Harvey Farrington

Harvey Farrington holds the momentous distinction of establishing one of the central pillars of the Canadian dairy industry - commercial cheesemaking. Although farmers have been making cheese for as long as history records, the industrial production of cheese is an innovation of the nineteenth century. Harvey Farrington was responsible for laying the foundations of this valuable export industry in Canada, although he was not born here.

Harvey Farrington was born on March 29, 1809 in Herkimer County, New York. Not much is known about his early life, except that by the age of twenty-two he was fully committed to life as a dairyman. In 1850 Farrington purchased 113 acres of land and established his own dairy farm in Herkimer County. In Herkimer, which has been called the “cradle of the dairy business” in North America, Farrington became familiar with the scientific and technological innovations that were already beginning to transform the industry in the United States. The U.S. Agricultural Census of 1860 records that Harvey Farrington owned eighteen “milch cows” on his farm which was worth a modest cash value of $6,350 (roughly $189,000 in today’s terms), but owned very little in the way of “Farming Implements and Machinery.” Perhaps concluding that he did not have the means to compete in the American dairy industry, Harvey sought new, untapped markets where he could apply his considerable expertise and vision.

In 1863, Harvey Farrington visited what was then the western portion of the Province of Canada (now Ontario) to get a sense of the local dairy business. He chose the Township of Norwich in Oxford County to be the site of his new enterprise. That same year Farrington sold his New York farm to his brother and opened the first cheese factory in Canada, aptly named “The Pioneer.” Farrington’s factory purchased milk from local dairy farmers and utilized new American technology to produce cheese on an industrial scale. Farrington’s operation was an unqualified success, and during the first year his factory listed a total output of ten tons, all of which was shipped to a cheese broker in Great Britain. Canadian dairymen took notice of Harvey’s success and a number of them came from all over the province to seek his advice and assistance in setting up their own enterprises. From these humble beginnings the Canadian cheese industry rapidly took shape. By 1867 over 200 cheesemaking factories had been established in Ontario alone, and Quebec followed not far behind. A firm believer in the value of professional associations, Harvey Farrington was also instrumental in the formation of the Western Ontario Dairyman’s Association in 1867.

Harvey Farrington lived the rest of his life in his adopted community whose respect and admiration he had certainly earned. He passed away at the age of 70 on December 8, 1878 after a seven-month battle with cancer of the mouth. He was survived by his third wife, three daughters, and two sons; both of whom followed their father’s footsteps in the dairy industry. Harvey’s son is listed in the 1891 census as a cheese inspector, and his grandson (who was also named Harvey Farrington) moved back to New York and worked for Kraft Foods in the early twentieth century. The original Harvey Farrington also returned to the land of his birth, and was buried in Middleville, Herkimer County. Farrington’s contributions to the Canadian dairy industry were formally recognized by the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1962.