$300K? I almost fell out of my chair! That is an incredible bargain! Here that barn would have cost $800K easily. Amazing and the workmanship by the Amish was first class.
As a fellow dairyman with over 40 years of handling milking cows and heifers those heifers are usually like toddlers if they can figure out how to take something apart they will. 10;years ago we could not figure out how 2 pens of heifers kept getting mixed together. Finally set up a trail cam to find out that one heifer had figured out how to open the gate latch .
That’s the nature of a Holstein, they have to smell, lick everything. If it rattles, moves it has to be checked out. I raise a couple Holstein steers every year for beef and they could tear up a anvil, also have a couple angus heifers and they show no interest in things unless it eatable. When we had a diary and I was younger I could sit and watch the shenanigans the Holsteins did all day. Was better entertainment than any tv show.
Wood is awesome material if you take care of it. We have a over 900 year old wooden church here in Norway :) Think the oldest wood they found in that contruction is carbon dated to about year 750. So thats over 1200 year old wood still standing :D
As a Norwegian American I dream of visiting my families homeland...there is a stave church there still in use and it blows my mind. Hegge is the town I think
Your family, your business, and your RU-vid channel are growing. Life is all about work and family. God is blessing you with the drive to make all these wonderful things happen. It's a joy to see God working through people.
You did a fantastic job of giving a tour of the new barn. I think it was pretty nice of you to share the cost of the building also. It was pretty apparent that you are proud of the new project and you should be. You have a beautiful farm.Thanks so much for a great video.
Give feedback to the company that made the headlocks - tell them how the herd's getting the pins out. They can manufacture the pins to be screws or another method of keeping them in
Hey Eric, I'm in dairy country in Wisconsin. All the dairies here are old school, only one has invested like you. Y'all have the nicest looking and operating dairy I've seen. Its awesome to see the care and attention you give your stock. God Bless.
Wait a minute warren! 70 years old is not old!:) I'm 70 and just started my fourth bare frame rebuild. 1964 Ford F100 I hauled home on two trailers. Your mom is ONLY 70!:) Just giving you some shit. I enjoy your sharing your life with your followers. Makes everything more real. Thanks!:)
The heifers probably stay up late at night deciding on ways to mess with you. Drill one hole in each post/pin and a cotter pin would ruin their fun. Great videos.
I’ve watched other dairy farmers in particular build new barns without the slotted floors and man it’s a mess. This barn by far is one of the better and more practical I’ve seen well done
This just of the things I love about Y'ALL's farm , you go the extra mile to keep the LADY'S Healthy an Happy so they are able to produce for you !!! And it look like it it is easier on Y'ALL also an uses less energy !!! The Farm an Parlor is BEAUTIFUL and I'm sure your ALL very proud of it , I would be !!! Makes all the hard work well worth it !!! Thank you for the video's an GOD BLESS Y'ALL !!!
With the cost of materials today I was estimating over $500k easily for the new barn. Nice to see good fortune happen to good people. Hope it continues!
Hi Eric, were does one start? The thought an planning that you put into this barn is incredible. It shows your long term intentions of success. The thought, care and simplicity implemented is so advanced. I would have loved to work in a heifer barn like this. They hadn't invented the skid steer yet. So cleaning them was a pitch fork and a wheel barrow if you were lucky. It is so good to watch you grow. God Bless you and your family, mom and dad. Mike from TX.
Thanks for the tour. For the Head lock pipes. I would Drill a 1/4 hole just below the top plate through the pipe and pine. Then you can install a 1/4" d- keeper pin to lock them in a way the heifers' can not lift the top pine. Should be easy and cheep. May God Bless you and your Family on the farm.
Pretty short list of would haves! We have old oak posts on the farm that laugh at you when you try to get nails into them. Most of the wood and tin from the buildings that have been taken down over the years were reused.
Nice barn. I’d pour a new 12-12’ slab where u turn skid loader around. Drill and tie it to existing slab. Then maybe drill hole in pin holders in headgates and pin, then add cotter key to hold pin in
That was a really well informed video on that very nicely thought out heifer barn !! Very well done ! Whenever you show videos of y’all working an cleaning pens out there I always enjoy watching the animals enjoying that brand new barn !! An you guys enjoying it as well 👍😁💯
They lick things because they can, exploring with the tongue is one of their senses. Thats what they use to sort their food on pasture. Maybe the addition of a lick block will deter them from the pins until you have the pasture ready to go. Having their food ready to eat and easy to hoover up leaves a lot of play and exploring time
Thank you for your honesty on how much the barn cost. I am always interested in that kind of thing but no one wants to share. Your cows and Jan's seem to be some of the happiest and most well taken care of on RU-vid. Thanks for the video.
Cow are just like giant dogs. They are curious by nature (I have not seen people giving enough credit)and I know some of my cows have learnt to open gates, locks and walk out.
Hey Eric, a lot of information to consider when making a decision on costs and returns. Those young heifers look really good, looks like the newer barn has an immediate impact on them. Awesome video, thanks for sharing and have a great Sunday as well as a great week ahead!
What the shed does is actually saves you time as their there on the farm not at the other farm so if you have look after one you can with ease and safety, watching you deal with the old shed took ages for you to do something. And yes they stay clean and stay healthier means better and happier calves/cows. Plus more time for you to do something else.
Great walk-through been watching the whole construction build. Being a residential contractor myself excellent job great for cows and heifers.They May not show it but they love you for The better conditions and healthier.
300k for that barn seems like a smart and fair investment. you did the right thing and giving the heifers better living conditions. moneys money and investing back into your business is the smartest option always
Payback...immediate...in time, ease,convenience, health, stress... priceless You can always pour an additional apron where the skid loader turns. Put hardener and fiber in the mix instead of or as well as rebar. Cost immaterial for long term use. Winter mud is the pits
Thank you for sharing costs, it helps other dairy farmers who are thinking about building get an idea of what is what. Also thanks for telling us the brand of head locks, I had asked that in one of your early heifer barn videos.
Great building and tour 👍 As for keeping the bars in place, I would try drilling a hole though the bar and pin, and use a PTO retaining pin, the type where a spring loops 180 degree around and back onto the pin. Or a bolt with a locking nut if that doesn't work.
Wow, that was less than my estimate for the cost of the cow barn. Yes, it’s expensive but you got a good deal for all the work that had to be done to make it happen.
Good work Eric its great to see such a keen, energetic young farmer. The Ag industry need more people like you. Your Parents must be extremely proud of you and your sisters for the work you all put in.
Was a great video. Cost affects us all. Thank you for sharing. Nice watching these farm videos and letting the population know how much effort farmers put into the comfort and safety of your livestock. God bless you and your family 👪
Eric, Thanks for the tour, I found it great. You did a good job explaining the whole design and the finances at the end. Having done return-on-investment estimates in industry, the payback period really depends on what is considered and the values placed on those factors. The old heifer barn needed repair or remodeling, so that amount of money was going to be expended either way. The thought you and dad put into the design results in labor time savings, which is a hard dollar savings. The healthier cows, as you explained, is hard to quantify at this time, your experience and judgement was a good guide. Also, the pasturing option for good weather will also add to the livestock health. This is a good time to make this investment while both you and your father are working. After he retires your labor costs will increase. Keep up the good work and thanks for the videos. Good luck and God speed.
Eric on those pins that they keep pulling out of the head gates take a small drill bit and drill it through it and put a washer on it and then put the pin through the hole and then they can't pull it back out of the gate until you remove the pin yourself too that was interesting how you guys planned out the new barn too now have a good day
Move the bottom of the headlocks back into the barn side with a different kind of bracket. Makes it harder to stand on the concrete wall. It also tilts the headlock which so cows can get reach further onto the feeding alley.
Thanks for your honesty. I appreciate all the work you put into this channel. Love what y'all do. I grew up in NEPA and your videos are always nostalgic to me.
Hi Eric, you guys have a beautiful farm there and the heifer barn came out great bud. Keep up the good work, I know that dairy farming is a tough business these days. I was born and raised on our family dairy (I was 5th generation) but sold out back in 1990 and honestly when dad decided after 50 years of doing it he had enough I had the opportunity to take it over but didn’t see much of a future for dairy farming. I now have a good size angus beef farm and all is going well! Like the videos bud! 👍🏻
This was a great project to follow, thanks for your hard work to share it with us in the midst of the busyness of farm life and your growing family. It can be hard to make time, but, I think you and your Dad are on the right track. Asking strategic questions and having a vision to improve your process will have a great ROI, some of which can be measured on the farms bottom line, some of which will be in efficiencies and working / building smarter. So the strategic questions that come are what next and where do we want to be next year, in five years and in 10. Look forward to following your journey, may God continue to bless you, your farm and your family. Cheers!
Hi Eric from upstate NY! Thanks for sharing what it’s like to work on a dairy farm! Amazing to watch! One question my wife and I have is with so much to do, who assigns chores, who is the overall manager at this point? Incredible amount of planning and organizing must happen.
To stop the heifers licking the pins out, I would drill holes in the top of the pole and through the pins they lick out, then fit in a split pin (or similar). I was guessing it was a LOT more expensive!
I think you need to put more curtains in. I know it faces south but we do occasionally get storms in from the south. And it would help to keep the bedding dry
dont forget if it also makes your job easier it frees up more of your time for other things like field work ect. so any improvement the frees up time is well spent investment as well as improving the calves comfort
It’s one of those things that won’t make you money as such but will make life far easier for you and let you spend more productive time with the cows rather than scraping them out every other day and that were your going to see the difference It’s a massive improvement on the old set up 👍
I keep thinking I'd like to build a heifer barn with a pit under the feed ally. I'm very curious when you haul the manure out if it will be liquid enough. I'll keep watching!! Once again very nice barn!!
Eric, you are a awesome young man. Your video was wonderful. Great job young man and thank you. Hope your wife and son and daughter are doing great also
Could you grind or cut off the top of the pin so it is flush with the washer then just keep a screwdriver or thin prybar around to remove the pin? That might make it harder for them to get a hold of the top of the pin. Also you could add on a larger diameter washer so it is wider than the slats in the floor so they won't fall in but will catch in the slat and can be put back in the hole if they do figure out how to get them out.
