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| I have a 120 hol. milking herd. Two hired men, one milker, one is calf feeder, irrigator, hay hauler, loader man. Milker has worked for me for since 1991, calf feeder has worked since 1997. Closed herd, raise heifers for myself and some to sell. Run all bulls, no A.I. Long stem hay ration, feed grain/com. mix in a computer feeder. Process barley on the farm with a Gehl mix-all, I have feed truck bring com. in and fill ton totes. We lift them up and let it run into mix-all, no second handling of it again. I bale my hay in 5x6 round bales, buy a lot in 3x3, 3x4, 4x4 sq.
I was a drylot for ever, just bedded straw in front of windbreaks, three years ago, built a 120'x20'x20' lounging shed that we bed about only three months out of the year. It if gets real muddy I lock cows on the cement and shed. Milk in a double 6 prallel parlor w/auto detachers. The barn started out as a drive thru stall barn, converted to 3 on a side herribone, then I changed it to a double 4 prallel in 1992. Then went to using the other 4 stalls in 2005.
Also run 400 hd. of beef cows, in Ut., Id. open range. Most never see a truck and trailer. Trail them thru out the year. Also farm 500 ac. hay/grain flood irrigated.
Back in the early 90's I bred some hol. heifer to a short horn beef bull. I got a pen of cows that lasted forever, alway healthy, never any mastitis, no hoof problems, they always packed a little more flesh than a hol. cow. A little less milk than a Hol. but those cows lasted for about 10 years or more. I'm still getting that color coming back today. They are blk./white but it's a different pattern on the cows. I've been wanting to do a little more crossbreeding again, maybe 20% of the herd? I always asked guys what % of cows you needed jersey's and Hol. to raise your BF to test higher. I could never get a answer. I fiqured the jerseys would just die like flies in our drylots in the winter. My milk goes to http://www.gossner.com/home/gossner/index.php .They have been darn good to us I couldn't ask for a better place to ship milk, no contracts all on a handshake. Been with them since 1990 when DFA got a hard on and pulled out of the valley. The best thing to happen to me.
Edited by Russ In Idaho 11/24/2007 05:26
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Where are the dairy farmers?
