Cover-All Compost Bedded Pack Barn the Choice for Organic Dairy Producer

Yeandle Farms, located in Southwest Ontario, is operated by Jeff Yeandle, his father Lyle, and his brother-in-law Bob Gilroy. They operate a certified organic dairy farm utilizing a rotational grazing mix pasture including corn, winter barley, alfalfa, and hay. They milk 65 cows, and in the summer months move the cows to a new paddock daily, with the dry cows and heifers following behind to clean up what is left. In the year 2000, after running into health problems and trying to get more milk out of the cows, they attended a local meeting and found that these problems start in the soil for growing their alfalfa. They decided to become certified organic farmers, so they transitioned the land for the next three years which involved no fertilizer or spray applications. After that, they had to feed the cows for a year in order for the milk to become certified organic.

Yeandle Farms has been producing organic milk since June, 2005. They built their new Cover-All® barn in early 2007, which houses a compost bedded pack. In the winter, they add a 50 yard load of sawdust every 2 weeks and then it is cultivated twice a day. This stirs in the manure so the cows stay clean. "Since we built the new Cover-All barn our cell count dropped immediately, and we are now running at the 160,000 to 180,000 range. In the first three days our cell count was tested and it had dropped 100,000, and in the next four days it was tested again and it had dropped another 50,000," comments Jeff, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it." Since they have been organic farming, cow health has improved and immune systems are better overall.

"The old barn was kind of dark and had poor ventilation and there is just no comparison," comments Jeff, "The Cover-All® building is so light and airy." Cover-All manufactures clear span buildings from 14' to 300' wide (4.2m x 91.4m) and built to any length. The unique translucent property of the DuraWeave® fabric creates a naturally lit environment which is also cooler for livestock due to the nonconductive properties of the fabric.

The barn features automated side curtains and fixed chimneys in the roof. This natural flow ventilation system allows air to circulate through the sides with the heat escaping through the top. "There is about 15 degrees difference in temperature in the Cover-All building from the outside with the sun shinning on you," suggests Bob Gilroy. There are no fans in use in the barn. The cows come back up from the pasture and lay in the pack during the afternoon, which is exactly what is needed. Part of the organic standards is that the cows have outdoor access every day of the year, so the south end of the barn is open. According to Yeandle Farms, Cover-All is the building of choice for a compost bedded pack barn.