The Milk Producer - February 2010 - (Page 47)

NEW’N’NOTED Alley scraper stands up to normal wear and tear Precision conference features visits to progressive farms T Jamesway Farm Equipment has introduced the Dura-Chain Alley Scraper. This system offers almost unlimited choices of layouts and requires very little floor space in the barn. The hardened Dura-Chain can withstand the steel-on-concrete wear found in scraper systems, and requires less attention than conventional chains or cables. The drive unit is extremely compact and may be placed anywhere desired at either end of the barn. This allows complete freedom when planning new barns and easy placement into existing barns. No special concrete work is required to install the Dura-Chain Alley Scraper. This scraper system is even able to work with alleys of differing lengths by using a special SliderSled on the blade in the short alley. This lets the blade remain idle for part of the chain travel. For more information, call 819-845-7824, or visit www.JameswayFarmEq.com. he closing day of the First North American Conference on Precision Dairy Management features farm visits to four technology-driven dairy farms in southwestern Ontario. Following two full days of presentations by leading technical experts from universities and agribusiness, this full-day coach bus tour will provide wide-ranging exposure to some of the most progressive dairy farms in Ontario—who are early adopters of precision dairy management technologies. Summitholm Farms. Management is the focus of this high-production herd that ranks highest in the province for DHI management score year after year. Summitholme, operated by Dave, Carl and Ben Loewith, is a 320-cow operation on sand bedding, featuring the new Performance Plus pedometers from AfiMilk. The Pedometer Plus measures rest time and rest bouts in addition to identifying cows and measuring activity for heat detection. The AfiFarm Herd Management software processes this data to indicate behaviour changes expressing comfort and stress levels. Hoenhorst Farms. In anticipation of increasing labour costs, Gerrit and Margriet Wensink of Hoenhorst Farms near Woodstock have moved beyond a profitable, high production 3x parlour-milked herd. In April 2008, they expanded into a new 360-cow, slatted-floor freestall barn featuring six Lely robotic milking stalls, robotic slat scraping, dual chamber water beds and perimeter feeding. This farm also features robotic calf feeding and has participated in CanWest DHI field trials using RFID (radio frequency identification) ear tags in herd management. The latest addition features automatic heat monitoring for reproductive management in heifers with a Heatime system. Donkelman Farms. Henk and Dinie Kremers and their son, Arjan, and his wife, Marleen, have renovated the four-row freestall barn built in 1990 several times. Natural ventilation is from three-foot (0.9-m) tip-in ventilation panels that work well in winter. Summer tunnel ventilation uses 18 four-foot (122-cm) diameter fans in the end wall. Milking is done with a new 28-stall Westfalia Surge Mag 40 internal rotary, which includes pedometry, two auto sort gates and an automated footbath. Calves are fed with a robotic calf feeder. Feeding equipment includes an automated pre-batching system for non-forage TMR ingredients. Delhome Holsteins. Ron and Debbie Riddell have just moved into their 114-by-350-foot, four-row freestall barn with sand bedding and a manure flushing system. The barn houses 120 milking cows plus dry cows and all replacements. The dairy herd, which will be moved just one month before the conference, will be milked with two DeLaval VMS using a feed-first cow traffic system. Robot access from a bedding pack, and a central handling area accessible to most groups are features of this layout designed by DairyLogix. If construction delays prevent a visit here we will stop at Ervilou Holsteins, a slatted-floor, feed-first VMS barn in the same area. For conference program and registration information, visit www.precisiondairy2010.com. MilkPRODUCER | February 2010 | 47 Acquisition announced Vetmedica, animal health arm of Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., has acquired a number of assets of Wyeth/Fort Dodge Animal Health business in conjunction with the closing of the global Pfizer-Wyeth merger. This acquisition will significantly increase the size of Vetmedica’s product lines, strengthening the company’s position as a premier supplier of animal health products in Canada. In addition, the acquisition will include manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, enhancing the leading-edge research and development capabilities of Boehringer Ingelheim. Note: Descriptions of products and services are for the information of our readers only. Publication of this information does not constitute endorsement by The Milk Producer. http://www.JameswayFarmEq.com http://www.precisiondairy2010.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - February 2010

The Milk Producer - February 2010
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair's Message
Dairy Update
DFC Policy
Industry Roundup
DFC Promotion
Quest for Quota
Issues Update
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N' Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - February 2010