Clefthaven farm
- Located in Ontario, Canada
- Owners: Ruth, Orville, Brian, Kevin, bradley and Darrell Fried
- 300 dairy cows (Holstein)
- Housing: 4-row free stall-loose housing Herringbone Parlour; 2 VMS
- 3 milkings per day
Farm Management:
Dairy operations on the Clefthaven farm started in 1941 but the farm has been in the family since 1911. Ruth, the granddaughter and her husband Orville became owners in 1965. The two now run the farm with their four sons as a partnership with one VMS farm (2 systems) and a home farm with a herringbone parlour.
But the VMS farm didn’t come until 2002; that was when the Fried family made a big decision to add another barn and install two VMS robotic milking systems. “We did a lot of research before we decided to get the VMS. We also saw it in action at our neighbour’s farm,” says partner and oldest son Brian Fried who together with his brother Kevin manage the VMS farm.
Brian says they are very happy with the results and states quite clearly the advantage of having a VMS. “Our cows can do what they want, get milked when they want and production is outstanding.”
He also says the family has more time on their hands. “Even though our daily routine starts at 5:30 am, you can still sleep in once in awhile and rest assured that the cows are still getting milked.” He adds that it’s nice looking at a computer screen to see how the cows are being milked instead of physically doing the work himself.
“The robotic system gives us more time to look after our dry cows, calves, and the rest of the supportive operations.”
Brian says the daily decisions on the farm are made by all partners. They also use external consultants such as crop, dairy and milking specialists.
Manure Management
Most of the fertilizer comes from Clefthaven’s farm manure waste. They dragline most of the manure, since the two farms are situated close to each other. The dragline system is a pipeline that pumps the manure onto the land and gives less compaction. “To build this new barn, (the local authorities made us) go through manure management,” says Brian. “And we had to have enough land to handle the manure and cattle that is on this farm before we could even get a building permit.”
Feeding
The feeding system is a partial TMR and they do not have a mixer. Brian says they feed out of tower silos, so high-moisture corn, hay crop silage and corn silage is run at the same time. “The feed is run across conveyors and then onto a feeder that drops off in front of the feed bump. Dry hay is fed by fork in front of the cows after this. We feed 18 percent in the robots and 30 percent on our partial TMR.” The latter is based on a standard ration across the board, and as the cows dry, the robot automatically decreases the amount fed.
“Most of our feed is grown on our farms. We only purchase the feeds that are prepared for in the robot as well as a protein supplement. Cows graze outside when they are dry and just before they are going to have their calves.”
Crops and forages
The farm includes 2000 acres, The crops grown are 400 Alfafa, 200 wheat, 400 soy bean, 450 corn silage, and 300 grain corn. They sell surplus crops such as soybean, wheat and barley. Two-thirds of the acres go to dairy operations.
Herd Management
Clefthaven farm has 300 milking cows with 200 replacements. All Heifer calves are raised for replacement. The main criteria on culling cows are old age, legs and feet. The age at first calving is 26 months. They use artificial insemination but for the most part, it is natural. The average age of the cows is 8 years old. The average days in milk are 180 at this VMS farm. The calving interval is about 13 months.
Milking
The rolling herd average is 10,000 litres per cow, where the percentage of fat and protein in milk is 3.8 and 4.2.
“Since we have a VMS, the cows milk themselves about three times a day,” says Brian. “We also have a good bacteria count at 14,000.
“Apart from cow mattresses, and cow brushes, our cows love the VMS and are very comfortable with it,” says Brian. “They have adapted to the system very well. They are quiet, they are not being chased, they do what they want to, they have the freedom of getting milked when they choose to, and they can eat when they want to.”
The Future
“We always think about expansion and hope that the next generation is willing to take over. It is the hope of all Clefthaven Farms’ partners that their continued focus on family, work, ethic, strategic progress and embracing new technology will inspire future generations to continue improving the viability of the family operation for years to come. “We all want to make a good living from the farm now and in the future.”
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