Central East River South Dakota | Little background for those who don't know. Currently milk 400 cows in central East River SD. We raise all our own replacement hfrs will very good luck. We have done different things will our bulls and want to pursue finishing them again. Before we expanded about 5 years ago, we raised them with the heifers up to 350-400 lbs and then the whole bunch ran together in a lot with a self-feeder. Good, not great gains/efficiency. Since expanding we sold our bull calves for a few years, then we started raising them up to 500-600 and selling them with mixed results. When we expanded our dairy from 130 milking to 400 5 years ago, my dad applied and received cost sharing from NRCS for our lagoon project. We have to maintain a manure management program on all of the dairy's operation. What we did was all of the Dairy operations are located on the south side of the road, which include the 320hd cross-vent with lagoon system, parlor/holding pen with 60 hd free stalls on a pit floor, and 2 bed pack barns for close-ups and special needs. All of our open-lots are on the North side of the road under my name/management which because of head count does not need a manure management program.
What we want to do is to finish out our steers THE RIGHT WAY, utilizing our TMR along with weighbacks and the feed which doesn't meet Dairy specs. I visited with the NRCS people and I (myself not WE, as in my Dad and I) can qualify for the same kind of cost-share for these animals. I didn't get the numbers on open-lots, but if I built a barn with dirt floor it would be to the tune of $180/hd cost-share and if it was concrete floor it would be around $230/hd. I would think if we have 400 calves a year half bulls takes about 2-3 months to get them get them weaned and started (hutches for milk and 22ft x 120ft calf barn, see pic, to start them) I would need capacity for around 225 hd.
What would you do? If I did open lots, I would not bother have a manure management plan, opens lots are less expensive and 9-10 months out the year are perfectly fine. But does this cost-share make it a no-brainer to utilize the gains and health-benefits of a barn? Garvo, I see your earlier post about your brother's barn costing $73,500 or $460/hd. What kind of floor does he have? How often do you bed, how many bales, how often do you clean and what do you do with the manure? Is it hauled away immediately, do you stock pile it near the barn or in the field, and what does a guy need to have stockpiled manure qualify under a manure management plan.
What does the world of AgTalk think? Thanks, and I will be happy to elaborate on anything that anybody asks, but I am sure you are all tired of reading all of this post.
Edited by LazyJDairy 1/17/2012 13:55
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? for Garvo, or others about bedded barns
