Progressive Dairy Producers Choose Cover-All

Like many milk producers, Leo Braun and his son Greg are progressive innovators who are continually researching new methods to increase milk production and improve efficiencies. While the Brauns were planning for their expansion they researched a number of different barn structures and design plans that would expand their operation without increasing the work load. On March 11, 2003, their plans were accelerated when their milking facility caught fire.

After touring Abel Dairy Farms in Wisconsin, the Brauns decided to make Cover-All the building choice for their expansion. “The more barns we saw the more convinced we became that Cover-All was our solution,” says Leo. “One thing we noticed after touring the Abel facility is when we stepped outside the Cover-All barns, there was no smell on our clothing like a conventional barn. What that meant to us was the ventilation was superior”.

“There were a number of reasons why we chose a Cover-All for our free-stall barn,” says Greg. “The air quality and natural light in a Cover-All barn is far superior to any conventional barn, and the overall building maintenance outperforms a sheet metal or wood barn. The clear-span interior enabled us to design the floor plan the way we wanted because we didn’t have to work around posts. After seeing an actual working dairy farm and talking with the operator using the buildings in the exact same application, in a similar climate, and with twice as many cows, we were convinced that Cover-All was the right choice.”

Upon completion of the final design for the six row free-stall barn and breezeway, the Cover-All buildings were ordered and on site in four weeks. Installation of the 120' wide x 470' long (36.5m x 143.2m) six row free-stall dairy barn and the 40' wide x 128' long (12.1m x 39m) breezeway to the milking center was complete in only eight days. “People couldn’t believe how quickly a barn of this size and of this quality could go up,” says Greg, “The response from neighbors and people driving by is usually amazement.”

The Brauns have experimented with a number of different barn facilities throughout the years and have found that cold un-insulated barns with natural ventilation work best for their operation. Ultimately, they have achieved their goal to increase milk production with their Cover-All barn. “We’ve seen our productivity per cow go up quite dramatically since moving them into this new facility. We’re producing about 15% more milk and we’re finding other animal health benefits that we didn’t see before,” says Greg. “One of the first questions people usually ask is, ‘is it a cheaper building?’ and my answer is no, it’s better. Dollar for dollar, it’s the best building for the animals.”