Dedication To Farming Pays Off At Brookfield Farms
(Continued from Page A 1)
cows, a number they plan on
maintaining. “We can’t increase
our herd size without making
some major changes to the facili
ties, and I just don’t see that hap
pening,” Ramsburg explained.
Approximately SO percent of the
herd is purebred, he estimated.
When he took over the farm from his father
in '6l, milk production averaged 12,000 to
13.000 pounds. Now, with cows in a drylot
situation being fed a TMR consisting of com
silage, alfalfa haylage, ground high moisture
car com, brewer’s grain, soybean, and miner
al supplement, production hovers at around
19.000 pounds of milk with 700 of fat
Heifers and dry cows are also fed in a dry
lot Since he is not marketing cattle, Rams
burg’s breeding program utilizes strictly
young sires. Heat detectors are used, and calv
ing interval on the farm averages 13 months.
While Mchrle manages the farm, his wife
Thelma is responsible for all aspects of calf
care. One daughter, Mary Jane Roop, helps
milk and handles the payroll; two other
daughters, Virginia Crist and Judy Ramsburg,
are not currently involved in the farming
operation. A fourth daughter, Barbara, passed
away in 1991. The couple has 4 grandchil
dren: Whitney Diane Crist, and Julie Anna,
Lauren, and Jacob Roop. The Ramsburgs also
employ five full-time and 2 part-time helpers.
Cows arc milked in a double eight herring
bone parlor with automatic takeoffs. A 3-inch
milkline takes the milk to a 3,000-gallon Dari-
Kool bulk tank. It takes about three and one
half hours to milk the herd, which is split into
a high and a low group. Cows arc pre and post
dipped. Somatic cell count for the Brookfield
Farms cows ranges between 100,00-120,000.
They have received the lowest SCC award for
DHIA for the last two years, and quality pre
mium awards for the last six years from MD-
V A Milk Producers for low bacteria, PI count,
SCC, and antibiotic levels, and for no addi
tives to milk. Ramsburg credits these excel
lent numbers in part to his confinement facili
ties. "It's when the cows are out in the pasture
lying around in manure when you run into
trouble,” the dairyman said. Frees tails ate
bedded with sand, which is added once a
month, and raked daily.
Six trench silos, constructed between 1979
and 1990, store corn silage, grass haylage, and
high moisture ground ear com. The only com
modity purchased is soybean as a supplement
for the TMR. A manure pit was installed in
1979, providing storage for 200 cows for 60
days. “We spread it when we can, and we like
to incorporate it right away,” said Ramsburg.
The home farm consists of 27S acres, with
another 500 tented. Ramsburg grows about
100 acres of alfalfa. For the last two years, he
has gotten five cuttings off of it There are 375
acres of com (silage and ground high mois
ture ear com), ana 80 acres of barley double
cropped into late com. The balance of the
acreage is in grass hay and pasture for the
heifers.
Mobile hat an extensive farm shop.
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We’ll be there for poultry growers...
generation after generation.
At Farm Credit, we know poultry operations. As a cooperative owned by the people who
use us. Farm Credit has served the poultry needs of rural Americans for generations. In
fact, for over 75 years we have been a dependable source of credit to agriculture.
We make loans at competitive interest rates for all kinds of purposes. So whether you want
to increase tire size of your current operation or begin a new operation from scratch, our
loan officers can help tailor a financial package to fit your situation.
So, whether you are a commercial operator, a part-time farmer or simply like living in the
country, we want to do business with you.
And we*U be titere for future generations.
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The first tractor Mehiie owned was this 1953 Farmall Sup
er C. He plans to give It to his grandson, Jacob.
Southeastern PA
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(800) 477-9947
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Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 28, 1987-Al9
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