Silo Unloader Success Story
Milky Way Dairy Farms, Inc.
Gives A1™ Rating to New Patz Single Auger Silo Unloader!
Lynn & Mabel Slabaugh moved to Stone Lake, Wisconsin, with their three kids, one dog and 3 John Deere tractors in 1975. When Lynn decided to make a living as a dairy farmer with 38 dairy cows, his friends and family didn't take it seriously.
"Everyone thought I'd go broke," he said. Thirty years later, Milky Way Dairy Farms Inc. is milking 160 cows and farming 800 acres of crops. Lynn's son-in-law Arlen Gerig (married to daughter Wanda), hired help Adam Walter and Doug Hoffman, assist Lynn with daily operations on their two farms.
Lynn has been using Patz since buying his first Model 98A Silo Unloader back around 1965. Currently, Milky Way run three Patz Model 98B Silo Unloaders that have been in use for many years and they are still pleased with their performance.
This summer, Milky Way was one of the first to install the new Model A1™ Single Auger Silo Unloader. The A1 was installed in a silo that had not been completely emptied since 1996. The A1 was used to remove old silage from the previous farm owner at the bottom of the silo. According to Arlen, the A1's performance was definitely top notch!
"It dug the old, hard-packed silage out with no problem," he said. "We like the auger unloader because it is fast."
Lynn agrees, "It throws out fast...pitches it right out!"
The next time Milky Way Dairy Farms Inc. is in the market for a silo unloader, they'll consider a Patz Model A1™ Single Auger. "We would get an A1 again for our high moisture silage," says Arlen.
Milky Way relies on Patz for more than just silo unloaders. They also appreciate the durability of the Model 400 Barn Cleaner. A Model 400 has been in use at Lynn's farm since 1980 and Arlen had one installed in his barn about 15 years ago.
"We've always stayed with Patz gutter cleaners because of the link system," says Arlen.
The 305 cubic foot Model 4000 mixer they purchased new in 1997 is a bit battered but still doing its job at Milky Way. "We use it hard," states Arlen, "but we've always been really satisfied with the mix it produces."
According to Arlen, they mix three batches per day using haylage, corn silage, cottonseed, and high moisture corn.
"We sometimes use small, square bales and it tears them up pretty good," he adds.
Even though most of their Patz equipment has been in continuous use for 15 to 30 years, Milky Way Dairy Farms Inc. know they can depend on their local Patz dealer Dan Harding of Hwy 48 Farm Service, Inc., in Rice Lake to provide the parts and excellent service to keep all their Patz feed and manure handling equipment running well into the future.