Just in time for Christmas

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

Finished up my little barn project yesterday, just a few odds and ends to clean up yet. Still , it is ready for dry cows and bred heifers to move into this week. Hope to pick up some milk line at an up coming auction , and we will be all set to go. My 40 year old Thomas skid steer was a big help in this project, moving 7 tandem truck loads of gravel in to bring the floor up to the same level as the old cow stable. And the old skid steer will now start a new career cleaning out the scrap alleys. Weather man was on my side on this job for sure. Bruce

L.Fure · Dec 25, 2015

No gutters? This is the first time I ever saw a dairy barn with no gutters. Scraping the area out with a skid loader does make sense though. Is this an extension to an older barn, or are you just starting out in the dairy business? Either way I wish you all the luck in the world. Dairy farming holds a special place in my heart.

ed will · Dec 25, 2015

Bruce, good job! Have a great Christmas! Ed will

sd pete · Dec 25, 2015

That looks good Bruce.

farmer boy · Dec 25, 2015

Looks really well done. Skid steer would really be a life saver over doing that manually. Just out of curiosity, where did the tie stall dividers and posts come from? Is there a sticker on any of them from the mfg?

ed will · Dec 25, 2015

Hi, he says its for heifers and dry cows. To have
gutters would be a hindrance for cleaning w/ skid
stear. Ed will imho

Donald Lehman · Dec 25, 2015

Bruce,

What are you going to use for water lines and how are you going to lay them? Along the curb, from the ceiling down, or something else?

rrlund · Dec 25, 2015

Take a good long look at that concrete,you'll never see it again after you put cattle in there. Darned shame to let them dirty up something that looks that nice.

JD Seller · Dec 25, 2015

Bruce You have a nice addition to your barn. I hope your dairy system continues to allow smaller producers to stay viable. Here in the US it is not possible for a smaller operation to be profitable enough to support a family with any debt at all. It is much the same with smaller grain farmers too. It has almost became get big or get out in farming anymore.

What model is your Thomas skid steer??? I worked at a Dealer that sold Thomas skid steers. I owned a 172Xl for years. It was a good machine. I just traded it because it had the Thomas attaching plate not the universal one so you had to have all your attachments made special. We sold 133s and 172s.

Brendon Warren · Dec 25, 2015

I've got a pipeline setting here if you needed it. I forget where your at but I'm just across the border from Brockville Ont.

daisyman · Dec 25, 2015

I'm sure its got gutters. Look down at the other end where the skid loader is. It looks like it drops off about a foot.

greg oliver · Dec 25, 2015

Bruce, looks great. I finished milking at my neighbors around 7:30 this morning. They are going organic to get a better price but that isn't till May. They both work other jobs but there heart is in dairy. Merry Christmas!

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

This is just a new use for a old lean to. Been milking
cows for 35 years now and my oldest son is home
full time with me , we will need to ship more milk. I
will try to add a picture of what this building looked
like in early November.

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

I guess this skid steer could be older than the ones you sold JD.I am the second owner, and have had it since 1987. Think it was new in 1975, and is a 700 model , with a Wisconsin gas engine. Bruce

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

Hi Don, The waterlines are in the curb and the water bowls are fed from the bottom. When pouring the curb we just set a 2x2 into the cement to form a grove. 3/4 poly waterline is laid into the grove and tee off at each bowl. When every thing is tested for leaks , you just mix up some mortar to fill in the grove even with the top of the curb. If a leak should occur in the future , just knock out the mortar and expose the water line for repair. If you look hard at the picture, you can see the lines running up to the bowls. Bruce

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

Mennonite's down in Western Ontario make stall divides and post. These Mennonite welding shops make all kinds of farm stuff, gates penning , trimming shoots, wagons, and so on.Bruce

JimB2 · Dec 25, 2015

Hi Bruce, looks really good.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

All the best in 2016
JimB

crooked rows · Dec 25, 2015

Your new stalls look great.......and so does your cows.....I milked Jerseys for almost fifty years.

Kow Farmer · Dec 25, 2015

Merry Christmas Bruce and family. Wow! The lean to looks great. When I worked construction about 20 years or so ago, I helped with a similar situation as yours. My boss and I put tie stalls in an old barn for an addition for 20 some cows for a local dairy farmer here in Southern Minnesota. Yours looks like it will make a great addition to your dairy herd. Could you possibly add pipeline to milk in it in the future? Best of luck to your future in dairying sir.
Kow Farmer Kurt

Bruce from Can. · Dec 25, 2015

Hi Kurt, Merry Christmas . Yes we hope to add a milk line over these stalls too. We will have a total of 105 stalls when this is all complete.Bruce

larry@stinescorner · Dec 25, 2015

really nice,,,nice job,,,best of luck and Merry Christmas

coshoo · Dec 25, 2015

I was under the impression that everyone in the northland was going to milking parlors and free stalls. And I wondered how they kept their cows teats from freezing off, and all the water pipes in the parlor from freezing up, at -40F. Glad to see that the tie stall system is still alive and well. In addition to comfort for the cows, it would sure be a lot more pleasant for the people in winter. And the elimination of the gutter (and those blasted gutter cleaners that always break at just the wrong time) takes the worst part of it out. Nice looking set-up.

At first glance, I thought the stalls were awfully short- until I saw you have Jerseys! Since they started component pricing in the states, most of the smaller operations have gone to Jerseys, for the price advantage over Holsteins.

J.Wondergem · Dec 25, 2015

Looking good Bruce. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Glenn F. · Dec 25, 2015

Very nice. How wide is the building?

Glenn F.

oleclint · Dec 25, 2015

Looks Great, Bruce. Looks like you designed it for a labor saving set up. I agree about the barn cleaners breaking at a bad time. clint

Bruce from Can. · Dec 26, 2015

Just 30 feet, so every thing has to fit together like a Swiss watch. But it will work , and the cow stalls are the right size for Jersey cows 4'x5'. As you can see in the photo the skid will go down the scrap ally no problem , and the manger is well over 6' . Holstein cows need a 5'x6' stall , and we wouldn't have been able to pull this off with a larger breed.

Just in time for Christmas

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