Today, they’ve expanded the farm from its humble beginnings
to a 100-head operation, and they continue to grow,
building new barns and incorporating an AMS, or Automatic
Milking System. Their farm is called Parmarisa Farms, a combination
of their last name and both of their first names.
A typical workday varies depending on the time of year,
but always starts with Marianne seeing her daughters off to
school on the bus, then heading for the barn. There’s maintenance
to do on the AMS, as well as reports produced by the
machine that need to be reviewed. Calves need to be checked
and fresh feed added.
Marianne starts cleaning the barn while her sister fills the
mixer wagon. They put fresh straw bedding down. They walk
through the barn checking on the animals, and during calving
season there are always births to attend to.
Marianne and Isabelle shoulder the bulk of the day-to-day
work as well as the business decisions for the farm. Marianne’s
husband Dean pitches in on weekends, but he has his own
busy construction company to run. Their parents are there for
advice and guidance, but have scaled back their involvement
over the years.
The sisters work well together in part because they are
so different, and their strengths complement one another.
Isabelle is introverted, Marianne more outgoing. Isabelle is
cautious while Marianne can be impulsive. Isabelle prefers
tradition and Marianne enjoys innovation.
Six years ago they were at a standoff over the AMS, which
Marianne believed would free up time, but Isabelle felt would
burden them with maintenance requirements. The robots do
the milking for you, Marianne explains, but they also break
down occasionally, and when they do, you’ll get a phone call
in the middle of the night and have to rush over to the barn to
troubleshoot.
Isabelle eventually agreed to try the new system, but with
one condition.
“She said, ‘Okay, but you’re going to be the one taking
those calls!’” Marianne laughs.
The automated system has been a huge step forward for
their farm, and Isabelle warmed up to it in no time. True to
her word, Marianne took the maintenance calls for years. But
recently, as she’s become more involved in farm politics and
the off-farm meetings that come along with that, her sister has
agreed to take the AMS shift.
Marianne currently sits on the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba
advisory committee, a group of dairy farmers appointed to
provide high-level input and direction to the organization’s
board of directors.
Marianne says she’s always been interested in politics,
beginning at a very early age.
“Instead of TV sitcoms I would watch the world news,” she
says. “I remember following Regan, Thatcher, Mulroney, and
Gorbachev.”
She was also always up to speed on ag industry issues, in
part because her father couldn’t read English and she often
translated the Manitoba Cooperator for him.
She started to attend policy meetings about four years ago
when her younger daughter began school.
Canadian dairy farmers will face some serious obstacles
in the coming years, Marianne says, with the supply man-
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4 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Spring 2019
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