The Rural Voice, 1980-04, Page 5This picture, taken on a stormy winter day,
illustrates the protection provided for the
Henry cattle by the gravel ridges on the
farm. When the Henrys decided to turn the
rolling F asture area into a Western-style
feedlot, they had an alley excavated
through the ridge to allow feed to be
trucked into the eight pens on the 50 acre
area. (Photo by Gibb)
Western style feedlot
fattens 2,500 head
BY ALICE GIBB
The first thing you notice when you drive
past the Henry Feedlot, a farm on the
outside of Blyth, is the rolling landscape.
The second thing you notice is that the hills
are covered with beef ,cattle, even though
the day is cold and blustery and bites your
nose when you venture outside, But the
Henry operation is unique - in a day when
many' cattlemen in Ontario are building
elaborate slatted floor barns to house their
cattle, the Henrys decided to fatten their
cattle outdoors on an open -style, western
feed lot. The experiment looks like it's a
success.not only are the animals cleaner
looking than those in most barns. but
they're also healthier. But perhaps the real
selling point is the fact the Henn , will
eventually be able t put a minimum of
3,000 head of cattle on their gravel slopes
at the cost of S30 a head compared to costs
of approximately $250-$300 a head it would
cost a farmer to keep his livestock inside in
a slatted floor barn.
Bob Henry, a director of the Huron
Cattleman's Association, was used to
seeing cattle wintered outdoors on his trips
to the West, although the climate there is
much drier than the. damp cold of
southwestern Ontario winters.
When his three sons decided to come
into the cattle business with him, the
family was keeping its livestock in a
conventional barn. Behind the barn about
50 acres of gravel ridges were used as
pastureland and to provide the odd Toad of
gravel for roads and driveways. The
Henrys soon noticed that their cattle
preferred sleeping out on the ridges, no
matter what the weather, rather than
taking shelter in the barn.
Ron Henry said with that in mind, plus
the fact the price of new cattle barns was
going up too much for the family operation,
they decided to try the open -style feedlot.
THE RURAL VOICE/APRIL 1980 PG. 3