Asfelds see benefits with dairy modernization project
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 08/09/2010 3:30 PM
E-mail article | Print version
OSAKIS, Minn. —There are still a few things to finish on Bruce and Rose Asfeld's farm building project, but already they are experiencing positive results.
Milking time has been reduced, the somatic cell county dropped from 400,000 to 300,000 and the cull rate declined from 48 percent to 27 percent.
It's got Bruce wondering why they hadn't remodeled sooner.
They discussed the dairy farm renovation during a farm modernization field day last week aon their Osakis farm.
They purchased the farm in 1994 and have milked 60 cows in a 54-stall tie-stall barn, Bruce said.
The couple was, concerned about the farm's location between two creeks. Water quality of the streams was an issue. Cows were released to a pasture between milkings for exercise and dry cows were kept on pasture.
Bruce knew milking in a tie-stall system could take a physical toll on his knees, he said. And there were concerns about his herd's high cull rate.
"It seemed like whenever there was money, we were spending it on more cows," he said.
The family considered moving to another farm, but they liked their location. It's only five miles from Bruce's home farm and is near Interstate 94, meaning Rose has a quick commute to her job in Alexandria. The answer to their concerns was to build.
It took three years of planning to develop the system they felt would meet their needs.
Last year, at the start of summer vacation, Bruce and Rose and their four children started the renovation. Bruce rented a jackhammer and broke up the cement on a portion of his barn. Once the cement was removed, they poured the foundation for a double-8 parabone swing parlor. Next to the parlor they made a holding area with curtain walls.. Near the barn they constructed a new 100-cow 66-foot by 204-foot compost bedding pack barn with curtain. The barn has a feed line along the south wall with a eight-foot overhang to protect feed from rain or sun.
The project cost around $115,000 for the pit including dirt work and $154,000 for the compost barn and wiring, cement work and the vacuum pump. They did much of the work themselves, Bruce said. The parlor costs were around $47,000.
The compost barn gives them options, Bruce said. They can easily change it into a three-row free-stall barn and keep a portion in a compost bedded pack for older cows. The couple likes working with the sawdust bedding.
They milk 100 cows in what is a dry parlor. They are in the process of hooking up the parlor's in-floor heat.
The Asfelds had a 1.2 million gallon earthen manure pit built with assistance from the Soil and Water Conservation District and funding from EQIP. The pit has a year holding capacity and contains manure from alley scrapings, parlor and milk house water, he said.
Bruce's father rebuilt their milking system when a fire destroyed the home farm facility in the 1970s. His father built a double-six parallel now operated by Bruce's brother.
The Aafelds' herd average has gone up from 18,000 pounds to 22,000 pounds.
With their cull rate dropped, they are able to raise their own herd replacements thanks to the facilities, Bruce said. Milking times have dropped from almost two hours to an hour and 40 minutes for one person. Veterinary bills are smaller and calving intervals have been reduced.
They have experienced a few challenges as they have switched from their old to new system. They moved the cows to the bedding pack in late fall. The pack didn't have good opportunity to compost and, with cold winter temperatures, they experienced some freezing.