Charles Voelker pioneers composting dairy housing barn with sawdust

Dairyman Charles Voelker, Perryville, faced a problem enlarging his milking herd facilities of 150 Brown Swiss cows.

The problem was the many sink holes on the farm, a situation where a traditional free-stall barn with a lagoon would likely not be approved.

He discussed his problem with Jim Donoghue, his Prairie Farms field man, who took him to see a compost housing barn in southern Illinois. The barn had a base of sawdust that was stirred twice a day to mix with the cows' manure.

After seeing how clean and comfortable the cows looked, Voelker was convinced that he wanted the same type of barn for his 150 Brown Swiss cows.

The Voelker barn was completed in the fall of 2006 and he has found that the compost dairy housing barn design has helped solve many environmental problems and his cows are content.

"My building is 66 feet by 320 feet with the cow housing area taking up 38 feet," Voelker said. "The remaining space includes an alley for driving and an alley for feeding."

It has three-foot concrete walls around the building to contain the compost bedding. The eave height is a total of17 feet, 14 feet above the top of the three foot side wall. The ridge line of the barn runs east and west and has curtains on one side to use during winter.

"I built the barn to the same dimensions and slope as a three-row stall barn in case sawdust availability runs out and I have to go back to a conventional barn," he said.

The building has five high volume, low speed fans, he said. An added benefit is that the big fans drive birds out of the barn.

Voelker adds a truck load of sawdust every two to four weeks and he estimates the cost to be between 10 to 20 cents per cow per day.

The feeding alley is bladed two times daily and he runs a field cultivator through the compost bedding while the cows are being milked.

"Once the bedding has been stirred it becomes soft and my shoes sink four inches deep in the new pack," he said.

The bedding is changed two times per year and it takes about 18 hours to clean using a front-end loader and skid steer.

Voelker says other positive points have become evident in the short time the new barn has been used. He listed the following benefits.

• Low somatic cell counts — dropped from 320,000 to 220,000.
• Cows are comfortable and feed intake is excellent.
• Feet and leg problems greatly diminished.
• Hairy heel warts disappearing.
• Less expensive to build than conventional free-stall barn.
• Dry compost material is easier to move further away from the dairy than manure because it can easily be hauled in a truck and spread on remote cropland.

The Voelkers have five children. Katie will be a senior at MU majoring in dairy science this fall and she plans to come home and work with her father. Suzanne is a sophomore at MU.

The three sons — Chad, Dayne, and Grant — still have time to make their career decisions.

The Voelker dairy was started by Chalmer and Evelyn Voelker after World War II. Young Charles bought the cows in 1983 when the herd size was 50.

The Voelker operation now includes 150 Brown Swiss cows, 100 % bred artificially, with a 60-pound tank average, 4.2% butter fat, and 3.45 protein.

"The Voelkers take part in national, state, and local Brown Swiss activities," said Joe Horner, MU dairy economist, who was an extension dairy specialist in Perry County prior to joining the MU faculty.

They show their Brown Swiss at national, state, and local fairs and other events.

"Charles is president of the U.S. Brown Swiss Association and is currently serving his second two-year term," Horner said.

"He also takes part in local activities and will host the Missouri State Young Farmers Tour July 31 and the Southeast Quality Dairy Management Tour Aug. 2.

Dairymen interested in seeing the barn are welcome to join the southeast dairy group tour on August 2 at 6:30 p.m, at the Volker farm.

For directions call Voelker at 573/547-2436," Horner said.

Voelker was named Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder by the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors in February.

Charles Voelker, at right, describes his operation for Joe Horner, Commercial Agriculture dairy economist at the University of Missouri, while Katie Voelker looks on.	The barn is cleaned twice a year and it takes about 18 hours to do the job in good weather.
The Brown Swiss milking herd is fed in a fence-line feeding bunk next to the compost bedding area.	Katie will be a senior majoring in dairy at MU this fall and is determined to return home and be involved in the family dairy operation. She enjoys showing Brown Swiss cows