The Rural Voice, 1998-05, Page 33own contractor.
One piece of advice he didn't
follow cost him when the move was
made into the new barn. He hadn't
put mats in the stalls to save money,
. deciding to put down straw instead.
The cows, coming from a tie -stall
barn and not being used to free stalls,
pulled the straw into the alleyways.
The alley scrapers pulled the straw
into the liquid system, plugging it.
The cows were lying in the alleyways
instead of the stalls. "It was just the
most discouraging thing you ever
saw," he recalls of what should have
been his moment of triumph.
Finally he grudgingly agreed to
buy enough mats for one row
of stalls as an experiment. "It
was like the difference between day
and night. Before we were done
(putting down the mats) the cows
were lying on them. They just loved
them."
The cattle also weren't used to a
parlour. They didn't know what they
were doing so they had to be pushed
into the parlour. The first night, back
in mid-November, it took 12 people,
including the crew setting up the
parlour, to get the milking done. But
by the second milking, four could do
the job and within a week, one
person, working alone, could do the
milking.
A week and a half later, with
everything seemingly operating
smoothly, Al and Donalda decided
they could take a night off to go out
to dinner in Owen Sound and leave
Tom and Michael with the chores.
Halfway through supper he got a call
from his mother that the barn was on
fire. Leaving the meal unfinished he
hurried home, still thinking it was the
old barn that was on fire. He arrived
to see the fire crew working on the
new barn.
With the milking proceeding, the
boys hadn't heard the fire and with
the open curtains on the side of the
barn providing plenty of fresh air,
they hadn't smelled smoke. About
the time they finally smelled smoke
and went to open the door to the feed
room, a car drove in to warn them the
barn was on fire.
The tractor in the feed room had
somehow caught fire. It was turned
off, had been cooling since the
afternoon and wasn't even plugged in
so it's still a mystery how the fire
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1-800-269-2561
The B & L Farm Service Dairy Plus Program:
The Dairy Industry is an ever changing entity. It is for this reason
that B & L Farm Services Ltd. is utilizing the expertise of a
Consulting Professional Nutritionist
"Goal" to provide the best independent dairy nutritional advice & service.
Janet Kleinschmidt M.Sc., will provide detailed nutrition management to you, the
producer. She comes to you highly qualified. Janet obtained her M.Sc. at the University of
Manitoba in 1988. From there she lectured on Animal Nutrition at the University of Zambia,
Africa. She has worked for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food as a Dairy Cattle
Specialist. Janet and her husband partnered on a 2000 acre crops farm and a 5000 acre dairy
and beef farm in Zambia. More recently she was employed by Masterfeeds as their Ruminant
Nutritionist. At present she is an Animal Nutritionist with her own company —
J.D. Kleinschmidt Agriculture Consultants
Janet Kleinschmidt will provide the following services at no charge to our clients on a yearly
basis:
a. 8 official farm calls (approx. 6-7 weeks)
b. 3 full ration balances (calves/dry cows/cows)
c. Interpret DHIA and herd health reports
d. Communicate with your veterinarian
e. Available to answer questions by phone, fax or e-mail
This program also includes the services of our Masterfeeds representative. John Hoskin.
B L FARM SERVICES
Box419 Chesley, Ontario NOG 1L0
519-363-3308 1-800-269-2561
Fax: 519-363-2613
MAY 1998 29