A special Thanks to Michele Moyer of Penn State Dairy Alliance for organizing this tour for the Professional Dairy Managers of PA (PDMP). Without Michele getting us organized, keeping us on schedule and performing the all important head count and seat partner check at each stop, we never could have seen as much as we saw, learned as much as we learned, and been awed by the awesomeness of the Colorado Dairies that we were honored to visit.
The blog is a work in process:
October 28. Worked on Veeman Dairy post. There is much more to add and I am hoping others will join in with comments on what they learned at the dairy. Also, I hoping others will join in with comments on production and efficiency statitistics.
October 27. So far I have posted a link to a photo album at each farm. Click on the photo at each section to see the whole album for the farm featured in that post (section).
For a complete list and description of each farm that we visited, click on:
http://www.pdmp.org/cDT_FarmTours.htm
I plan to decipher my notes over the next week and continue to add to the posts.
The idea behind the blog was to gain input from the participants and to field questions from anyone who is interested in what we learned while in Colorado.
Please "Follow" this blog and post "Comments" or questions.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Veeman and Sons Dairy, Second Farm visited on Wednesday, Oct 22
Follow this link to the bio of each farm listed in alphabetical order:
http://www.pdmp.org/cDT_FarmTours.htm
Pictures taken at Veeman Dairy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dbrogdonagchoice/VeemanDairy#
Mike and Derrick gave us an informative tour. They were gracious hosts and kept us on the bus as much as possible to shelter us from the Colorado winds and blowing sand. It was awesome to drive around their 1800 cow milking herd. The view from the bus was very good.
This was as dry lot / feed lot type dairy. There are wind breaks in each lot to help shelter the cows. Compared to PA, the temperatures are similar in Colorado but the rainfall is only about 12 inches per year. The low rainfall/low humidity allows for dry lot housing. This management system requires less building investment.
Mike gave us a quick lesson on water and water rights. He told us the most viable option for them was to purchase city water taps. They purchased 4 taps at $130,000 per tap. Start up costs for water at the site would be about $520,000. Annual water utility bill is about $75,000. We take water for granted here in the east. The whole Colorado system is complicated and water rights are more valuable than the land itself.
We were most impressed by the critical area of their new dairy: The 300' X 140' transition barn.
This was the first tour I've been on where the tour bus actually drove through the barns. The transition barn was well planned and an area for calving and special needs animals. This area of the dairy was a seperate zone and special needs animals were milked in a seperate double 8 parlor. Cows are moved to the transition pens about 1 week pre-calving.
The Veemans realized how critical this barn would be to the success of their dairy. They wanted it to be an area that cows could get special care and shelter and the employees would be comfortable and want to stay with the cows throughout their shift. The high sidewalls and large pens allow the barn to be cleaned FAST with a big pay loader. We hopped out of the bus and got to see the pens close up.
After the touring the transition barn, we moved on to the milking parlor and management office. It was interesting that the dairies referred to their milking center as a "barn", where here in the east we call them parlors.
Our gracious hosts treated us with refreshments (milk of course!). In the office, Mike gave us an overview of items he felt they did well in building the new dairy. They included:
The "To Do" List
http://www.pdmp.org/cDT_FarmTours.htm
Pictures taken at Veeman Dairy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dbrogdonagchoice/VeemanDairy#
 |
| Veeman Dairy |
Mike and Derrick gave us an informative tour. They were gracious hosts and kept us on the bus as much as possible to shelter us from the Colorado winds and blowing sand. It was awesome to drive around their 1800 cow milking herd. The view from the bus was very good.
This was as dry lot / feed lot type dairy. There are wind breaks in each lot to help shelter the cows. Compared to PA, the temperatures are similar in Colorado but the rainfall is only about 12 inches per year. The low rainfall/low humidity allows for dry lot housing. This management system requires less building investment.
Mike gave us a quick lesson on water and water rights. He told us the most viable option for them was to purchase city water taps. They purchased 4 taps at $130,000 per tap. Start up costs for water at the site would be about $520,000. Annual water utility bill is about $75,000. We take water for granted here in the east. The whole Colorado system is complicated and water rights are more valuable than the land itself.
We were most impressed by the critical area of their new dairy: The 300' X 140' transition barn.
This was the first tour I've been on where the tour bus actually drove through the barns. The transition barn was well planned and an area for calving and special needs animals. This area of the dairy was a seperate zone and special needs animals were milked in a seperate double 8 parlor. Cows are moved to the transition pens about 1 week pre-calving.
The Veemans realized how critical this barn would be to the success of their dairy. They wanted it to be an area that cows could get special care and shelter and the employees would be comfortable and want to stay with the cows throughout their shift. The high sidewalls and large pens allow the barn to be cleaned FAST with a big pay loader. We hopped out of the bus and got to see the pens close up.
After the touring the transition barn, we moved on to the milking parlor and management office. It was interesting that the dairies referred to their milking center as a "barn", where here in the east we call them parlors.
Our gracious hosts treated us with refreshments (milk of course!). In the office, Mike gave us an overview of items he felt they did well in building the new dairy. They included:
· Put together a good team
· Long term planning that worked
· The Rotary Parlor was a good choice
On his list of "Do Overs":· Protocols where not being followed as prescribed
· Would put in backflush system at start-up
· Managing work/life balance
The "To Do" List
· A Machinery Shop
· Shades for the feed lots
· More Cows
· 2 More Pivots
Mike closed the meeting with some sound advice: "Know your style is. Be dedicated and committed to it"Empire Dairy
All Photos of this Dairy : http://picasaweb.google.com/DanBrogdon/EmpireDairy#
Norm gave us an interesting family history. Being of Portuguese roots, his dad moved the family to Wiggins from suburban Toronto in 1982. They started in a 50 cow partnership and quickly grew to 500 cows in 1988. In 1988, Norm returned from the Tulare farm show with plans to build a Dbl 25 parallel parlor.
The basic growth driver was the size of the parlor. So the dairy continued to expand using dry lots and then moved into Freestall barns. Today at 4800 cows they now milk in a Dbl 60 parallel and a Dbl 30 parallel for special needs cows. The Dbl 30 was unique in that the cows entered in the center and the milkers were on the sides of the barn.
The farm recently received a 20000 hd permit and plan to build a new Dbl 80 parlor to allow for future growth.
The farm has about 80 employees (about 95 pct hispanic). They do all the aspects of the dairy (milking, crops and hfrs). Their labor efficiency is 62.5 cows per full time equiv.
Norm gave us an interesting family history. Being of Portuguese roots, his dad moved the family to Wiggins from suburban Toronto in 1982. They started in a 50 cow partnership and quickly grew to 500 cows in 1988. In 1988, Norm returned from the Tulare farm show with plans to build a Dbl 25 parallel parlor.The basic growth driver was the size of the parlor. So the dairy continued to expand using dry lots and then moved into Freestall barns. Today at 4800 cows they now milk in a Dbl 60 parallel and a Dbl 30 parallel for special needs cows. The Dbl 30 was unique in that the cows entered in the center and the milkers were on the sides of the barn.
The farm recently received a 20000 hd permit and plan to build a new Dbl 80 parlor to allow for future growth.
The farm has about 80 employees (about 95 pct hispanic). They do all the aspects of the dairy (milking, crops and hfrs). Their labor efficiency is 62.5 cows per full time equiv.
Wednesday October 22 - On the Bus
Boarded the Bus at 700 on our way to visit 4 dairies. Jeff Harding is our MC on the bus. We are passing the mic and doing self introductions. Jeff always does a great job getting participants to talk about their business.
There about 50 people on the tour. There is a good mix of producers and industry folk. PDMP did a great job organizing this tour.
As I listen to the self introductions, I am impressed by how well the PA dairy industy is represented by the participants.
2 NY and 1 Md paricipant round off the tour.
Please post any thoughts related to the first 1 hour bus ride.
There about 50 people on the tour. There is a good mix of producers and industry folk. PDMP did a great job organizing this tour.
As I listen to the self introductions, I am impressed by how well the PA dairy industy is represented by the participants.
2 NY and 1 Md paricipant round off the tour.
Please post any thoughts related to the first 1 hour bus ride.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Colorado Dairy Tour - Oct 21-24, 2008
Special thanks to the AgChoice Dairy Team for giving me the opportunity to tour Colorado. I've been to the West and Mid-West to see Dairies in 1997, 1998, and 2003. Each time, the experience gave something I could bring back home to PA to share with customers and colleagues.
The Blog idea hit me as a way to share the experience "on the fly". Please post your thoughts and questions. Everything is fair game as I think this can be a neat way to uncover some new ideas as well as provide some comparisons and contrasts of the PA style vs Co style of dairy farming.
This is a special trip for me as it marks the first time that my wife Carol was able to go West with me on a business trip. AgChoice is great at providing educational opportunities and encouraged bringing your spouse. In case anyone is wondering, AgChoice is paying for my expenses and the Brogdon's are paying for Carol. Thank you AgChoice for the opportunity to gain industry experience!
Of course the trip takes some planning. We will fly out of Pittsburgh and arrive in Denver on Saturday, October 18. I am taking Monday off as a Vacation day and will join the PDMP tour group on Tuesday, Oct 21.
Upon arrival in Denver, we'll rent a car and do some sight seeing. Looking forward to the trip!!!
The Blog idea hit me as a way to share the experience "on the fly". Please post your thoughts and questions. Everything is fair game as I think this can be a neat way to uncover some new ideas as well as provide some comparisons and contrasts of the PA style vs Co style of dairy farming.
This is a special trip for me as it marks the first time that my wife Carol was able to go West with me on a business trip. AgChoice is great at providing educational opportunities and encouraged bringing your spouse. In case anyone is wondering, AgChoice is paying for my expenses and the Brogdon's are paying for Carol. Thank you AgChoice for the opportunity to gain industry experience!
Of course the trip takes some planning. We will fly out of Pittsburgh and arrive in Denver on Saturday, October 18. I am taking Monday off as a Vacation day and will join the PDMP tour group on Tuesday, Oct 21.
Upon arrival in Denver, we'll rent a car and do some sight seeing. Looking forward to the trip!!!
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