Keith Barrett Receieves Canadian Milking Shorthorn Distinguished Service Award

This year, the Canadian Milking Shorthorn Society is pleased to honour Keith Barrett with a Distinguished Service Award, which includes an honourary life membership to the Society. This award recognizes Milking Shorthorn breeders who have provided valuable contributions to the breed through leadership, breeding excellence and breed promotion.

Born and raised in Belmont, Prince Edward Island, Keith purchased his first purebred Shorthorn in 1950 at the age of twenty. Since then, Keith has been committed to the continued development, improvement and promotion of the breed. Keith served as President of the CMSS in 1980 and 1981, as well as serving on a number of CMSS committees including the sire selection committee. Keith has also had a number of judging assignments, including judging at the Royal Winter Fair and the CNE. He has also travelled to various herds in the USA, United Kingdom and Australia to see the best of the breed in those countries. Keith is also a past-president of the PEI Shorthorn Association and is a lifetime member of the Canadian Shorthorn Association. Keith was also honoured by the PEI Institute of Agrologists for his commitment to agriculture, including being a founding member of the provincial association which established and maintain community pastures in PEI. Keith has also been a long time member of the PEI Soil and Crop Improvement Association, a member of the PEI Milk Board, and was a national board member for the Farm Credit Corporation.

Keith was instrumental in helping to build the foundation of the Oceanbrae herd through the purchase of brood cows and elite bulls from breeders in Ontario, the United States, and even England. Cows and bulls with prefixes such as Cheapside, Ridgeway, Wilder Farm, Wildwood, Sandy River, and Seagrave helped establish many of the cow families that continue to excel today.

One of the highlights of Keith’s career in breeding would come in 1986 when he and Fred had the Grand Champion Female Dual Purpose Shorthorn at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto with Oceanbrae Bessie Jo 24P EX. Descendants of this cow remain in the herd today. Keith was active for many years on the Maritime show circuit, exhibiting at Charlottetown, Summerside, Egmont Bay, Moncton, Halifax and Truro, as well as many years exhibiting at the Royal Winter Fair and even once at the Calgary Stampede.

Keith’s son Fred joined him in partnership on the farm in the mid 1970s and the two farmed together as partners until just the past few years, when Fred took over the day-to-day operation of the farm. Keith is still very active at Oceanbrae in heifer management and a variety of crop production roles, as well as working with Fred to foster the future of his grandson Matt as part of the farm. Keith and his wife Sylvia continue to live on the farm and Keith continues to keep in touch with many of the fellow Shorthorn breeders who he worked with to improve and promote the breed for many years. Along with his son Fred, Keith also has sons John and Rob, daughter Alice Maund, and step-children Kelly MacLeod and Kim Myers, all residing in PEI.