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Here at MacFarlane’s Pheasants we are
continually striving to become more efficient
and economical. We look for ways to cut costs
and retune our processes to remain
competitive. With the rising cost of feed we
needed to make a change in regards to dealing
with leftover feed after the shipping season
ends. The pen manager does his best to
estimate the amount of feed the last birds on
the farm will need before they are shipped so
that a minimal amount is left in the feeders, but
circumstances arise that, sometimes,
complicate this effort. And, even when the
feeders appear empty, by looking at the pan,
they usually have about 20-30 pounds of feed
around the cone that the birds can not reach. In
the past, the leftover feed was usually disposed
of while washing the feeders, if it was a
“small” amount. If there was a good deal of
feed left we dumped them by hand or the use
of a skid loader into a wagon which is difficult
work. We also hired a contractor to vacuum the
feed into auger wagons but the price per hour is
over $100 for the labor. Now, while this sounds
expensive, and it is, it opened our eyes to the
advantages of salvaging our feed. Our initial
estimates for salvaged feed ranged from five to
fifteen tons. In less than eight hours working
with the contractor we collected over 20 tons
of feed!
The decision to purchase a vacuum was a no-
brainer. We purchased a gently used Agri-Vac
from Walinga Inc. It is a top of the line
agricultural and industrial vacuum machine
that offers many benefits over manual feed
removal and relocation. It moves feed and
grain on a cushion of air that minimizes
damage to the pellets. It is portable and can be
mounted on a small trailer which can be pulled
by a tractor or utility vehicle. And, it moves the
feed very quickly into an auger wagon which is
ideal for transporting the feed back to a bin.
These turbulent economic times combined with
a competitive industry like ours call for
innovation and change. By adjusting the way
we deal with things like “leftover” feed we will
keep our costs down and our business on the
forefront. The new feed vacuum is a foot
forward in our effort to streamline and
eliminate wasteful practices on our farm and we
will continue to follow this path into the future.
10
800.345.8348 ¥
www.pheasant.com
Our Pen Crew’s New Toy – A Feed Vacuum
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Shayne Noller -
Shayne Noller in action with the new feed vacuum.
New Feed Vacuum
“ Our initial estimates for salvaged
feed ranged from five to fifteen
tons. In less than eight hours
working with the contractor we
collected over 20 tons of feed!”
Shayne Noller
It was a work in progress for several months
but MacFarlanes finally made it on the I-90
attraction sign! In February of this year our
name and logo went up as an Attraction on I-
90, Exit 177. As heavily as I-90 is traveled,
we are excited to have our name be seen by
thousands of travelers on a daily basis.
As part of the agreement MacFarlane offers
tours and our retail store is open 6 days a
week. Our main office and farm are located
just 2.5 miles from I-90, Exit 177. We are
easy access for travelers to stop in and see
what we’re all about!
The Newest Attraction on I-90