Model 800 Twin Screw TMR Vertical Feed Mixer
Success Story
Patz Model 800 Twin Screw Vertical Mixer:
Brothers Patrick & Bernard (Buddy) Geiger custom raise about 1,000 heifers at Tri-County Farms in Brillion, Wisconsin. They are the third generation of Geigers on the family farm that was purchased in 1947.
Buddy Geiger (left) and Pat Geiger of Tri-County Farms
Pat has been farming since 1972 when he went into partnership with his father, Bernard, Sr. Buddy and Pat became partners in 1987 when Buddy bought out his father's share of the business. The brothers milked cows from then until 2003 when they were looking for a change.
That change came when they met Gordon and Kathy Speirs, dairy farmers from Canada looking to relocate to the U.S. The Speirs purchased land from the Geigers and started Shiloh Dairy. As part of their agreement, Tri-County Farms provides feed for Shiloh Dairy and raises their heifers.
In addition to Shiloh Dairy, several neighboring farms pay the Geigers a set cost per day to custom raise their heifers. The heifers range from 400-500 lbs when they arrive and leave Tri-County Farms as springers. The Geigers also farm 2,500 acres of crops per year - 1,000 owned and 1,500 rented. They grow 1,000 acres of corn, 900 acres of alfalfa, and the balance is wheat and oats.
The Geigers strive to maintain a high "rate of gain" on their heifers. The ration they feed contains a wide variety of roughage and at times they feed bales from swamp grass. They were unhappy with their old mixer because it wasn't performing a satisfactory job on the rations and had several major breakdowns. It also had a high HP requirement.
Pat and Buddy turned to salesman Roger Liebergen at their local Patz dealer L & L Sales & Service, Inc. in Kaukauna, WI, to find a new mixer that would meet their needs. The Geigers have been buying material handling equipment from Roger since 1971 and trust his recommendations.
Roger set them up with a 620 cu. ft. Patz Model 800 Twin Screw Vertical Mixer and they have been very satisfied with the performance.
"First time conception rates have increased dramatically," said Pat. The Geigers attribute this at least in part to the superior mix quality and consistency provided by their Patz mixer.
They've noticed other major benefits to purchasing their Patz mixer, including:
- Less refusal due to better processing of the mix as well as complete mixing.
- Greater ration options - can mix almost anything, especially round bales.
- Low maintenance - enhanced by the fact that there is no discharge conveyor required.
- Low HP requirement - the Geigers use a 90 HP tractor to operate the mixer, keeping their total cost of mixing to a minimum and saving fuel.
"We really like the low HP required," stated Buddy. "Lower HP tractors are more economical to operate and this really adds up over time."
The Geigers are pleased with the return on their investment since purchasing their Patz Vertical Mixer.
The Patz Model 800 Twin Screw Vertical Mixer is available with five door locations to meet the needs of any operation. Contact your local Patz dealer for more information.