Grassed-Based Dairy Operation Wins Conservation Award
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 9:42am.
Lou Ann Good
Food and Family Features Editor
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Switching a dairy herd to a grass-based operation wasn’t all sunshine and green grass for Kevin and Tammy Balmer, Elizabethtown.
The couple weathered plenty of rough bumps and expenses while transitioning. But perseverance eventually brought them a great deal of satisfaction and a major award from the Lancaster County Conservation District.
“It took us about a year after we did it before we felt confident that we did the right thing,” Kevin said.
It was a decision the couple wrestled with for years before taking the plunge. Kevin grew up on a neighboring farm owned by his parents. He and his sister joined in a partnership with their dad and were milking 280 cows. Kevin considered buying his dad’s farm, but the debt from such a large operation scared him, plus having 66 houses bordering the farm’s perimeter and the thought of contending with keeping happy neighbors on both sides of the fence appeared a bit foreboding.
Kevin and Tammy moved onto their current farm in 1996, which they rented two years before purchasing. The original plan was to use the 55 acres for raising heifers and dry cows for the family partnership.
In 2003, the Balmers had a feasibility study.
Kevin had participated in a pasture walk and read the book “Greener Pastures on Your Side of the Fence,” which greatly appealed to him.
“I read everything I could find about grazing in Lancaster Farming and other publications. Grazing made sense to me.”
One year later, the Balmers decided to put a parlor in the old barn and erect a free-stall barn.
They found a used double 12-swing parlor for sale and installed it in 2005 and also changed the operation into free stalls. In anticipation of grazing, they also erected laneways by removing 10-inches of top soil and laying Geotex tile topped with stone dust. Kevin did most of the work himself while continuing to work full time on his dad’s farm.
“The laneways were finished just in time,” Kevin said of about 1-1/4 miles of it.
In March 2006, Kevin moved the cows he owned from his dad’s farm to his own and started grazing.
“The cows bawled all night for three nights,” Tammy said of the herd’s anguish in adapting to a new place and a new system. The Balmers needed to push the cows into the parlor to milk them and it took twice as long in the beginning.
More problems surfaced. They ran out of water and had to dig another well installing 1-1/2 miles of piping to provide water in the pastures.
The free-stall barn has a 6-inch sand bed in place of the mattresses used at their former site.
One of the biggest changes in relieving the workload and improving conservation practices was installing a six-month manure storage system this past winter. That means Kevin no longer needs to haul manure daily but can spread manure when soil and weather conditions are conducive to it.
The Balmers expect this year will be much more relaxed since so many of the kinks have been worked out and the manure storage is complete.
The cows have adjusted and seem happy and healthy. The Balmers no longer need to coerce the cows to enter the milking parlor. Instead they walk in freely.
Inside the free-stall, the cows appear to like the 6-inch sand bed, which is comfortable and doesn’t hold bacteria.
Herd health has improved dramatically, especially feet and leg health. The Balmers surmise that walking those long walkways might bring the same benefit to the cows that walking does for humans — better health. In addition to stronger legs and feet, the cows also have fewer incidents of twisted stomachs and calving problems.
Another plus is that the cows give more milk while on pasture, according to the Balmers.
After a winter inside the barn, the herd will be released on pasture this month.
“Even if it’s a wet April and people can’t get in the fields to plant, I know that I’ll have all kinds of grass,” Kevin said of the lush spring growth. In the past two summers, the Balmers have had to contend with dry spells, but the advantage, according to Kevin, is that “even if it’s dry, when it rains, grass is quick to respond.”
In the summer, he clips the pasture to encourage lusher growth. The clipped grass remains in the pasture for the herd to eat.
The cows are released into a new paddock after each milking. During the summer, the cows have the choice to either stay in the pasture and drink from the water troughs there or go back to the barn.
“I’m amazed how much the cows like the pasture,” Kevin said. “Even in really hot weather they will go out in the evenings and during the morning.”
Dry cows and heifers are in pasture at all times and are not fed additional rations. Milking cows are fed a partial TMI (total mixed ration) when they come in for milking.
“My biggest savings are from not needing to haul manure and stored feed,” he said.
Kevin said because they needed to change the operation anyway, changing to a grass-based system seemed doable. It’s more formidable to make a change for those who have a workable system.
Some skeptics added to the Balmers’ worries with remarks such as “you shouldn’t be grazing this high priced land.”
The first year the Balmers made the switch, milk prices were low, putting many farmers out of business. “But it turned out okay for us,” Kevin said of lower operating expenses incurred through grazing. And with “good milk prices last year, we have all the costs almost paid off,” Kevin said.
They have 96 milking cows and rent an additional 65 acres from a neighboring farm to provide grazing for the 120 head on pasture.
Kevin admits he has a benefit not every small grazing operation has — he shares equipment with his dad and sister. In fact, his dad stores the equipment on Kevin’s farm. Although he uses less equipment because of grazing, some equipment is still needed for cropping about 29 acres.
Kevin buys corn silage from neighboring farmers and also bales some hay from his own acreage.
“My dad and I help each other like filling silo and with whatever needs to be done,” Kevin said.
Kevin also enjoys mechanical work. His wife said, “He can fix everything.”
“People ask us if grazing is less work. I say, it isn’t necessarily less work but different work,” Kevin said. “It’s not sitting on a tractor and spraying, but moving fence.”
The Balmers have about two miles of five-strand boundary fence.
It’s work that the couple enjoy more and the additional payoff comes from improved herd health and lower expenses.
Changing paddocks twice daily and working toward thicker pastures is ongoing during the grazing months. “I’d like to try some new grasses this year,” Kevin said. He will do that through interseeding. “I avoid disking and plowing,” he said.
Kevin said that although a lot of farmers talk about change, they don’t. “It was easier for me because I had to make changes anyway,” Kevin said of moving the herd into another farm.
“The most important thing is to have a good laneway and plenty of water,” Kevin said of seasonal grazing requirements. “If you skimp on laneways, you won’t be doing it (grazing) much longer.”
The laneway helps with soil and plant health, eliminates erosion and provides stabilized access to the paddocks.
Upkeep is required on laneways. Stone dust is added periodically. Originally Kevin used about 100 hog slats he got from a neighbor who was tearing down his hog barn. These were inserted in hill areas on the laneway to keep the soil from washing out.
“Since then, we’ve seen some areas of the fields are not as wet as they used to be. The water that runs off is clear, not muddy, and the soil health is improving,” Kevin said.
Although some farmers embrace seasonal milking, the Balmers don’t expect to ever make that transition.
“I wouldn’t want to sell off any cows if they weren’t bred in time,” Tammy said. “I’m probably more attached to each cow than I should be. Besides, we like the steady flow of cows, calves and income. I wouldn’t want to have the cows all calf at the same time.”
Tammy did not grow up on a dairy farm, but her family did have livestock for 4-H projects. Tammy always loved animals and considered becoming a vet, but gave up that dream because of the long schooling required.
“Farming is the next best thing,” Tammy said. “We do as much of the vet work as we can.”
She also is in charge of feeding the calves and helps with milking morning and evening. A niece also assists with evening milking.
Although dairying keeps them busy, Tammy said, “We like that we can both be here”
Milking begins at 4 a.m. Although Tammy is in the barn while their two oldest children, Brooke, 11, and Stephanie, 9, get ready for school, she is close enough if needed.
“It works out better if we aren’t in the house before school,” Kevin said. “The kids know they need to get up when the alarm rings.”
The kids also pack their own lunches and get their own breakfast instead of dallying around waiting for an adult to do everything for them.
During off-school hours, the kids help with milking and fencing. Even 4-year-old Austin eagerly pulls on his boots “to help Daddy.”
“We’re pretty much homebodies,” Tammy said. “And we like it that way.”
Her husband added, “We don’t plan on getting bigger. Staying small is the way to keep a grass-based business profitable.”
Recently Lancaster County Conservation District presented its annual Soil Stewardship Award to Kevin and Tammy for the couple’s commitment to soil and water resource protection on their farm. The Balmers had worked with the district while improving the barnyard. Holding tanks were installed and pumped into a manifold system that distributes the barnyard water over a grassed filter area.
Lou Ann GoodFood and Family Features Editor
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Switching a dairy herd to a grass-based operation wasn’t all sunshine and green grass for Kevin and Tammy Balmer, Elizabethtown.
The couple weathered plenty of rough bumps and expenses while transitioning. But perseverance eventually brought them a great deal of satisfaction and a major award from the Lancaster County Conservation District.
“It took us about a year after we did it before we felt confident that we did the right thing,” Kevin said.
It was a decision the couple wrestled with for years before taking the plunge. Kevin grew up on a neighboring farm owned by his parents. He and his sister joined in a partnership with their dad and were milking 280 cows. Kevin considered buying his dad’s farm, but the debt from such a large operation scared him, plus having 66 houses bordering the farm’s perimeter and the thought of contending with keeping happy neighbors on both sides of the fence appeared a bit foreboding.
Kevin and Tammy moved onto their current farm in 1996, which they rented two years before purchasing. The original plan was to use the 55 acres for raising heifers and dry cows for the family partnership.
In 2003, the Balmers had a feasibility study.
Kevin had participated in a pasture walk and read the book “Greener Pastures on Your Side of the Fence,” which greatly appealed to him.
“I read everything I could find about grazing in Lancaster Farming and other publications. Grazing made sense to me.”
One year later, the Balmers decided to put a parlor in the old barn and erect a free-stall barn.
They found a used double 12-swing parlor for sale and installed it in 2005 and also changed the operation into free stalls. In anticipation of grazing, they also erected laneways by removing 10-inches of top soil and laying Geotex tile topped with stone dust. Kevin did most of the work himself while continuing to work full time on his dad’s farm.
“The laneways were finished just in time,” Kevin said of about 1-1/4 miles of it.
In March 2006, Kevin moved the cows he owned from his dad’s farm to his own and started grazing.
“The cows bawled all night for three nights,” Tammy said of the herd’s anguish in adapting to a new place and a new system. The Balmers needed to push the cows into the parlor to milk them and it took twice as long in the beginning.
More problems surfaced. They ran out of water and had to dig another well installing 1-1/2 miles of piping to provide water in the pastures.
The free-stall barn has a 6-inch sand bed in place of the mattresses used at their former site.
One of the biggest changes in relieving the workload and improving conservation practices was installing a six-month manure storage system this past winter. That means Kevin no longer needs to haul manure daily but can spread manure when soil and weather conditions are conducive to it.
The Balmers expect this year will be much more relaxed since so many of the kinks have been worked out and the manure storage is complete.
The cows have adjusted and seem happy and healthy. The Balmers no longer need to coerce the cows to enter the milking parlor. Instead they walk in freely.
Inside the free-stall, the cows appear to like the 6-inch sand bed, which is comfortable and doesn’t hold bacteria.
Herd health has improved dramatically, especially feet and leg health. The Balmers surmise that walking those long walkways might bring the same benefit to the cows that walking does for humans — better health. In addition to stronger legs and feet, the cows also have fewer incidents of twisted stomachs and calving problems.
Another plus is that the cows give more milk while on pasture, according to the Balmers.
After a winter inside the barn, the herd will be released on pasture this month.
“Even if it’s a wet April and people can’t get in the fields to plant, I know that I’ll have all kinds of grass,” Kevin said of the lush spring growth. In the past two summers, the Balmers have had to contend with dry spells, but the advantage, according to Kevin, is that “even if it’s dry, when it rains, grass is quick to respond.”
In the summer, he clips the pasture to encourage lusher growth. The clipped grass remains in the pasture for the herd to eat.
The cows are released into a new paddock after each milking. During the summer, the cows have the choice to either stay in the pasture and drink from the water troughs there or go back to the barn.
“I’m amazed how much the cows like the pasture,” Kevin said. “Even in really hot weather they will go out in the evenings and during the morning.”
Dry cows and heifers are in pasture at all times and are not fed additional rations. Milking cows are fed a partial TMI (total mixed ration) when they come in for milking.
“My biggest savings are from not needing to haul manure and stored feed,” he said.
Kevin said because they needed to change the operation anyway, changing to a grass-based system seemed doable. It’s more formidable to make a change for those who have a workable system.
Some skeptics added to the Balmers’ worries with remarks such as “you shouldn’t be grazing this high priced land.”
The first year the Balmers made the switch, milk prices were low, putting many farmers out of business. “But it turned out okay for us,” Kevin said of lower operating expenses incurred through grazing. And with “good milk prices last year, we have all the costs almost paid off,” Kevin said.
They have 96 milking cows and rent an additional 65 acres from a neighboring farm to provide grazing for the 120 head on pasture.
Kevin admits he has a benefit not every small grazing operation has — he shares equipment with his dad and sister. In fact, his dad stores the equipment on Kevin’s farm. Although he uses less equipment because of grazing, some equipment is still needed for cropping about 29 acres.
Kevin buys corn silage from neighboring farmers and also bales some hay from his own acreage.
“My dad and I help each other like filling silo and with whatever needs to be done,” Kevin said.
Kevin also enjoys mechanical work. His wife said, “He can fix everything.”
“People ask us if grazing is less work. I say, it isn’t necessarily less work but different work,” Kevin said. “It’s not sitting on a tractor and spraying, but moving fence.”
The Balmers have about two miles of five-strand boundary fence.
It’s work that the couple enjoy more and the additional payoff comes from improved herd health and lower expenses.
Changing paddocks twice daily and working toward thicker pastures is ongoing during the grazing months. “I’d like to try some new grasses this year,” Kevin said. He will do that through interseeding. “I avoid disking and plowing,” he said.
Kevin said that although a lot of farmers talk about change, they don’t. “It was easier for me because I had to make changes anyway,” Kevin said of moving the herd into another farm.
“The most important thing is to have a good laneway and plenty of water,” Kevin said of seasonal grazing requirements. “If you skimp on laneways, you won’t be doing it (grazing) much longer.”
The laneway helps with soil and plant health, eliminates erosion and provides stabilized access to the paddocks.
Upkeep is required on laneways. Stone dust is added periodically. Originally Kevin used about 100 hog slats he got from a neighbor who was tearing down his hog barn. These were inserted in hill areas on the laneway to keep the soil from washing out.
“Since then, we’ve seen some areas of the fields are not as wet as they used to be. The water that runs off is clear, not muddy, and the soil health is improving,” Kevin said.
Although some farmers embrace seasonal milking, the Balmers don’t expect to ever make that transition.
“I wouldn’t want to sell off any cows if they weren’t bred in time,” Tammy said. “I’m probably more attached to each cow than I should be. Besides, we like the steady flow of cows, calves and income. I wouldn’t want to have the cows all calf at the same time.”
Tammy did not grow up on a dairy farm, but her family did have livestock for 4-H projects. Tammy always loved animals and considered becoming a vet, but gave up that dream because of the long schooling required.
“Farming is the next best thing,” Tammy said. “We do as much of the vet work as we can.”
She also is in charge of feeding the calves and helps with milking morning and evening. A niece also assists with evening milking.
Although dairying keeps them busy, Tammy said, “We like that we can both be here”
Milking begins at 4 a.m. Although Tammy is in the barn while their two oldest children, Brooke, 11, and Stephanie, 9, get ready for school, she is close enough if needed.
“It works out better if we aren’t in the house before school,” Kevin said. “The kids know they need to get up when the alarm rings.”
The kids also pack their own lunches and get their own breakfast instead of dallying around waiting for an adult to do everything for them.
During off-school hours, the kids help with milking and fencing. Even 4-year-old Austin eagerly pulls on his boots “to help Daddy.”
“We’re pretty much homebodies,” Tammy said. “And we like it that way.”
Her husband added, “We don’t plan on getting bigger. Staying small is the way to keep a grass-based business profitable.”
Recently Lancaster County Conservation District presented its annual Soil Stewardship Award to Kevin and Tammy for the couple’s commitment to soil and water resource protection on their farm. The Balmers had worked with the district while improving the barnyard. Holding tanks were installed and pumped into a manifold system that distributes the barnyard water over a grassed filter area.
