CONTACT: John Garnett, Engineered Storage Products Company, Inc., jgarnett@cstindustries.com, 913-748-4559; or, Jon Anderson, OPEN ROADS, janderson@openroads-bgdn.com, 414-227-1000 ext. 4.
WHATEVER THE WEATHER
HARVESTORES PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY FEED, YEAR AROUND
HOPKINS, Michigan (March 22, 2006) -- Even with the unpredictable nature of upper Midwest weather, the Brenners of Hopkins, Michigan, feed their 600 dairy cows a consistently high quality ration, year round. The family’s secret? Thirteen Harvestore structures for storing high moisture corn, haylage and corn silage.“
"As the cow numbers increased on the farm we just kept going with Harvestores,” says Burton Brenner, 49, who operates the dairy with his brother, Ross, 40 and cousin, Bruce, 49. “They just made more sense because the feed quality was so much better and it was convenient to fill them,” Brenner explains. “We were able to put in haylage at 45 to 50 percent moisture. That was a big perk because rain often makes it difficult to put up dry hay in Michigan some days of the year.”
Kenneth (father of Burton and Ross) and Earl (father of Bruce) Brenner built the first two Harvestores – 20 x 50s – in 1960 that are now used for high moisture corn storage. The other units on the farm include two 20 x 60s, one 20 x 70, two 20 x 80s, five 25 x 90s and one 25 x 110. The units were added as cattle numbers grew through the years, with the 25 x 110 being added in 2000. The 25-foot structures are used for forage, either haylage or corn silage.
Blending a custom ration
“With the Harvestore system it’s so easy to blend various feeds and mix and match to make the correct ration for the cattle,” says Brenner. “Sometimes we put high quality feed in certain structures and less desirable feed in some of the other units. We can blend the feed for the cows, heifers, steers or calves. That’s an advantage of having multiple structures -- having the nutrition that is needed.”
Brenner’s nutritionist tests feed regularly and prepares a TMR recommendation to follow. The daily ration consists of haylage at 45 to 55 percent moisture, high moisture corn at 20 to 27 percent moisture and corn silage at 65 percent moisture. It also includes a protein concentrate containing distillers grains, extruded soybean meal, vitamins and minerals, cottonseed and soybean meal. No dry hay is fed in the ration. Dry matter consumption runs 48 to 55 pounds per day, depending upon the group fed.
“With the Harvestore system our nutritionist always has quality feed to work with,” Brenner says. “I feel the Harvestores are the best storage facility for preserving feed. The structures are easy to fill and unload efficiently. You put good feed in and get quality back out.
“Quality feed is the vital ingredient to maintaining consistent herd health and good milk production.”
Other storage options
In spite of their satisfaction with the Harvestore units, the Brenner family has tried other feed storage options – outdoor piles for corn silage and bags for haylage. But weather again proved the value of the Harvestore system.
“Storing feed in a pile is hard to maintain and the excess spoilage, especially in the summer. The feed quality can fluctuate as much as the thermometer. If you try to blend some of that feed into the ration you’re on pins and needles not knowing if there might be a slip in production,” Brenner says.
The plastic bags they tried for storing excess haylage didn’t work much better, he says.
“The bags take up too much room, the plastic wrap is expensive and there is waste. I actually ended up selling the haylage out of them,” he says. “Bags are tough to deal with especially in winter and then you have to do something with all that plastic.”
“Compared to bags, Harvestores are cleaner, easier to fill and there’s less mess and waste.”
High capacity unloader
Brenner is even more optimistic about the Harvestore system since he installed a prototype single-phase XL unloader in one of the structures last January – a new product from Engineered Storage Products Company, manufacturer of Harvestore storage systems.
“I really like the arm advance and variable speed direct drive because it delivers the feedstuffs fast and uniformly. The major change with this equipment is the volume of feed it brings out in a real hurry. The new advance arm is a major improvement over the unloaders of ten years ago.”
The Harvestore XL unloader was featured at the Brenner Brothers & Sons farm during the Michigan Farm Tour held by Engineered Storage Products Company. The Harvestore XL is capable of moving 400 pounds per minute of 55 percent moisture haylage, an advancement that the Brenners value.
“We like moving higher moisture feed that fast,” Brenner concludes. “We’ve been working with the XL unloader for a few months now, and can say that it’s everything they told us it would be.”
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