The Rural Voice, 1983-05, Page 6The Marshalls of Meri Acres
by Rhea Hamilton
For some young farmers, it is still the
challenge of farming that draws them
into the business. That applies to Dave
Marshall.
Dave Marshall, and his wife Loralee
bought out the family farm in 1974, and
run one of the top producing dairy herds
in Huron County.
The Marshall family has been running
Meri Acres near Kirkton for decades and
each generation has had the opportunity
of buying out the parent to continue the
operation. The philosophy behind this
has made each new owner more con-
scious of the value of the business and
saves wear and tear on family relation-
ships.
Ross Marshall, Dave's father, has
retired to the Grandbend area with his
wife, and Dave has found that the good
advice and training from his 72 year old
father has proven to be a great help in the
dairy operation.
It was Ross Marshall who converted
the farm from a mixed operation to a
dairy farm and became involved in the
Canadian Holstein-Fresian Association
serving as president.
Dave Marshall has maintained the dairy
operation making changes to streamline
the farm and improve the herd's produc-
tion level.
The herd has expanded by five cows
and Marshall now milks 34 to 35 cows
from his herd of 38 registered animals.
The long established herd is bred
through artificial insemination (Al) and
Dave pays particular attention to sire
selection. There are three large co-ops
which make Al available and Dave shops
around through the catalogues finding
characteristics he finds valuable in a
herd.
Dave Marshall did not spend all of his
time on the farm but left home to attend
four years at Guelph University.
"I recommend post secondary educa-
tion highly", said Marshall. Information
from school has proved valuable and the
education has allowed Marshall to read
and comprehend faster he said. But the
main thrust of going away to school has
been the chance to mature. "You leave as
an 18 year old and come back at 22, ready
to work the farm", said Marshall.
Marshall graduated with a Bachelor of
Science in agricultural economics. While
the class was not that popular then with
only 18 in his class, it has expanded to
160 in the past year indicating the
number of young people interested in the
agricultural business.
Meri Acres is almost self-sufficient
with the feed all grown on the 200 acre
farm. Only soybean meal and minerals
are purchased.
In 1983 there will be similar acreage, 50
to 60 acres, put into cash crops of wheat,
sweet corn and some surplus grain corn.
Two and three years ago Marshall went
into bean production doing quite well. He
avoided planting them again last year
which turned out to be a wise move with
the depressed bean prices.
Dave Marshall says he is conservative
in his business practices and will try new
ideas on a small scale to see how they
work in his system. He has to see some
KASE VANDEN HEUVEL
CONST. CO. LTD.
Farm and Commercial Buildings
R.R. 2 Goderich or Ken Janmaat, Seaforth
524-9176 527-1858 after six
PG. 4 THE RURAL VOICE, MAY 1983
financial return on the small scale or the
idea will not be expanded.
Marshall advises anyone paying for
professional services to listen and follow
the advice given. He is on a monthly vet
service and follows the advice carefully.
Marshall is also on a feed analysis
program and he keeps abreast of new
ideas by taking courses and seminars.
With the installation of a gravity
milking system in 1975 he has had the
Surge dealer make yearly checks on the
system, a service which the owner must
ask for. The dealer found a voltage feed
back problem (tingle voltage) causing a
minor drop in production. With the help
of Ontario Hydro the problem was
solved. It just was one more situation
where seeking advice paid off.
With the constant upgrading and
improving around the farm Marshall has
discovered the farm can be run with one
man less than a generation ago. He has
one well-trained herdsman who has
proven invaluable.
Milk quota keeps producers on their
toes. The fluid milk quota is adjusted
monthly. If a producer allows his produc-
tion to slip below his quota it will be
adjusted accordingly. Therefore it is
imperative for a producer to produce to
capacity. The excess milk is directed into
the industrial milk market and that is
adjusted yearly which is not nearly so
critical a production problem. The ups
and downs in production can be averaged
out over a longer period.
Right now milk producers are facing a
cut across the board of almost five per
cent. For Marshall this means tighter
control on his production and the
possible shipping of one cow to bring his
production in line with his quota figures.
It is this close eye on production levels
that keeps a farmer producing for a profit
as opposed to over -producing and taking
a loss.
Because of the monthly demand for
production, Marshall tries to keep his
calving year round and keep on top of any
breeding problems before they become
major worries. He still faces some areas
of low yields but is changing that
through time and breeding.
His herd produces a breed class
average index of 157-161 and once a
month samples are tested and weighed
through ROP.
Marshall employs a simple feeding