Vicky and William Morrison reflect on how meeting at the County Down research farm shaped a shared journey that would ultimately lead them to dairy farming in Canada and continued involvement in global dairy research
As Hillsborough marks its centenary this year, the celebrations will rightly look back at a hundred years of scientific breakthroughs, field trials and advisory work. But perhaps one the most powerful measure of its legacy is found far from its laneways – on a bright, flat dairy farm on the Canadian-US border, where two former Hillsborough workers have built a thriving business.
Vicky and William Morrison left Northern Ireland nearly twenty years ago to pursue an opportunity in Ontario. Today, they run Bally Bright Farms, a high-performing Holstein herd operating under Canada’s tightly regulated supply-management system. Their journey from young staff and students in Hillsborough to respected industry leaders halfway around the world is a story of risk, research – and the enduring influence of a research farm in Royal Hillsborough.
A place to learn, work… and meet your future spouse
The couple’s story began in the most everyday of ways: in the yard and the lunchrooms.
“There were three lunchrooms in ARINI. The students always went with the technicians for lunch,” remembers the then Vicky Brown.
Hillsborough life, she recalls, was not just about trials and data sets. There was a strong social side too, with students and staff mixing easily, friendships forming quickly and plenty of memorable nights out. “It was a place where people really bonded,” she says.
As part of her ARINI PhD, Vicky travelled to the United States in summer 2000, presenting her research at the American Society of Animal Science Annual Conference in Baltimore. She also visited Penn State University, which at the time had close links with Hillsborough, worked with plastic test rumens in West Virginia, and spent time at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Vicky completed her PhD on 10 October 2001 – and exactly one year to the day later, the couple married. She went on to work as a dairy technologist at CAFRE, Greenmount, combining technical advisory work with herd and grassland management.
William worked on the farm staff at Hillsborough before returning home to help on the family farm and later servicing DeLaval dairy machinery.
Ask Vicky what she remembers most from Hillsborough and she doesn’t start with journal papers. She talks instead about mini-silage trials and experimentation.
Students and staff filled lined containers and potato crates with different forages, then used a vacuum tanker to suck the air out of the bags, monitoring effluent and quality over time. “It was hands-on, messy and memorable,” she laughs.
There were also the “wild” Norwegian cattle brought in for trials, which refused to settle on the rotary parlour. She was amongst the students, sent in to “calm them down” before milking.
This blend of practical problem-solving and scientific observation laid a foundation that she still draws on today.
A Letter That Changed a Life
By the mid-2000s, the couple were juggling jobs and raising their young son, Scott.
“We were kind of running on a hamster wheel and we had a little boy who didn’t see enough of his mum and dad,” says Vicky.
Canada, and the chance to buy a dairy farm there, offered the possibility of a different life. But making the move would require navigating a long and complex immigration system.
Here, Hillsborough stepped in once again. Their immigration adviser suggested applying for permanent residency in Vicky’s name, given her PhD. But they also needed someone who could vouch for them not just as academics, but as farmers.
She turned to Professor Gordon, Director at ARINI, Hillsborough. His reference letter – describing them as ‘a capable young farming family’ – proved pivotal.
“It’s one of the nicest things that’s ever been said about either of us,” she says. “I still have it in my filing. It’s a lovely read.”
With his support, and after several exploratory trips, they took the plunge. In August 2006, they agreed to buy a farm in Ontario. After a transitional period running the previous owners’ operation – including landing in Toronto to a bracing minus 20 – they finally moved permanently in March 2007.
Vicky is unequivocal about the decision: “no regrets”.
From Research Farm to Global Influence
Today, Vicky’s link to research is stronger than ever. She sits on the Canadian Dairy Research Council, the national body overseeing dairy research, and chairs the research committee on the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario, the province’s sole milk marketing board.
Their work focuses on exactly the kind of questions that would be familiar to Hillsborough staff and students: how to improve milk composition, welfare and sustainability for commercial herds.
“I still enjoy statistics. I enjoy plotting and planning,” she says. “But that research part… helping researchers translate what they’re doing and making it applicable for farmers, that’s the biggest part and I learned that at Hillsborough.”
A Legacy That Reaches Generations
In this way, a centenary-old institution in Northern Ireland continues to shape the strategic direction of Canadian dairy.
Asked what message she would share with today’s PhD students, support staff and young farmers at Hillsborough, Vicky is clear:
“Take every opportunity that’s given to you,” she says. “You don’t realise, at the time, the things that you’re learning. It’s only afterwards.”
William explains that Bally Bright Farms is currently “in transition”, with the building of a milking robot barn currently in progress.
With their son Scott (22) returning soon from New Zealand and daughter Jane (18) planning to attend an agricultural college in Alberta to pursue a dairy science diploma programme, the Morrison’s are also looking to the future.
“We hope to automate more things on the farm and work out a succession plan and within the next 10 years hopefully we’ll have that figured out and I can take a step back and travel more,” adds William.
Reflecting on Hillsborough’s 100-year milestone, Vicky adds: “My time at Large Park inspired a passion for learning and created a foundation which our farming legacy continues, through involvement with dairy farming organisations and the adoption of new technologies to have a future-focused farm for the next generation.”