The Rural Voice, 2000-04, Page 30genetics, will benefit a farm
that has 40 cows per worker
twice as much as one with 20
cows per worker, Rodenburg
points out.
These changes will alter
the appearance of dairy farms
across Ontario, Rodenburg
predicts. Typically, the most
low cost expansion a tie -stall
dairy operation could make
was an addition to the existing
bank barn. But as herd sizes
grow from the 50 -100 -cow,
the economics of a freestall
operation become more
favourable, particularly in
terms of labour. That labour
advantage is multiplied in
moving to three -times a day
milking which produces more
volume per cow. Perhaps, he
suggests, producers need to
look at novel ways to take
advantage of the efficiencies
of larger units without higher
costs, such as joint ventures
where more than one herd
uses a larger freestall facility.
Perhaps gradual expansion
can be undertaken by constructing a
separate dry -cow barn that can be
converted to house a freestall
operation.
The move to freestall operations
requires an entirely notv philosophy
from the experience producers have
been used to in tie -stall barns,
Rodenburg says.
For instance, adding to older
barns often creates ventilation
problems because clustered
buildings don't allow good airflow. If
you start fresh with a new building,
well away from the existing
buildings, you can make better use of
natural ventilation. Traditionally,
barns have been kept close to the
house but with a modern barn using
drive-through feeding and cleaning
systems, you'll want more room and
may want to get farther from the
current site.
Rodenburg gives four goals of a
new facility:
• Improve cow comfort
• Improve labour efficiency
• Keep costs under control to make it
affordable
• Build in flexibility where possible.
Long term planning can help
make expansion more affordable,
26 THE RURAL VOICE
ii.74 tt ,
7
•r'
Milking palours
(above) and other
freestall amenities,
increase the milk -
per -man ratio.
Moving to freestall
means starting
fresh in a new
building, not making
do with the
problems of the old
bam (below).
Rodenburg says. If you choose a site
for a new barn well in advance and
have it prepared, you can save
money. If your site is going to
require a lot of fill, bringing it in and
letting it settle for a few years before
you plan to build can save expensive
packing. Choose a high, dry site.
Many barns end up costing more
than they should because too much
emphasis is placed on building a
structure tha, will not deteriorate with
time, Rodenburg says, but simple
pole frame buildings will probably
outlast the current technology
anyway.
If additional heifer facilities are
your immediate need, consider an
open pole frame building with
outside feeding. Then locate and
design it so it can be widened to
cover the feeding area, a drive
through and three rows of freestalls
to form a six -row barn.
If cost is an issue, build a barn
with minimal insulation, manual side
wall curtains, tractor scraping, post
and rail manger and sand -based
freestalls. Additional insulation,
controls on curtains, self locks, alley
scrapers, mattresses etc. can all be
added later when cash flow
improves.
Poor ventilation, lack of
headroom and posts mean
most old tie stall barns have
little value in a freestall
conversion. Make the best
use of them for low density
housing such as maternity
and treatment, since these
uses require lots of space and
labour no matter where you
put them.
The parlour, Rodenburg
says, is one of the major
labour savers in the free stall
equation but it is also a very
high cost item. Milking in tie
stalls or a low cost flat barn
or starting with a simple but
expandable parlour with no
automation may be a way to
spread the cost of freestall
conversion over several
years.
While Rodenburg provided
a pro -expansion scenario,
Dennis Martin, OMAFRA
Dairy Cattle Specialist,
offered words of caution. It's
important, he said, to expand
for the right reasons, not just
to follow a trend. "As a guide, if
you're a candidate for expansion,
your current equity must be high and
both production efficiency and cost
control should be at least average.
For some people 'better', before
'bigger'. still applies."
Martin demonstrated a
computer spread sheet
program, available free
from OMAFRA, which allows
producers to plug in their own figures
to see if expansion would make
sense. In some cases expansion may
not make sense, he said. A well-
managed 50 -cow herd with lots of
production and debt free on 300 acres
could provide a net income of
$100,000, he said. If the farmer
expanded to a 100 -cow herd it would
cost $1.5 million to build a freestall
barn and buy quota. Principal and
interest expense will drive up the
debt per litre of production.
There are lots of good 40-50 cow
herds that are making money, Martin
said. The real.Catch 22 is if a
farmer's child wants to enter the
business. "How do we bring the next
generation into the dairy industry?"
"Realize change is going to
happen. Realize where the industry is