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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-09-14, Page 12Advance -Times, September 14, 1977 wlogy on the farm: Greater efficiency is one answer to making beef farming profitable By Henry Hess Sometimes you have to spend a lot to make a little — this rule applies m farming as in any other business. Increasingly heavy capital investments in new tech= nologies are necessary to raise efficiency and keep a profit mar- gin in the operation. A local example of modern effi- FINLSHING TOUCHES—George Merkley and his father, Bill, were hanging the.. final gates in the new slatted -floor beef barn last week in preparation for moving cattle in. Who new better haw to hang, the gates? They made them, hinges and all, ciency-oriented farming can be seen in the new slatted -floor beef barn that was getting its finishing touches last week on the George Merkley farm in Turnberry Township. The barn will hold up to 700 herd of cattle in five pens and the whole operation can be managed by one person. The cattle stand on concrete slats and all wastes drop through into deep lagoons under the floor. This method keeps the pens fairly clean and does away with, the need for straw .or other bedding material. It also elimin- ates the time-consuming cleaning of the pens. Instead, periodically the lagoons will be pumped out into a liquid manure 'spreader and the fertilizer applied to the fields. Two large doors at each end of the barn permit a feed mixing wagon to be driven down a wide aisle along either wall, dumping feed into a large concrete manger that runs the length of the pens along both sides. The size of the mangers should permit once -a - day feeding, Mr. Merkley cal- culates, saving time over the three -times -a -day required in his other barns. No time at all is expended watering the cattle. That chore is looked after by automatic water- ers.. containing heating elements to warm the water in thevinter. The barn is designed with a system. of gates 'to permit the moving of cattle from one pen to another and also provides for a sick pen and a squeeze pen — for cattle awaiting shipment — at one end. Year-round ventilation is provided by a slit in the peak of the roof and additional ventila- tionin warm weather is available through the. doors and rows of Windows down the sides of the barn.°The windows on either side can be opened or closed simul- taneously by means of a cranking mechanism at one end. While the whole operatiowill let a farmer handle more cattle SLATTED FLOORS are the coming thing in beef farming, George Merkley believes. They make for cleaner conditions, as all wastes are trampled through into large lagoons under the floor.' with less expenditufe in time and effort, its primary purpose is to improve efficiency in the fatten- ing of beef cattle. Mr. Merkley calculates the improved condi- tions will add a half pound a day to the -growth rate. Unless it does, he says, the operation will not pay for itself. He is aiming tor a growth rate of about three pounds per day. Two similar operations in south- western Ontario are getting close to this, he said, so it is well within reach. Three pounds per day will pay for the investment and leave a margin of profit: Beef cattle, weighing 400-700 pounds, are fed about 40 pounds of feed per head per day — a mix- ture of 30-35 pounds of silage with five pounds of dried corn and half a pound of feed concentrates — to bring them to the shipping weight of 900 pounds for heifers and 1,100-1,200 pounds for steers. The feed is a major expense, so the more that sticks to their ribs the happier the farmer will be. Clean living conditions coupled with the fact they aren't out running around in the winter should produce the desired re- sult, Mr. Merkley believes. During two months last winter, he noted, "it took all we could feed them just to hold our own (weight -wise), the weather was so cold". While the barn is not heated or insulated, warmth fromthe animals' bodies should keep the temperature above freezing. Mr. Merkley decided this spring to go with the new opera- tion and didn't waste any time getting to work on it. He drew up the plans himself and excavation got underway near the end of April. A Chepstow man, who specializes in making the precast concrete slats for the flooring, did all the cement work. About 700 cubic yards of concrete, in addi- tion to the 250 10' x 4' slats, went into the lagoons, floor supports aisles and troughs. A contractor from Walkerton put up the frame structure, with its aluminum and fibreglass siding. Mr. Merkley, with help from his father, Bill, and his hired man, welded up the fencing and gates. The last gates were being hung last Thursday, and he ex- pected to have cattle in the barn by the end of the week. Mr. Merkley, who has been specializing in beef farming for a number of years now, feels "beef on slats" is the coming thing. It wouldn't be economical, how- ever, for an operation with under 400 head, he , said, and couldn't operate on a 100 acre farm. He farms over 900 acres, 400 in corn, and with the new barn, expects to increase his herd size to 1,000 from the current 600-700. He feels larger and more effi- cient operations are the answer to coping with low market prices OFA says farmer suppod of groups may be compulsory By Richard'ShaW Farm organizations may soon be. financed by a compulsory. automatic check -off of all far- mers. This was the word from Ron Wliite, (titario Federation of Agriculture regional director for the counties of ' Middlesex, Oxford, Perth and Huron. Mr. White was speaking to the Sep- tember 8 meeting of the Perth County Federation of Agricul- ture, held in the Mitchell Town Hall. According to Mr. White, there is a real possibility of establish- ing . an automatic check -off . of all farmers, based on their acre- ages, as a means to finance the general farm organizations. The farmer would be given the choice of which farm organization he wanted the money to go to. The reasons for this are clear, said Mr. White. "The benefits of farm organizations go to all farmers; justice demands that all share the cost. OFA needs the money but funds are only obtain- able from members. The membership is needlessly drop- ping," said Mr. White. "The time farmers have available for OFA work must be freed from membership recruitment 'and put, to work building an organization and helping farmers." Mr. White, who was a member of the committee which proposed the idea of check -off, says that it would require a piece of legisla- tion that would impose a tax levy based on the farm's productivity'. In Mr. White's words, "It would work like the separate school tax." • For the time being, the check- off suggestion is only that; a. suggestion. It will be presented in a discussion paper to the county Federations and Individual Service Member regional meet- ings. Check -off is to be discussed by BEEF BARN=This 280' x 84' slatted -floor beef barn on` -'the George Merkley farm is one example of technology being applied to raise the efficiency of a farming operation. It provides for faster fattening of beef cattle and allows a farmer to look after 700 head virtually singlehanded. members and a report of con- cerns, ideas, and concensus from the meetings will be returned to the committee by October 15. At that time tale cgmmittee will attempt to.recgnsttrriiffcra-flew dis- cussion paper based on the mem- ber's input. The revised paper will be presented at the annual convention in November.. AUTOMATIC WATERERS have heating elements to warm the cattle's drinking water in the winter. and competition from producers in the United States. (Beef now sells for around 45 cents a pound, while Bill Merkley can remem- ber getting up to 50 cents during the 1950s.) A marketing board isn't the answer — not with the competi- tion from imported beef, he said. Better to leave the market the way it is and wait for it to "straighten out". In any case, he added, the new operation should allow him to turn a profit, even at 45 cents per pound. How much has he invested to make this profit? Mr. Merkley only grins when it is suggested he must be on pretty good terms with his banker, but a neigh- boring farmer estimates the tag on the 280' x 84' complex to be around the $250,000 mark. HOME INSOLATION SERVICE Homes and all types of Buildings'. FREE ESTIMATE No Obligation Phone LOUIS BLAKE 887-6800 Serving the. people of Western Ontario for over a quarter of o.: Century. Opening new doors to smal business ROGER HALL one of our representatives will be at The Wingham Motel, WINGHAM on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, Sept. 20. If you require financing to start, modernize or expand your business and are unable to obtain it elsewhere on reasonable terms and conditions or if you are interested in the FBDB management services of counselling and training or wish information on government programs available for your business, talk to our representative. szr FEDERAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BANK For prior information call 271-5650 or write 1036 Ontario Street, Stratford. Next time you're in,town, call on the Commerce manager. Ask him about the Commerce Farm Services he has for cattlemen, to cover short and intermediate term financing. And while you're at it, ask him about the other Commerce Farm hervices he has. After all; that's why the Commerce has Commerce Farm Services -to help you with the business of farming. CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE .. ' A' � eMY..,yXJ. . 'e , q.,. .v r�'..:.?t' w Fr Y ,.x�';; 1*.**"1 t.l�t`