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The Citizen, 2016-11-03, Page 18ReLook Nook Ladies Wear Consignment Shop Get Your Look On! Quality Ladies Wear Sizes Sm - 3X, Jewelry, footwear, purses and small furniture. Tailoring and Alterations, Dry Cleaning 519-606-4001 Consignments by appointment only Se rS 14 Isaac St., Clinton Q Tues. -Fri. 9:30 am - 5:30 pm & Sat. 9:30 - 4:00 pm� PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016. Par-Chier Farms open first -of -its -kind barn Recognized With the potential to milk 800 goats an hour and feed their expanding goat herd as well as milk it, the owners of Par-Chier Farms of Blyth are excited to pose with their new rotary -parlour technology prior to its launch over the weekend. Par-Chier is owned by Jim and Sylvia Parish, right, Dave and Kirsten Passchier, centre, and enjoyed by their children Macey, top left, Levi, top, and Axel, centre. (Lisa B. Pot photo) By Lisa B. Pot The Rural Voice It's all so big for such small animals. Visually, that's the first impression one has when touring the new 300 -by -98 -foot dairy goat barn with a 20 -by -40 -foot hallway joining the new and old barns together at Par-Chier Farms, just north of Blyth on London Road. The new barn features a rotary/feeding parlour which is the first of its kind in North America. An open house on Saturday attracted hundreds of viewers to this cutting-edge goat farm owned by Jim and Sylvia Parish and Dave and Kirsten Passchier outside of Blyth; the rotary parlour being the feature attraction. The milking -feeder combination is what makes this system so unique. It features 80 milking stalls to allow 800 goats to be milked per hour. It doubles as a feeder for the milking goat herd allowing producing does to feed eight times a day on their pellet ration. Furthermore, the sensors can calibrate a blended ration for goats transitioning between the milking and dry period. Handier yet, the computerized system automatically sorts goats in and out of the milking herd depending on the breeding, hoof -trimming and health needs of the herd. Par-Chier Farms has become a Mowing on Jim and Sylvia Parish are seen here with some of their goats in the farm's old barn. The new barn will give the families the capacity to house and milk 1,500 does and milk 800 goats an hour in the new rotary parlour. (Lisa B. Pot photo) large, modern and (at present while still in construction) slightly overwhelming operation for its owners. They know huge management changes are coming, but chose this route to increase production, improve herd health, economy of scale and herd all the animals back onto the home farm. "We were always planning ways to bring the yearlings (raised on two other farms) home and to improve the nursery," said Sylvia Parish, owner and the primary milker along with her husband Jim. Improving production and making use of new technology also appealed to Jim and son Dave, who travelled to Holland in March of 2015 to view seven rotary parlours in operation. They had a particular interest in the Dairymaster Parlour, which they'd seen on a video at the Canadian Dairy Expo earlier this year in Stratford. "We had in mind to install a rotary and add computerized feeding so we could feed goats individual rations," said Dave. At the time, he imagined it would be two separate functions in two areas of the barn. When he learned the Dairymaster rotary could serve as both the milking and feeding station, then excitement really began to build. "It had the potential to save costs because the amount of money for a rotary parlour is significant," said Dave. As a person who has spent enough time fixing broken equipment, he thought it was practical as well. "In my way of thinking, instead of two machines that could break down, it's just one." It's clear this is a well -researched, planned project with plenty of support within the corporation and the goat dairy industry. Their support team is large and includes Greenoak Dairy Equipment based in Kitchener which is building the parlour and B -W Feed and Seed in New Hamburg which provides nutrition consulting. "I'll be getting a crash course from Greenoak on how to manage the data we'll be getting and they'll be part of our support team getting this running," Dave said. It will be a steep learning curve for the humans as well as the animals, but the Parish and Passchier families have learned how adaptable goats are since 1998 when they started with 100 goats. Formerly dairy cow farmers, the couples knew they had to expand their 30 -cow milking herd, but were wary of the investment required. When a fellow farmer from their church shared that he was going to milk goats, the couple was intrigued about the potential in what was then a new and growing industry. "I had to work off the farm at first doing custom work and carpentry," Jim said. They continued to grow the herd and facilities, adding a lean-to in 2000, a second lean-to a year later, then a major addition on an existing pole barn in 2004. By this time, they were milking 300-400 goats. In 2009, they added a rapid -exit system which, because of the larger stalls needed, reduced the stalls to 52 from their original parlour of 56 stalls but still took 45 minutes off each milking time. By this time, the milking herd had grown to 500 goats. In 2015, when research began in earnest to become large-scale goat milk producers with a rotary parlour, the milking herd was at 600-650 goats. Now it's almost 800 with plans to reach 1,200 as quickly as possible. Cost projections indicate they need to milk at least 1,000 to break even on the new expansion. The goal is to expand to 1,200 milking goats and take a pause to focus on the herd, the operation and the process. "We'd like to target genetics at that point and move into more breeding stock sales," said Dave. At this time, they will debate the merits/needs/plans to increase the milking herd to 1,500 animals. But first they have to move into the new facility. Last month, the yard was filled with trucks from construction crews finishing work on the rotary. The barn is built and looks completed from the outside Continued on page 19 Men's Cut $957 + tax SHEAR TALENT Hair Design & Tanning 45 West St., Goderich 519-524-6555 Seasonal Flu Shot Clinics Clinton Family Health Team At 105 Shipley St. in the basement Please wear a short sleeve shirt and bring your Health Card. 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