Nicole and Peter Tuytel, seen here in February with son Brayden and one of their purebred Holsteins, Sparkle, are up for the title of Canada's Outstanding Young Farmer on Friday.
Photograph by: Paul J. Henderson/TIMES , file
Chilliwack dairy farmers Peter and Nicole Tuytel are among seven couples vying for the title of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer.
The Tuytels were presented with the 2012 BC & Yukon Outstanding Young Farmer Award at the annual BC Agriculture Gala in Abbotsford in January.
The couple are now up for the national award to be handed out Nov. 30 in Charlottetown, PEI, at Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) annual event.
Peter, 38, and Nicole, 31, run Elmbridge Farms, a 120-head herd of purebred cattle from which they sell embryos around the world.
From $200 to $2,000, the Tuytels have sold embryos to buyers in Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, China, the U.S., Japan and Germany.
Their most famous cow, Elmbridge Loveable, is a Canadian national champion. The cow, which is a cross of Peter’s maternal line with Nicole’s paternal line was named the best bred and owned cow in the red-and-white Holstein show at the 2011 World Dairy Expo.
Needless to say, the couple are serious Holstein people.
“We are pretty passionate about the genetics and the breeding and the industry,” Peter said earlier this year. “It’s something we love.”
The annual OYF event on Nov. 30 features some of the most entrepreneurial agricultural producers from across Canada. Together with OYF alumni and the larger agricultural industry, the event features a special forum on farm labour and concludes with a gala banquet to announce Canada’s 2012 national OYF winners.
Celebrating 32 years, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers is open to participants 18 to 39 years of age, who make the majority of their income from on-farm sources. Participants are selected from seven regions across Canada. Two couples among the seven nominated will win.
