Alley & Shuttle Box Scrapers Success Story
Wardway Farms Ltd.
Woodstock, Ontario
Expect a 3-4 year ROI, based on labor savings alone!
A fifth generation dairy farmer, Bill Ward established Sunny Lane Farms in Brampton, Ontario. In 1983, Bill’s son Bruce and his wife Shonna took over the family farm, which they would operate until 1989 when it was bought out by industry. Shortly thereafter, Bruce and Shonna relocated to Woodstock, the Dairy Capital of Canada. Together they built Wardway Farms Ltd., a dairy operation complete with a tie stall barn. In addition to running their business, the couple stayed busy raising their four sons: Brad, Chris, Cory, and Luke.
Over the years, the Wards have remained actively involved in the 4-H program at local, provincial, and national levels. Shonna is the Ontario 4-H Council Past President and has held a number of other leadership positions within the organization. Brad, Chris, and Cory also participated in 4-H, earning numerous awards for their achievements. Nearing his high school graduation, Luke is taking advantage of many 4-H opportunities, including the National 4-H Citizenship Seminar in Ottawa.
Patz Alley & Shuttle Box Scrapers keep the Wards’ Holsteins clean and comfortable.
All four of Bruce and Shonna’s sons continue to work on the farm, either on a part- or full-time basis. Brad, their oldest son, divides his time between working on the farm and off the farm as a custom applicator. He also manages to find time for his position as Alumni Representative of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario.
Since 2007, Chris has worked on the family farm full-time after graduating from Ridgetown Agricultural College with an Agricultural Diploma. Married earlier this year, Chris’s wife Melissa does much of the farm’s milking.
Cory is currently pursuing a career in aviation and pitches in on the farm when he is available. At just seventeen years old, Luke is the current President of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Oxford. In between school, 4-H, and JFAO, Luke spends his time helping out on the farm.
After 22 years in the original tie stall barn, the succession planning for the family farm needed to change their facilities to accommodate the next generation. In 2011, they built a new freestall barn to provide optimal comfort for their 55 Holstein milking cows and youngstock.
Based on their years of experience and education in the dairy industry, the Wards recognize that clean facilities are of utmost importance for maintaining a healthy herd. For this reason, the family approached their local Patz Dealer, Embro Farm Systems, Inc. of Embro, Ontario, to find a manure-handling solution for their new barn.
With assistance from Embro Farms Systems, Inc., the Wards installed two Patz Model 1000 Alley Scrapers, one for cows and one for calves. Ensuring the best results, they equipped each alley scraper with a Patz Folding Angled Tip-Up Scraper. They also purchased a Model 500 Shuttle Box Scraper, specially designed to handle sand-laden manure.
Engineered to run automatically on a precise schedule, Patz Alley Scrapers require minimal labor and little maintenance. Chris remarked, “The new system is efficient, simple to operate, and easy to maintain. We expect our payback period on the scrapers to be 3-4 years, based on labor savings alone!” Further adding to their bottom line, he reports cleaner cows and increased milk production.
The Wards appreciate the reliable performance from their Patz manure-handling equipment and the excellent service provided by Embro Farm Systems, Inc.
SEEING IS BELIEVING!