Grand opening of the McFadden dairy barn

It’s always great to be in Navan but today it was particularly special to celebrate the official grand opening of the McFadden dairy barn with Catherine Kitts. On May 21, 2022 the McFadden’s century-old barn was destroyed when the derecho tore through Ottawa, devastating dozens of farms in the rural east. Like many of their neighbours, the McFaddens were forced to start over, choosing to build bigger with a state-of-the-art facility complete with two robotic milking machines and the first robotic feeder of its kind in North America. During the two years it took to construct the new barn, the McFaddens’ cows were housed at Schouten Farms in Richmond, a testament to how close knit our rural communities are. It was wonderful to see so many people come out today to celebrate the McFadden Family and their inspiring story of resilience in the face of tragedy.