Rolland “Rolly” Dubois of Ferme Rolandale Enr., Saint-Flavien, Quebec, has won the Curtis Clark Achievement Award for 2016. His selection was announced on November 11th at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Ont. Dubois is the 30th recipient of this coveted award which was established in 1988 by the Alberta Holstein Branch to honour the late Curtis Clark of Acme Holsteins, a respected Alberta Holstein breeder, cowman and showman.
Rolly Dubois started showing Holsteins 36 years ago for his father, Jacques, under the name Ferme Jacques Dubois & Fils. In 1988, Rolly bought the family farm and established Ferme Rolandale Enr., retaining the farm’s prefix Jolibois. He has continued to exhibit cattle at shows locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. He has won countless Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners and has been Premier Exhibitor at Expo Lotbiniere for 30 years.
Dubois, 54, started coming to the Royal Winter Fair when he was 14 years old. He has been at the Royal every year since. When he first ventured to the Royal he would look at the showstrings of such successful breeders as Romandale, Hanover Hill, Dupasquier and Quality and hope one day that he too could be as good as them. Along the way, he drew advice and encouragement from his father, other respected Quebec Holstein breeders such as Jean Touchette and Patrice Biron, as well as the late Pierre Leonard, longtime Holstein Quebec secretary-manager.
Dubois has bred, owned and developed many show winners. One of his best known is Lindenoord Rudolph Lilac (Ex-96-3E-13*) who won Holstein Canada’s “Cow of the Year” award for 2010. Lilac was first mature cow at the Royal and All-Canadian in 2004, Honourable Mention All-Canadian three other times and Honourable Mention All-American once. Half of the Jolibois herd currently traces to Lilac. Another famous cow for Dubois was Echo Ridge Skychief Delight (Ex-4E-6*). Nominated for All-Canadian five times and All-American three times, Delight was first 5-year-old and reserve grand champion at World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin and first and honourable mention grand champion at the Royal in 1999 while on her way to becoming All-Canadian and All-American that year.
In recent years, Dubois has developed one of the country’s most respected Red & White Holstein cow families – the Dala-Star-RL Feather-Red-ET (VG-88-5*) family. This family has produced multiple show winners, generated heavy embryo demand, and just sold its first bull into A.I. In 2014, Feather was the dam of the winning milking yearling in the Red & White shows at World Dairy Expo and the Royal with two different Patience Showline Contender daughters. In 2016, another “Contender” daughter from Feather, Jolibois Flore Contender (VG-89), was first senior 3-year-old, honourable mention intermediate champion, and best bred and owned of the Red & White show at the Royal for Dubois. Ferme Rolandale’s success with the Feathers in the showing has earned them Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor honours at the Red & White shows at both the Royal and Le Suprême Laitier in 2015 and 2016.
Dubois and his family currently milk 55 cows in their tie-stall barn. The Jolibois herd, which is almost entirely homebred, consists of an impressive 32 Excellent and 35 Very Good cows and has averaged 89 points for classification the last four years.
Dubois has been an Official Judge for over 20 years and has judged at shows throughout Canada, as well as in ten foreign countries. Personable and outgoing, Dubois currently serves on the Holstein Quebec Board of Directors. In the past, he has been a member of Holstein Canada’s Show Committee and a director for the Lotbiniere Holstein Club. Growing up, he was a member of the Association des jeunes ruraux du Québec (AJRQ) and went on to be provincial AJRQ treasurer and president. Dubois enjoys sharing his passion for the Holstein cow and teaching the art of showing to the next generation of Holstein enthusiasts and with the foreign trainees who come to work at Rolandale.
Rolly Dubois has been supported throughout his many endeavours by his wife Christiane and their two children. Son Marc-André, 25, is now a partner in Ferme Rolandale. Daughter Rosalie, 20, is studying agronomy at Laval University and owns a few Jerseys in the herd.
Rolly Dubois is humbled and honoured to win the Curtis Clark award. It feels like a “pat on the back” he says for the time and hard work he has put into a career and industry he so dearly loves. The Curtis Clark award is presented annually at the Royal to the Canadian dairy cattle exhibitor who possesses the ability, sportsmanship and dedication necessary to be respected by his peers. Selection of the winner is made by former recipients of the award. As the 2016 winner, Dubois received a gold belt buckle as a personal keepsake. His name will also be added to the distinctive Clark trophy which bears a bronzed version of Curtis Clark’s hat.
For additional information, contact: Bonnie Cooper, secretary, Curtis Clark Achievement Award Committee, c/o Holstein Journal, 301 – 9040 Leslie Street, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3M4, tel: 905-886-4222; fax: 905-886-0037; e-mail: bonnie@holsteinjournal.com
