Silo Unloader Success Story
Seven Silos Allow Flexible Feeding
Ration formulation for milking cows, dry cows, heifers, and calves is easy year round with three kinds of feed in seven silos, observes Darwin Huwe.
He and his brother, Arlen, raise alfalfa, corn, oats for dry grain, and barley for dry grain on 850 acres. There is no pasture, so all forages to feed the 100 milk cows plus heifers and calves are stored in the silos.
All of the silos use Patz silo unloaders. "I was just a little kid and don't remember when dad got the first Patz unloader," mentions Darwin.
"The silos that went up in 1973 have Patz unloaders that are 22 years old and still working well."
"Even with the frozen silage (located near Menaga in northern Minnesota) and the corrosive conditions inside a silo, the Patz unloaders stand up well," continues Darwin.
"While we have a good Patz dealer (Arnold Hendrickson of Dairyland Equipment Co.), we do the unloader maintenance and most repairs ourselves," says Arlen. "These unloaders are easy to work on. About all you usually need for tools are a couple of wrenches."
The brothers full-feed alfalfa silage to the milking cows. The grains are rolled high-moisture shelled corn plus a mix of soybean oil meal, distiller's corn, and cottonseed. A feed mill's nutritionist balances the rations for their 19,000-pound rolling herd average.
Springing heifers are in a lot with loose housing. Calves are raised on slats until breeding age. The 34 by 56-foot calf barn holds 64 head in 8 pens. It is attached to the tie-stall barn for convenience.
Overall, the Huwe brothers are happy with their dairying setup.