The Rural Voice, 1996-10, Page 20Building for
the future!
Beef may be on the bottom
of the cycle right now but
Bennett Farms are building
big for the day when the
cycle will crest again.
By John Greig
Wm. Bennett Farms Ltd. has
become well-known in the
Gorrie area as one of the
largest family farming operations in
this part of the province. With 350
pigs and 5,000 beef cattle, the
company owns 3,200 acres and rents
700 more to sustain such an
operation.
In early August, the Bennetts and
builder Landmark Builders held an
open house at one of the Bennetts'
farms north of Gorrie to show off a
new 75 by 350 foot beef barn. The
open house was attended by over 300
people interested in getting a good
look at the latest in farm building
technology.
The wooden frame with steel
siding barn is naturally ventilated and
on one of the hottest days of the
summer the barn was comfortable. A
breeze blew through the eight -foot
opening on the west face of the barn
controlled by curtains.
The Bennetts have been known for
the expansion of their facilities over
the past several ycars. They are also
building a state-of-the-art boar
genetic barn and laboratory on Hwy.
87 east of Gorrie. But Ron Bennett
said the new buildings will most
likely be the last they will build in a
while due to the fact they've almost
become too big in terms of land,
employees and what can be done
managerially with the staff they have
as a family farm.
The Bennett farming tradition
began in 1943 when William (Bill)
16 THE RURAL VOICE
Bennett started farming on 50 acres at
Lot 11, Concession 12 of Howick
Township, across the road from
where Ron, Bill's son, and his family
now live. Bill started the tradition of
growth and whcn he died in 1993, the
operation was almost as large as it is
now. He kept adding to the business
piece by piece, working long hours
and expanding the operation all over
Howick Township.
"He was fairly aggressive," said
Ron.
Bill would be proud of the level to
which his family has built the farm.
But, as Ron said, "Only if the timing
was proper, would Bill think the
advancement was the proper thing to
do." In 1972, the operation was
incorporated to help transfer the farm
between generations.
A third generation of Bennetts
joined the farm in April of 1995
when Bob Bennett, Ron and his wife
Barb's son, graduated from the
University of Guelph's Ontario
Agricultural College. Ron said the
future of Bob's involvement will
"depend on the company wanting
him and him wanting to be there."
Ron and Barb also have three
daughters, Ronda, Sandy and Patty.
The new barn will keep Bob,
Ron and three other full-time
employees busy. When full,
the new barn will be home to about
900 animals — that's about 3,000 per
year when three rotations are figured
into the equation.
About 50 metres away is another
Bennett Farms recently opened a
new 900 -head beef fgrower barn
rear Gorrie.
larger barn in which cattle are
finished on a slatted floor. Two barns
of that size on one farm can cause
some local concerns so numerous
environmental considerations were
made in the building of the new barn.
For example, water from the yard
around the barn is collected and
stored in the manure storage tanks.
"That saves the dirty water from
running down someone's ditch," said
Ron.
That consideration wasn't made
when the first barn was built and as
Ron said, something is learned from
each barn they build.
The ventilation is another
improvement from the first
barn. In the new barn the feed
mangers face west, whereas in the
other barn, the feeders face each
other across a driveway through the
middle, restricting the flow of air.
"Young cattle like lots of air," said
Ron.
The new barn will be used to start
the growth of younger animals
between 400 and 1,000 pounds. Half
of the barn has a cement floor which
will be covered in sawdust to form a
bedding pack for the youngest
animals.
When a bit older, they can be
moved to the other half of the barn,
with a slatted floor. Manure is pushed
down between the slats into a large
holding tank from which it can be