Berks County Dairy Adds New Levels To Milking
(Continued from Page A 27)
animal. What we talked about
building and what was really built
are two different animals.”
John said the experience has
been enjoyable, and “interesting,”
a word he said he probably uses too
much.
“I used the term, ‘interesting.’
Everything that you go through
and die people you talk to and dif
ferent ideas that people have about
building things. It’s interesting.”
Sometimes finding an existing
example of what John had in mind
proved impossible.
“1 went through this last year.
We tried to go to see a milkmg par
lor that had a single basement, like
we built, and a single return. But
we couldn’t find any that were
built that way. And then they
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717-966-2736
designed it (for John) and we told
them how we wanted it
“I want to people to know, when
they come here, where the front
door is. Also when (a visitor)
walks through the lobby and goes
to the parlor, I wanted to walk in,
under that crossover bridge and not
know that I was walking under
cows. I wanted all the ceilings at
the same height. That lobby ceiling
and cross-over appear to be the
same,” he said.
It has been achieved.
“I’m fortunate, I guess, in that I
could see some of it, though I
couldn’t see everything,” he said.
“I saw an awful lot and was in on
how everything was going to fit
together and what this was going
to accomplish. Not everybody
would be that involved,” he said.
Paradise, Pa,
implying that custom building can
require more of the customer than
ordering a duplicate of an existing
structure or facility.
For example, John said that one
of the poured concrete walls stuck
out in to the line of vision from die
lobby, and he didn’t think it was
necessary. After two weeks, he had
the contractor cut off the project
ing section.
“I wanted to try to minimize the
number of things that later would
make me say, T wish I would have
done this,’” Hix said.
“It was just me. I want to be able
to sit in the parking lot and see the
man milking in the parlor. The
wall, the way it was there, cut
down on the view. It’s not really
important, but I tried to make it
important"
The wall didn’t make a differ
ence structurally, but aesthetically
it made all the difference, he said.
It also didn’t interfere with con
tractor cooperation.
“We all really clicked,” John
said, “and wc knew what was in
each other’s head. It’s really hard
to get through from one person’s
head into another person’s head
and be on the same wavelength.
Wc talked about this thing a long
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time. It was all interesting to sec it
come together. It’s amazing, when
people are all on the same page,
what you can accomplish. It’s
fun."
When the Hix’s started the pro
ject they were milking about 180
coNvs. “I told the banker I figure we
want to be around 230 cows by
time we move, and we were milk
ing 235 when we moved in Dec.
15.”
John said they want to be milk
ing 300 by the end of January and
400 by the end of February.
“We were milking 280 by the
end of January; 365 to 370 by the
end of February to mid-March; and
then4oo and the milk tank tan over
April 1.
“The time frames I did in my
head and I knew why payments
started April 25.1 knew why we
needed to do certain things and you
work toward the time frame.”
Other planning involved sitting
down with a lender and presenting
Gustafson
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11 1998-A29
System
a business plan.
“We cash-flowed it at 410
(cows) at a 19,500 (pounds of
milk) herd average,” John said.
“We just about doubled our herd.
“Doubling a herd isn't as diffi
cult as some people trying to get
five times as what they’re milking.
That is vety difficult.
“We knew that from the original
farm, when dad went from 50 cows
to 110 cows. At that time it was
only doubling the herd, but you
didn’t know a lot of the things that
happen when you go from stanch
ion to a frcestall,” he said.
Today is a little different, he
said.
. “There’s a lot more information
out there, and a lot of more people
out there who can help you prepare
for situations like that,” John said.
“I think its easier today (to plan
for an expansion and technology
change) if you’re not afraid to ask
for advice and then figure out if it
is good advice.”
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