As far as John Boschma is concerned, the silage management system now in place on his Miscouche farm has made a world of difference.
He was facing several problems, but with funding help from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council, he was able to kill several birds with one stone. The result is a system that not only provides high quality feed for his cows but is environmentally friendly.
The previous silage dumping site near the barn caught a good deal of rain water from the roof. That created unsightly trenches of mud that collected both rain water and any toxic liquids that might escape from the silos.
"There were times of the year we couldn't even get to the barn with a truck," John said. "It was really a bad situation all around." In addition to the problems with mud, he was also concern about the possibility of contaminating not only his well water, but that of his neighbours.
The new system involved installing a cement pad as a working area for dumping silage and mixing feed. Previously, the silage was dumped in an area between the milkhouse and the silo – the same area where rain water collected in ponds.
"Silage was pushed to the front of the silo when harvested, and the mud was pushed in with the silage," John said. "That is what visitors to our farm saw, and it was also visible from the highway."
Previously, liquid manure was pumped from a slatted floor in a free-stall barn on the farm in 1998. Now, the barn has a feed area and a pumping station for liquid manure. The tanks are located under the slats in the feeding area. A tractor is attached to the pump and agitator with an extended pipe that fills the liquid spreader.
With the new system, a ditch near the barn has been developed into a grassed waterway that leads to a wetland area.
He credits John Colwill of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry with helping him to resolve the situation, not only for his benefit but for his neighbours. He said Colwill, the department's agriculture extension representative in the Summerside area, alerted him to the possibility of obtaining funding from the ADAPT Council. He had previously been told the project was not eligible under the Agriculture Environmental Resource and Conservation Program.
"John worked with me every step of the way," Boschma said. "He was a really big help – I can't believe the difference between now and last spring."
This article is one of a series prepared for the Prince Edward Island Agriculture Awareness Committee to highlight innovations in the agriculture industry.