultry for fresh eggs and meat, as well as pigs and beef for our own consumption and for sale to the public.
As we grow our farm business our focus will remain on top end, proven stock with solid genetics. We will not rest on what we achieve, but rather be looking to achieve higher and to continuously produce the ideal goat with consistency in greatness. It is true, we expect a lot of our stock as it produces on our farm, but in return each and every animal recieves A1 care and the best of conditions for which to produce. We give our best so they can give their best!
We farm together as best friends and as husband and wife. If you meet us, you will see that we are passionate about what we do. When we take on a project we set our sights high! As a devoted team we are growing a farm that our boys can enjoy and learn from for years to come.
