The price of Dairy products is on the rise, while Jenkins Dairy Farm’s cost of production is decreasing. Jenkins Dairy Farm currently has the highest butterfat levels and production for Holsteins in the area. This has been achieved through the use of advanced feeding and farming techniques utilizing high protein corn silage. Additional benefits have accrued through the use of our advanced design free stall barn.

 

The barn is basically split in half with a feed lane running down the center. This is where the cows are fed the silage mix. On either side of the feed lane are two rows of freestalls and a travel lane where the cows walk. The cows can lie in the stalls, get up, and come and go as they please. There are six automatic water dispensers in each side of the barn. This allows the cows to have easy access to clean water at all times.

 

The cows are fed three times daily every eight hours. They eat all they want.

 

The barn is flushed four times daily before and after each milking.

 

The cows are milked two times daily but this can be increased to three times. 

 

Fifty cows per hour can be milked in the ten stall barn,

 

At the end of the barn are 2 tanks that hold the water used to flush the travel lanes. The water carries the manure 300 feet to a concrete manure pit. From there the water runs through a pipe to a lagoon where the manure is held until spring when it is pumped and spread on my cornfields. After the water is flushed, it is recycled and pumped 880 feet back to the holding tanks and is used for the next flush. The water washes out 100% of all the manure.