Comers enjoying new cattle facility
Dean Adkins - Wed, 02 May 2012 16:58:55 CDT
(New Market)---Don and Jennifer Comer of rural New Market, Iowa are not only celebrating May Beef Month, they're actually living it every day as the young farm couple work their 150 head cow/calf herd and enjoy the benefits of their newly-constructed hoop structure for cattle.
The Comers have three children; Nick, Noah and Hannah. Nick is an Agronomy major at Northwest Missouri State University and is also a recent Page County Cattlemen scholarship winner.
Realizing the advantages of a hoop structure from good friends Lee and Darla Brooke of Bethesda, Don and Jennifer looked into building one of their own and are still in the process of putting on the finishing touches to the 200-head capacity cattle facility. Don describes the structure as having 4 separate pens which gives him management flexibility in each individual area whether it be background cattle, finish cattle, open heifers and more.
The Comers are pleased the facility is environmentally friendly and has good air flow, both for the good of the cattle and the structure itself when mother nature decides winds are going to be strong. With an abundance of cement flooring, choring is made easier with less manual labor involved while the expansive, ultra-tough flexible roof provides excellent shade for the animals, keeping them cool and calm.
Don even instilled some of his own custom ideas into the hoop structure, including extra overhang on the roof to do a better job of keeping rain water out of the feed bunks, as well as adjustable 2" piping that works well to ensure cattle stay in the pen and don't get out when they're eating, even if they're small calves.
More efficiency makes for happier, healthier cattle and ultimately more profits as Don and Jennifer are looking forward to their first full year of having the hoop structure up and going.
Our thanks to Don and Jennifer and other cattle producers like them who work hard every day to provide high-quality, nutritious beef for all of us to enjoy every day, including all the days of May Beef Month!
If you'd like to visit with Don about his hoop structure for cattle, give him a call at 712-303-1156.
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