HISTORY & BACKGROUNDI grew up on a dairy farm in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada with three sisters who all worked on the farm. The de Jonge family started the dairy in 1965 and grew to 150 cows by 1975 and farming over 600 acres of land rented from the Dutch Government. In 1980 the family purchased a new farm with the plans on continuing to grow but now with equity in property. In 1984 we built new a freestall barn and a double 10 rapid exit milking parlour using all Artex free stalls and Headlocks. I was 14 years old :-) In 1990, I returned from school at Olds College in Alberta with a degree in Ag Mechanics and Ag engineering. My passions were in manufacturing more so than dairy, so I pursued my dream of building equipment to elevate and modernize the dairy industry. My family continued to farm another five years after which time the farm was dissolved, and my father retired. The Quota was leased out for another 10 years with family succession planning took place. In 1994, I was married to my wonderful wife Denise, and we have been blessed with four children: Jenna 1997, Eryn 2000, Brooke 2002, and Adam in 2004. I spend many hours coaching their Hockey and Baseball teams, something I really enjoy!BUSINESSIn 1995, I bought Artex Fabricators in Langley, BC at the age of 25 where our team manufactured manure spreaders, silage equipment as well as Stabling for dairy barns. The company grew to over ten million in sales before I sold off the equipment division in 2008 to an American Company. Selling the equipment division has allowed us to focus on new dairy construction and developing new products specifically for dairy expansion.2007 was a big year for our group. Artex Barn Solutions opened up its own manufacturing plant for the free stall loops and headlocks in Tianjin, China. This led to expansion in the dairy housing industry globally. We now have dealers across the world selling our steel products. Proud to have many high-level business partners.In 2021, Artex was sold to an investment company, and I have been focusing on building technological solutions for various industries since.In 2017, my partners and I started Total Dairy Solutions, which now has expanded to 5 locations across North America and is actively growing.In October 2022, John was announced as interim CEO of Cubic Farms and President of Hydrogreen.