U24—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 18,1982
Thomas family
(Continued from Page 023)
turn his father’s old stanchion bam
into calf pens and to create a
totally modem, quarter-million
doilar milking parlor capable of
handling 400 cows. Together they
selected a well-drained site and
worked out the arrangement of
bams, shed, silos, and manure
storage pit.
The gleaming new parlor is in
operation now, though it’s not yet
being used to maximum capacity.
Presently Thomas is milking about
200 cows. The remaining 400
animals he owns are calves,
heifers, and bulls, which he saves
for breeding and beef.
Though Thomas has inherited
his father’s desire to keep the farm
growing, he doesn't spend money
without a good reason.
For instance, Thomas spends
extra money to have his milk
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tested in Philadelphia instead of
Dover. The Philadelphia lab can
conduct certain quality tests that
can’t be performed in Dover
because the equipment is not yet
available. The tests are not
required by law, but Thomas
wants to keep an extra-close eye on
the quality of his milk.
Thomas aiso is willing to spend a
little extra to keep his cows
comfortable. He installed water
misters to keep the cows cool
and production up in summer.
When it comes to storing feed
and manure, though, Thomas looks
for ways to save. He built a
manure storage pit that is nothing
more than a 130 by 50 foot rec
tangular wooden box, 10 feet deep,
set into a raised mound of earth.
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The building plans had called for a
roof, but Thomas couldn’t see the
need for it so he didn’t put it on.
The manure is pushed in via
Thomas’ automatic scraper
system, and twice a year he
spreads it onto the fields.
The farm was thriving when
John took it over from bis father,
Isaac, and it’s even bigger now.
Thomas believes in continuing to
move forward. He’s already using
computer rations for his cows, and
Delaware Extension dairy
specialist Dr. George Haenlem
predicts he’ll be one of the first
local farmers to buy his own
computer to help manage his large
operation.
Thomas realizes it’s only a
matter of tune before the next
generation of Thomases takes the
farm into the twenty-first century.
And if all goes according to plan, it advanced, larger, and more
will be even more technologically profitable than it is today.
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