Very impressive. We are in the final stages of a dairy build, no where near this scale. The same issues crop up before and during the project whether the project is large or small and I can really appreciate the planning and work put in to it. I take my hat off to anyone who has the for site to invest in our industry. The short term of the dairy industry is difficult all over the world, much of the difficulty is down to the politics of the time, bearing in mind that I have crops that last longer than many political careers, we have to look to the future and farming measures time in generations. Once again well done.
How come timber is used exclusively in the frame of the main shed, surely galvanised I- beams and columns would be better cost wise. Do the cows have any natural light available, there didn't seem to be any clear roofing sheets on the roof. It is a big operation, and impressive too, but is it verging on too big?
fnh8340 the lighting is controlled for the 3x a day milking. The reason they use wood is because it doesn't rust away with the acids in the urine, it simply dries. Actually the wood costs about the same. I've worked extensively with this company buildings their sites and they know cows. I've never walked into a quieter barn full of cows in my life... These are happy cows. A happy cow makes more milk.
How much are hourly workers paid? ANy benefits? What is publicized seems to be the wages and benefits for managerial staff. I am not impressed........yet.!
Dairy Farming is like any other business! you dont say ford has to much money when they build a new factory or Amazon..That was just a stupid statement
its just low consume, after so many videos on media tv. about milk quality. or benefits lies.. some farms use milk to produce local products to sell in farm shop, or use milk to feed other farms youth cows, or pigs by the way some farms have only meat cows.. one year cows used just for meat, young cow mean quality meat
I will say it is impressive but I would like to know when is it enough? The milk market is flooded already and Riverview keeps right on building driving small family farms out this is sad, the greed that is driving Riverview is sad.
Poor mans Dairy I can't agree, I know these people top to bottom and they are all for their employees and personnel. When I say top I mean top. And they are great human beings, I have no reason to say this as I don't even work for them but they are great God fearing Americans working toward the American dream. They have a science towards milking that rivals any dairy company I've ever researched, from the feed, to the treatment, to the milking, and lighting of the barns like no one has ever seen. Ever walk into a dairy barn with 0 sound... No mooing, no bellaring? This means they got happy cows... Happy cows make more milk.
hillmanant How do they keep expanding? Banks loaning that kind of money in this downward fall in Ag Sector. In my area dairy farms keep going under. Long time producers to. Do they buy the farmground to around them to support this many cows.
its not a way to make money..its only a way to keep economy going by jobs, constructing sites, materials..after some time of those get bankrupt and state pay debt from state reserve..
Operations like this are what drive the vicious cycle of increased production, lower milk prices, and farm consolidation. One "family" farm like this replaces 50 family farms. If you are adding cows or milk production instead or organizing with other farmers into coop's with sustainable prices, you are part of the reason that milk checks come with a number to a suicide hotline. We need a quota system that makes 200 cow dairies (which used to be huge) sustainable. If you are big enough to put "epic music" over your farming video, it means you are not "feeding the world", you are flooding the market with a product that is the source of calories for America's obesity and falling life expectancy. Tell me you wouldn't rather be small enough to know your cows by name if you could afford it.
@@als8518 yea solar would not have been worth the expense for the return they would have gotten from it. so NO! putting solar on the roof would have been the waste of money
be that as it may, I think the intent of my comment (though snarky) is easily understood. Their is nothing appealing or sensible about this scale of agriculture. The enormous amount of capital, fuel, commodities etc. required to undertake this are mind boggling. The market is flooded with milk right now, prices are in the cellar and in large part because of western "organic" mega - diaries...i use quotes around organic, because it's been discovered that many aren't grazing the cows the required days - this action trickles down to dairies here milking 80, 100 etc cows in New England making it really hard to keep the business afloat. No farm should create more sewage in a single day that many cities, IMO.
I completely understand your point, I grew up on a 75 cow dairy farm myself. While it is crazy how big of scale this type of farming is, it has opened up different opportunities to many of these local farmers. There are 5 farmers within 3 miles of this site between the ages of 19 and 27 that jumped on the opportunity to be involved in this site, not to mention all the older, established farmers that are involved in some form. I agree you about eating healthy, safe food. Riverview is open to tours at any time, and they honestly do not produce an unhealthy product.
chasing your tail? Sell of the majority of your equipment, and cows. Start grazing hard, limit production and purchase of commodities, and go to cheese making school.
I agree to a point. I grew up on a small dairy farm surrounded by dozens of other small dairy farms, so I understand how these mega operations are viewed. It is unfortunate that the way of the small family farm has gone by the wayside. But the harsh reality is that agriculture is now like every other industry. With volatile markets, competition, and increasing input prices, farmers need to find ways to either lower their cost of production, or increase the value of their products/services. In my opinion, in the case of Riverview, they tend to do some of both. In addition, the majority of people in the neighborhoods that they are located in will say that they have been an asset to the community.
rockymountainman7 the number of milk cows in the US has changed very little in the last thirty years, large operators are not the cause of low milk prices.
With consumption on the decline and with an increased production per cow over the last 30 years with the same number of cows (as you say) there is more and more milk that has to be exported... Explain to me why it makes sense to build a mammoth size dairy like this in a saturated market when US dairy products have no costprice or quality advantage on the world stage?
They would but it impacts milking schedule. The cows will most likely have water beds and ideal heating and ventilation. Nice idea sometimes dry cows goto fields. But this facility may not have that option. Dairy farmers want the cows to be happy. Happy cows make more milk.
