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The new barn was not the only change to the Green operation. To compliment the new barn, a new feeding system was also implemented. In 2002 the Greens switched to feeding silage from two bunker silos. The feed in turn is handled with new equipment purchased from their New Holland dealer. Ben Green says, "We had to do a tremendous shift from one philosophy of farming to another. Going to bunker silos from uprights was a real change. Our New Holland dealer was really instrumental in being able to help us with that transition to another style of harvesting." The system that had served the family for a generation, first with tall upright silos and later silage bags, was not adequate to satisfy the supply and quality they wanted to provide in the new facility. Today, the herd is supplied with a total mixed ration of almost 20,000 pounds a day. It has almost equal amounts of corn silage and haylage, on a dry matter basis. The processed silage is a better feed for the high performance herd. Ben says, "You have totally processed material that's totally available to the cows." It took six months to become really settled in the new barn. After that, the herd's DHIA record went up the chart. It currently ranked first in 2003 among approximately 165 herds in the eastern Ontario county. Feeding system The family relies on equipment from their New Holland dealer for fieldwork and for feeding the herd. When they switched to using bunkers they also upgraded and added a few pieces of equipment. Equipment for the new system includes a New Holland FP230 forage harvester with a corn processor, a 700-cubic foot Richardson Jiffy Dump and three New Holland tractors — a TM190, a TM165 and a TS110. The family plants about 350 acres of corn, and chops half for the bunkers. They also chop 200 acres of hay. Ben's son, Glenn, does all the chopping, using the TM190 for power. "He's good at it," Ben says. They upgraded to a three-row corn head on the new FP230. It immediately boosted harvest capacity by 50%, but also required more horsepower for driving, chopping and pulling the forage wagon.
Off-season, the TM190 is on other duties. Last fall, they used it for ripping compacted soil. "That's where you need real power," he says. "We pull a seven-shank ripper. You've got to get down 14 inches to get below the plow pan." Compaction on headlands became an issue with the new silage dump system. The Greens began getting soil compaction where loaded trucks were coming off fields. They'd done ripping in the past occasionally, limited by the tractor's power. Not any more. "That ripper rascal pulls hard, but the TM190 allows you to rip the way you want to rip. Now, we're pulling it where we want to pull it," Ben says. After that, all winter, the TM190 sat on standby beside the dairy's generator. If power had gone off, they could turn on the tractor to have "instant" power again. In spring, it went onto the six-row planter. "I like the TM190. It's very comfortable," Ben says. "It has nice maneuverability. It can get around pretty nimbly for its size. It's got the SuperSteer™ front axle that helps out when you want to get back in your row. It's quiet. There's good visibility. It's just a remarkably nice tractor to drive." Daily chores For daily feeding chores, the two smaller New Holland tractors are on call. They load silage from the bunkers into the mixer, then deliver it inside the new barn. "It doesn't matter if it's 40 below zero, the TM165 and TS110 have to go every day," Ben says. "We do our mixing once a day, and there's never a day they don't go." The bunkers, measuring 25 by 125 feet, are sized according to the daily ration so that the face of the pile stays fresh. The TS110 does nearly all the packing and leveling as silage is delivered to the bunkers from the field. It also is used daily to fill the big 725-cubic-foot Knight 3050 Mixer. Green says, "The TS110 does what we need it to do. It stays in the bunkers. If you get too big, you can't get around in there." The mixed ration is delivered in the barn by the TM165. However, in haying season, the TM165 comes off the mixer each morning and goes onto the family's New Holland 1420 Haybine® mower-conditioner. "The TM165 is just a sweet tractor," Ben says. "It's small enough to be agile, but big enough to be brawny. It has SuperSteer, too. That's neat when you go out at the end of a field and want to come back in." Dealer's role As good as the equipment is, Ben says, one thing is even more important. It's the dealership. The Green's New Holland dealer is just 20 miles from the family farm. The dealer is typically closed on Sundays and at night, but breakdowns don't fit schedules. "This is the neatest little story I can tell you about the dealership," Ben says. "One time we picked up a ratchet in a windrow of hay, on a Sunday, and it went through the cutterhead. The owners opened the dealership that day so we could get a new set of knives. They're great guys. I've even got their cell phone numbers." He adds, "I really believe you buy equipment, you also buy the dealership. Our dealer has always been just absolutely great about servicing us and doing what he can, if there's anything needed. "I think, in one's best interest, you have to think about what's happening tomorrow. It's not whether you can get the very last cent off of today's deal. Tomorrow is very important and, to a great extent, you buy the dealership and not just the tractor." |
