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Brymessers Excel in Production By: Sheri Fuhrman // Dairy Promotions Specialist, CRI
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n Boiling Springs, Pa., the Brymesser family knows that reaching goals may take hard work, but is worth the effort. Mike states, "Our goal is not just high production but high lifetime production per cow." Maintaining high production means quality of feeds, cow comfort and care need to be achieved. This is something Brymesser Farms LLC is very knowledgeable about. The owners of the farm are Sheldon and Maryann with sons Mike and Matt Brymesser. The sons, third generation farmers on the dairy, work together. Mike manages the dairy and Matt manages the field work. With 250 cows extra hands are needed. The Brymessers are aided by two full-time and six part-time employees. In 2011, after the unfortunate collapse of two of the farm's silos, the family brainstormed and decided to build seven trenches for feed storage. The Brymessers farm 750 acres of corn, alfalfa and soybeans. "We have very minimal spoilage in the bunks and use a bunker silo facer to remove the silage, while maintaining an even surface as we feed out. Quality forages maximize both production and profitability," explained Mike. The Brymesser brothers have made several improvements to their heifer raising and cow comfort as well. A new 250cow freestall barn was built and the original dairy barn was converted into a calf, bred heifer and dry cow facility. They accomplished this with the use of their old stalls for calf hutches, while ensuring proper ventilation for the animals. Genex Territory Sales Manager Charlie Smith, who has been mating the herd for the past 15 years, knows high genetic bulls are important to the Brymessers. "We have used the Genex MAP™ program for many years," said Mike. "I think it’s important to have someone impartial evaluate your cows. We like MAP for helping us choose the best mating on the cows from the sires that meet our criteria. Also inventory control is easily managed with MAP and it saves us time," explained Mike. The herd is utilizing the Genex Reproductive Profit Manager™ yearly to measure their progress. The Brymessers are using the top one percent Lifetime Net Merit Genex bulls. "We started using genomic bulls as soon as they came out in 2009. We still like to use the top end daughter proven bulls in our herd too utilizing sires like 1HO08784 FREDDIE, 1HO09167 O-STYLE and 1HO09527 MASSEY," said Mike.
j Charlie Smith and Mike Brymesser work together on the genetic side of the operation. g At Brymesser Farms LLC, cow comfort is a key element to achieving high production.
To improve conception rates, an activity system was installed to help detect heat. Mike and Sheldon breed their cows on observed standing heats. Breeding Program Specialist Doug Marsh stops daily to watch for heats on heifers. With Sheldon, Mike and Doug breeding, the farm has a high conception rate of 35 percent. Currently the Brymessers milk 250 cows two times a day in a double-10 herringbone parlor built eight years ago. The herd averages 100 pounds a day. Since 2005, the herd average has gone up each year. The farm's current rolling herd average is 29,700 pounds of milk, 1,081 pounds of fat and 898 pounds of protein. Brymessers have been recognized for their high production achievements. Their 170,000 somatic cell count earned them recognition from Land O' Lakes Cooperative. Their farm was a stop on the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania 100,000 pound dairy tour. In the Holstein World June 2013 issue, Brymesser's cow Bry-nell Lynch 3505 was recognized for being over 233,000 pounds in milk. The Brymessers accomplish high production by putting quality forages in front of their cows and use Genex bulls with high Lifetime Net Merit. According to Mike, "It is the consistency of managing all the little things and making sure the cows are taken care of first."
A Author Bio: Sheri Fuhrman is a graduate of the University of WisconsinRiver Falls with a degree in marketing communications with an agricultural emphasis and a dairy science minor. She joined Cooperative Resources International in May 2013 as the Dairy Promotions Specialist.
K Brymesser Farms LLC, Boiling Springs, Pa.
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