The Rural Voice, 1999-04, Page 36Dairying under the big top
Atwood couple takes the plunge
with a free -stall barn under a
fabric shelter
Story and photos by Keith Roulston
When the cows came home to
Ken Dolson and Karen
Galbraith's new fabric -
Lo erect barn they quickly voted their
approval.
The cows, which had been at
another farm miles away from the
Dolsons' Atwood -area Legacy
Holsteins farm, were trucked in
January 29 and settled in immed-
iately. They quickly either began
eating or went to sleep, Karen says.
By mid-March the Dolsons too were
settling in, and liking their new
surroundings.
While there has been talk about
dairy operations under shelters, the
Dolsons are the first in western
Ontario to actually set up their entire
operation in a fabric -covered shelter.
Two Cover -All shelters are attached
end to end. The larger 62 -by -160 -
foot structure (that's the outside
dimensions) houses the free stall area
while a smaller 40 -by -60 -foot houses
the milking parlour, bulk tank, and
box stalls for a maternity area.
Other than the roof over head, the
barn is very much a standard modern
dairy barn with a large drive-through
feed alley, two rows of stalls and a
central alley with manure scraper.
There are thermostatically -controlled
full -wall curtains on the sides. Some
days in February those curtains were
wide open, Steve says.
The structure has created a lot of
Inside and out of a Cover -All barn,
two different shelters were combined
to provide space for freestall barn
and milking parlour.
32 THE RURAL VOICE