Award Winning Jersey Herd at Summerland

Elsie the Cow, the iconic mascot for the Borden Dairy Company was based on a Jersey heifer named “You’ll Do, Lobelia” from Brookfield, Massachusetts. She was chosen because she symbolized the “perfect dairy product.” The belief that Jersey cattle were the “perfect dairy product” influenced many owners of dairy cattle which in turn resulted in Jerseys becoming one of the major breeds favoured by farmers in the Okanagan Valley. Around 1910 the dairy industry in the province was valued at $3 million and was considered still to be in its infancy. By 1943, the value of the industry had grown to almost $18.5 million. According to R.C. Palmer, former Superintendent of the Experimental Farm, more Jersey cows were milked during 1935 to 1945 in the valley than all other breeds and in 1939 there were about 8,000 dairy cattle in the Okanagan. This ideal of perfection led the Dominion Experimental Farm at Summerland to raise a Jersey herd beginning in the early 1920s that eventually amassed an impressive collection of awards.

First Dairy Farm

Around 1829, the first dairy farm in British Columbia was established at the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) farm near the present site of Fort Langley. It not only provided butter and other dairy products for the