Rebuilding stronger with innovation
When a powerful derecho, a widespread windstorm, tore through eastern Ontario in May 2022, it destroyed the dairy barn at Cecilbay Farm, forcing the fifth-generation family operation to rebuild from the ground up. Rather than simply replacing what had been lost, managing partners and siblings Devyn and Travis McFadden saw an opportunity to create a more efficient, sustainable dairy operation designed for the future.
The McFadden family has deep roots in dairy farming. Devyn and Travis' parents purchased the Navan, Ont. farm from the previous generation in 1986, and when the siblings stepped into management in 2017, the farm milked 70 cows in a traditional tie-stall barn. Today, following the construction of a new free-stall barn completed in early 2024, Cecilbay Farm is rebuilding its herd while embracing advanced automation to improve productivity, efficiency and animal management.
Investing in smarter feeding
Through funding from the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative (ATII), delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC), Cecilbay Farm invested in a GEA DairyFeed F4500 feeding robot – the first system of its kind in North America.
“Feed represents the largest operating cost on most dairy farms, making precision feeding critical to both profitability and sustainability,” explains Devyn McFadden, noting the tech investment project spanned from summer 2024 to spring 2025. The battery-powered robot automatically prepares, delivers and pushes fresh feed to different groups of cows seven times each day, adjusting rations based on milk production data collected through the farm's integrated DairyNet herd management system.
The technology combines feeding and milking information to help the farm continually optimize rations, reduce feed waste and monitor the performance of individual groups of animals.
“My wife, Alanah, and I travelled to Germany to see the system before making the investment,” says McFadden. “We liked that it operates without tracks, uses sensor technology for navigation and includes important safety features. It was a solution that fit the way we wanted to build our new barn.”
The automated system also refills itself directly from the farm's Harvestore silos and recharges independently, reducing the need for tractors and feed mixers while lowering fuel consumption and the farm's carbon footprint.
The improvements have already produced measurable results for the Cecilbay Farm. McFadden notes that milk production has increased significantly, feed costs have declined on a per-cow basis and the consistency of feed delivery has improved. The system also allows the farm to quickly identify changes in feed intake that may signal health or production issues, while reducing labour requirements.
Without support through ATII, the investment would have been difficult to make while the family faced rebuilding their farm after the storm.
“After the cost of constructing a new barn, we simply wouldn't have been in a position to purchase the feeding robot without the funding,” says McFadden. “The ATII program helped us invest in technology that will benefit the farm for years to come.”
Beyond the funding itself, McFadden credits AAC with making the process straightforward. “The program guidelines were clear, AAC staff were always available to answer questions and both the approval and funding process moved quickly,” says McFadden.
Today, Cecilbay Farm is milking 80 cows with two robotic milking systems while continuing to rebuild its herd. Looking ahead, the family plans to expand their milk production, further improve milking and feeding efficiencies and continue strengthening the farm's profitability and long-term sustainability.
Cecilbay Farm's investment demonstrates how targeted support for innovation can help Ontario dairy farms recover from unexpected challenges, adopt leading-edge technology and build more efficient, sustainable operations that strengthen the province's agri-food sector for future generations.
The Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative program was funded in part through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a 5-year, $3.5 billion federal-provincial-territorial initiative. This program is being delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.
