By Annie A-W
“Summertime, and the living was easy….” That’s how the song goes, but it doesn’t seem to be actually true at Dairy Train! Suzanne is trying to keep the lawn mowed, and make a new flower bed by the lilacs, and ship out all the orders (business is good!). Mark hasn’t been seen at the office in weeks: he’s in the fields and milking now three times a day. Our newest employee, Wayne, is busy in the barn where we keep consignment inventory, counting and re-shelving and finding a few mystery parts that challenge our research skills! Donna continues her inventory-correction project while she copes with her grandson’s changing schedule – school is out now, but summer T-ball has started. Annie is busy weeding her garden and planting potatoes, remodeling the chicken coop, and setting up a new parlor-ads questionnaire form. Whew! At least the rains have been coming on time and the weather hasn’t been in the high 90’s…yet.
According to a recent The Country Today our state, Wisconsin, just achieved a historic milestone: the number of dairy farms is below 10,000 for the first time since the late 1800’s. And the number of cows remains stable! This contradiction seems to be explained by the growing number of “huge” dairies, milking a thousand or three thousand cows in rotary parlors, and feeding the girls with crops grown by farmers who have left dairying.
You’ll see that in our ads on dairytrain.com and dairytrainclassifieds.com: “Our seller has left dairying.” We are selling more parlors than ever before, and most of them come with a note “will consider best offer.”
We have buyers who are trying to expand their dairies on a budget. Those buyers need only four milking units, or just the computerized feed system with a flexible auger. Can you help us help them? You’ll make some money on the sale!
We are the place for you, if you are selling or buying, for just one or for a whole package. We take parts in on consignment. We sponsor classified ads – we’ll write the ad and post it on the web, take the calls with questions or offers, and arrange the shipping! On your behalf, we’ll call the potential buyer, and keep the deal both transparent and trustworthy, and anonymous and secure for both parties. Our business is successful because we care about our reputation: you’ll get what you believe that you bought.
Dairy Train is successful, too, because, as reported in that same The Country Today article, “about half the farms in Vernon County [Wisconsin] are Grade B farms, shipping their milk in cans.” We sell cans! And tie-stall detachers, older models of meters and pulsators, and glass pipeline! Whether your farm is a big 1000-cow dairy, or a mom-and-pop 50-cow dairy, we can be your source for replacement and surplus parts.
We’re going to have watermelon at lunch today. There’s a sign of summer! Give us a call and tell us about your dairy equipment, and while you are lounging in the hammock, under the shade of your big maple tree, we’ll make a sale!