Thomson Farm
(Continued from Page ASS)
cows in there right now, and
(Keith’s) probably going to buy
about 30 more.”
Ventilation was a key issue in
building the barn.
“We built this type of bam be
cause we love the 14-feet-high
sides for ventilation,” said Bob,
who explained that curtains on
all sides of the barn allow for
constant air movement.
“We wanted a cold barn,” said
Bob.
At milking time, cows exit the
barn and walk down a covered
path to the parlor.
“We put in steps and have no
more than a five percent slope in
the walkway,” noted Keith.
They expanded their milking
parlor from a double-six to a
double-nine to increase milking
efficiency. In the future they
hope to build a new parlor di
rectly behind the new freestall
barn.
“We have a little over 20,000
pound herd average,” said Bob
Thomson, who also serves as a
director for Dairy Farmers of
America.
Northeast Order Uniform Milk Price
For April 2001 Announced
BOSTON, Mass. The statis
tical uniform price paid by milk
dealers (handlers) regulated
under the Northeast Order for
April 2001 is $15.24 per hun
dredweight ($1.31 per gallon) for
milk delivered to plants located
in Suffolk County, Mass. (Bos
ton). The April statistical un
iform price is $15.14 for delivery
to plants in New York, N.Y., and
$15.04 for delivery to plants in
Philadelphia.
The statistical uniform price is
the benchmark minimum pro
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Their last test revealed 20,159
pounds of milk, 732 pounds of
fat, and 619 pounds of protein on
twice-a-day milking.
“We just put in another tank
in because they were picking us
up two times a day. Now we
have capacity for 7,000 gallons of
milk,” said Bob.
Even though careful thought
was put into every aspect of the
expansion, there are still unfor
seeable difficulties.
“No matter how well you plan,
you still have glitches,” said Bob,
who admits that some things
could be better managed. Right
now he explains that they have a
lot of calves that are weaned and
too big for their calf barn, but
they have no other place to put
them.
“We have calves everywhere,”
said Bob, who noted that they
are thinking of contracting some
out to a local grower.
Because there are no head
gates in the freestall area, Keith
is also building a parturition rail,
where the cows can walk in sin
gle file just as they do in the par
lor, for breeding and herd health
checks.
ducer blend price paid to dairy
farmers, prior to allowable de
ductions, for milk containing 3.5
percent butterfat, 2.99 percent
protein, and 5.69 percent other
solids. The price received by an
individual dairy farmer will vary
as the component composition of
a farm’s milk differs from the es
tablished benchmarks and by the
location of the plant(s) to which
the farm’s milk is delivered.
The Class prices for milk pool
ed in April are as follows: Class
I, $16.69 (Suffolk County,
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Before building, they read an
article that said it would take
about a year and a half to have
everything operational and to re
alize the potential. Though they
did not believe that then, they
now see that it can take a long
time for everything to fall in
place.
“We’ve really been operating
the way we should be for only
five months,” said Bob.
Olive, who does the majority
of the bookwork, is excited about
new technology that will help
streamline efforts.
“We bought a Palm Pilot.
When Keith goes around the
bam, he’ll be able to enter in
formation such as breeding dates
and calving dates, and then he’ll
be able to bring it in here and
download the information right
into the computer,” said Olive.
Another strategy the Thom
sons use is forward contracting a
percentage of their milk. Olive
points out that as long as you
contract at a price that is above
your expenses, you really can’t
lose. “It all evens out,” she said.
“It gives us stability.”
“Whether you use it or not, ev
erybody needs to be knowledge
able about it,” said Bob, who
Mass.); Class 11, $15.10
Class 111, $12.06; and Class
IV, $14.41. Comparable
prices for April 2000 were:
Class I $14.18, Class II
$12.10, Class 111 $9.41, and
Class IV price $11.38. The
component values for April
are protein, $1.5443 per
pound; butterfat, $1.9483
per pound; other solids,
$O.lOBl per pound; and
nonfat solids, $0.8745 per
pound.
promotes risk management strat
egies through his work in DFA.
Bob and Olive are proud of
their accomplishments but are
equally proud of their sons, in
cluding Keith, who continues the
farming tradition, and Clay, Nel
son, and Robert, who have off
farm jobs.
For estate planning purposes,
they have a family partnership
which includes Bob, Olive, and
their four sons.
“This is just for the land. We
have it set up that we’ll gift them
the maximum each year, but
we’ll still keep 51 percent.”
“Essentially it’s owned by the
six of us,” noted Olive. “Then
they can figure out what they
want to do with it when we’re
not here.”
Said Bob, “There is an agree
ment that nobody can sell with
out the agreement of all four.”
Keith rents the land from the
partnership and has purchased
additional cows. Some cows are
still registered in Bob’s name and
the partnership, and of course,
Keith’s two sons and Bob and
Olive’s other grandchildren each
have calves to show.
The brothers haven’t foi gotten
the farm either. Last fall, while
working to replace a wall panel
in the barn during a windstorm,
Keith was seriously injured. The
situation was further com
pounded because Bob was sched
uled to have a knee operation.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 2,2001-A37
“When their brother (Keith)
got hurt last fall, without even
talking to us, they got together
and said one or more of us will
come up every weekend,” said
Bob. “They helped until he got
back on his feet again.”
Their wives Traci, Andrea,
Mary and Jo-Ellen and children
also came along to help when
possible.
They also cannot say enough
about their hired help Ronnie
Bishop and Lyle Yates who do
fieldwork and other farm work,
and Dawn Stump, who is the calf
feeder.
Now they also employ two
Mexican workers through Dairy
Farmers of America.
“That labor really helped a
lot,” said Olive, who added that
having additional milkers gives
Keith more free time to manage
the farm as a whole.
The Thomsons are comfort
able about their decision to ex
pand the dairy and are confident
that their larger size will give
them money-saving advantages,
such as being able to buy feed in
bulk.
Bob also points out that there’s
no one right way to run a farm.
“Everything isn’t for every
body,’’ said Bob. “When it’s all
said and done, we’re very ordi
nary dairy farmers.”