The Rural Voice, 1996-10, Page 21spread onto fields as fertilizer. Then,
the animals can be finished in Barn
No. 3, the larger barn on the same
property. "The two barns
complement each other," said Ron.
The barns work together as a 2,400
head unit.
Ron said a goal when building a
new barn is that it work well with
older barns nearby.
During the open house, farmers of
all ages toured the building, pausing
to examine the structure of the
building or the quality of the silage
being fed to the animals in the half of
the barn which was in use.
The young animals are fed a 75
per cent grain ration with the
remaining 25 per cent forages and
premix.
There was always a crowd around
Jack Schenk, owner of Landmark
Builders.
"This is the best of two worlds,"
he said. "On the bedded pack they
have less stress, so the cattle can be
started easily and then moved onto
the slats. We want the cattle to be
comfortable."
Schenk's company has built
many of the newest large barns
in the area, helping to fuel the
expansion of agri-business in Ontario
and making it more efficient in order
to compete with the rest of the world.
"This is a factory," he said of the
barn. "It's a factory that can produce
4,000 pounds of meat per day.
Persistent production will give you a
consistent product."
The Bennetts now have room on
their farms for 5,000 "products" at
one time. That's a number that has
been rising with each barn they've
built. But those new barns have been
made necessary by the deterioration
of older barns dotting the area.
This year another 200-head barn
was closed in anticipation of opening
the new barn. More animals will be
channelled to the new barn from
other barns, alleviating over-
crowding.
"We're hoping for better gains,"
said Ron, who's expecting 2.8 to 3
pounds of gain per day in the barn
from the young cattle.
About one third of the young stock
are purchased as light yearlings from
western Canada and the rest from
local sales and operators.
"We try to keep the money close
to home," said Ron.
BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK
887-6461
887-6811
SALES
Our local Calf Sales
will be Oct. 26 6 Nov. 9
at 10 00 a.m.
4H Call Sale
Oct. 12 a1 1-00 pm_
Bred Cow Sale
ov. 2 at 11 a.m.
Tuesdays 9 a.m.
Thursdays 10 a.m.
Fridays 10 a.m.
1 p.m.
- Fed Cattle, Cows, Bulls
- Bob Calves, Veal, Lambs & Goats
- Stockers
- Pigs
Confidence • Trust • Service
WESTERN STOCKERS AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE SALE
AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL
INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN ENGINEER BUILD
LANDMARK BUILDERS LTD.
485 6th Ave., Hanover, Ontario
(519) 364-3609 Fax (519) 364-3637
OCTOBER 1996 17