Patz Success Story
County Line Farms Choose Patz For Labor-Saving Feed & Manure Handling!
The Zellner family has been operating County Line Farms in Luxemberg, Wisconsin, for decades, but it wasn't until the late 1990's that Pat Zellner and his wife Barb took full ownership of the family business.
The Zellners have three sons, Brad (17), Ryan (15), and Matt (11). Barb works off the farm, while Pat maintains the dairy operation with some help from their sons.
Their conventional barn, built in 1997, has two Patz Model 320 Alley Scrapers and a Patz Model 8000 Pit Pump. The Zellners entrust their feed handling to Patz as well.
In 2002, Pat purchased Patz Model 166, 2410 and 8916 conveyors and a Patz Model 8912 belt feeder. The conveyors are set up to deliver silage and hay into their Patz Model 9300 TMR 4-auger horizontal feed mixer. The TMR is then distributed to the cows inside the barn for feeding.
The Zellners currently milk 250 cows and built a new calf barn in 2004 for expansion. As their dairy operation grows, Ryan and Matt are learning the ropes by helping out with feeding the calves.
"It's a learning experience for me and my sons," admits Pat. But it's not just his family that is learning something new, even the calves are learning to adjust to their new space. "The calves are getting used to the free stalls," he added.
Pat's calves are surely enjoying the new barn, designed with their comfort in mind. Open sidewalls provide maximum air exchange and ridge ventilation allows excess heat to escape. Another benefit of the ridge ventilation is the "skylight" effect it creates, allowing more light inside the barn. The bright, open interior promotes a dry environment for the calves and keeps odor levels down. The installation of a Patz barn cleaner and manure pump further minimizes odors and provides a convenient method for cleaning stalls and removing manure from the barn.
"Mainly, it's labor saving," Pat says when asked why he installed Patz in the calf barn, "but I also noticed that the calves are staying cleaner, too."
Manure can easily be scraped or hosed clean and carried away by the Patz Model 400 Barn Cleaner running safely below the covered gutters in the free stalls. The manure is then pumped out of the barn by a Patz Model 1512 Manure Pump to a storage tank. Pat enjoys the convenience and reliability of the Patz barn cleaner and pump in the new barn, as well as the peace of mind that came along with the installation.
As a matter of fact, Pat has two local Patz dealers that are just a phone call away to provide technical support and routine maintenance for years of dependable service life of his Patz equipment.
Pat has benefited from the experience of Patz dealer Robert Dorner, Luxemberg who has worked with County Line Farms on installations of both manure handling and feed handling equipment.
Patz dealer Randy Vanden Plas of Spartan Construction, Inc. also in Luxemberg, was awarded the contract that included building the calf barn and installing the Patz manure handling equipment in 2004.