Efficient Farming Operation and Happy Operator
Stephen Clarke and Family became the new owners of a 100-acre farm close to Zorra Station adjacent to the 39th Line at Cody’s Corner in 1996. Today Stephen and his son Todd specialise in the production of Turkey’s on site with the adjoining land being rented out. The Clarkes along with machinery operator Terry Burke produce 65000 “Tom Turkeys” per year.
“Tom Turkeys” are received at one day old into the brood barn and at approximately 4 weeks old they are then transferred to “Growth Barns” where they are matured until approximately 16 weeks of age. They leave the Clarks weighing some 16kgs (32lbs) each, destined for Localised Meat Processors who focus on producing sliced delicatessen cold cut meat.
Typically, the Clarks purchase quality clean big square straw bales locally to bed their 5 barns. Their previous Bale Processor was unable to produce material short enough with consistency even after modifications. Turning to their local Teagle Dealer Embro Farm Systems, they requested a demonstration of the Tomahawk 8150 Dual Chop.
Their request was efficiency with consistently short material, low machine height due to the heaters in the barns, low horsepower requirement, easy to operate and control. The 8150 ticked all the boxes and operator Terry “Loves the Machine” powering it with a 44.2 PTO horsepower Tractor! As the machine operator and with his industry knowledge Terry immediately found the benefits of the rear tailgate / bed chain control over the previous machine. The material application and placement are simple to control with precision, taking away the labour-intensive world of wood shavings.
Each Barn receives primary application of straw approximately 10-15mm (4-6inches) thick and then top up once a week until the birds are approximately 13 weeks old. Todd is adamant that straw lasts as long as wood shavings, it is as absorbent, easier to return to the land in manure application and of course easier to procure and a lower input cost! making the Clarks a very efficient producer and Terry a happy operator.