By Carol Ann Gregg

Allied News Staff Writer

With fields wet from a day of rain, farmers came out to help the Richard Kind family celebrate when they opened their farm up for visitors, July 31.

Grassycrest Dairy Farm, Plain Grove Township, Lawrence County, hosted an open house in conjunction with the Center for Dairy Excellence to showcase their new milking facility. The family completed the new double-12, herringbone milking parlor in April.

In 1947, Kind started farming with his father in Beaver County with three cows. His father purchased some of the crop ground near Plain Grove that the family is still farming. For over 20 years, he raised crops on the local farm and hauled them back to Beaver County to feed their dairy herd.

Kind explained that he could not grow his farming operation in Beaver County In 1970, he and his wife Blanche moved the farm and family to the local area farm.

Kind spoke to his friends, neighbors and dairy peers before having folks visit the modern operation.

“This farm has grown to include what at one time had been 11 small dairy operations that each supported a family,” Kind said.

They house their herd in a drive-through freestall barn and feed a total-mixed ration once a day. Finding bedding for a 300-cow herd can be a challenge. Right now they are experimenting with using chopped switchgrass as bedding. The barn alleys are scrapped several times a day to keep the herd clean.

One of the visitors observed, “They are never afraid to try something new.”

The Kinds operate the farm with their sons Dwight and Dean. With the new expansion, Dean’s son Layne will be able to join the operation as well.

The Center for Dairy Excellence hosted four open house events across the state. They want dairy producers to gather, exchange ideas and learn from each other. Part of the event is a barbecue lunch.

John Frey, executive director of the center, brought the farmers up to date on the state of the dairy industry across the state. Allen Zepp, risk management specialist for the center, spoke about the Livestock Gross Margin program for dairy (LGM). This program is like an insurance that will help dairy producers stabilize their income and cash flow.

The center has a comprehensive Web site that provides tools to help farmers with business planning and access to several programs to assist dairy producers with the management of their operations.