The De Jong family has been on the cutting edge of the dairy industry since 1620, when Arie De Jong’s forefathers opened their first dairy in the Netherlands. Family members who moved to the United States continued the family tradition in California’s Central Valley. Five years ago, Arie De Jong expanded the family’s Visalia, California Milky Way Dairy to Maricopa, Arizona, where he has built a state-of-the-art facility.
De Jong was encouraged to move to Arizona by the United Dairymen of Arizona’s milk base earning program and the availability of affordable land. Using his own Cat® 623F Wheel Tractor-Scraper, a rented Cat 140G Motor Grader, and five rented scrapers, De Jong and his crews built one of the largest dairies in Arizona.
The 7000-head dairy operation occupies 327 acres on De Jong’s 1260-acre spread. De Jong’s top priorities are the health of his cows and the quality of their milk. The cows are fed a wholesome blend of hay, carrots, rolled corn and other nutrients, and, in accordance with industry standards, are milked three times a day. They product an average of about 74 lbs. of milk per cow per day.
The Holstein herd is kept in vast free-stall facilities complete with 2,250 fans to keep the air moving. (A 3,200-horsepower Caterpillar generator has been installed as standby power for the fans.) The cows move in and out as they please. Each cow also wears an anklet pedometer that tracks each daily step. A transponder on the pedometer — the latest technology for herd health management — records the cow’s daily intake of feed, its daily milk production, and other health details.
Every system in every barn, from feed rations, milking machines to manure handling, is computerized. Each facility on the dairy is interactive with the others. “We have more than two mile of fiber optics on this dairy,” notes Farm Manager Jonathan Vanderham. “We are fully networked between barns and even the shop area.”
The Empire Connection
The Milky Way Dairy’s state-of-the-art technology extends to the large Caterpillar® fleet used around the farm. Running a successful modern dairy requires consistent and reliable equipment and, as owner of 17 Caterpillar machines, De Jong is a faithful Empire Machinery customer for that very reason. “I buy Cat equipment because of the service and support we receive from Empire,” he says. “I like that a lot.” He and Vanderham, are impressed with the technical service and parts availability they receive from Empire and the Empire Field Service Technicians who are on call 24/7. “Empire is a great dealer,” adds Vanderham. “For parts and pricing on equipment it’s hard to beat them.”
In addition to the motor grader and 623F scraper, the fleet consists of a Cat 416D Backhoe Loader, a 330B L Hydraulic Excavator, and several Cat Wheel Loaders, including four 928G models and an original 936 model — a tough workhorse that Vanderham calls his favorite machine.
The 330B L is equipped with a 60-foot-long stick and dedicated solely to handling manure slurry out of the barn lagoons. The 416D, which performed much of the trenching work when the dairy was built, today handles water pipe leaks and other utility tasks around the farm. Of the four 928G Wheel Loaders, two are dedicated as feed loaders, one is equipped with a four-and-a-quarter- yard bucket and the other a four-and-a-half-yard roll-out bucket. Another 928G, equipped with a standard General Purpose Bucket, is used for cleanup around the calving operation. The fourth machine, with an open cab, is used for dirt work. |
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Business Name: The Milky Way Dairy
Location: Maricopa, Ariz.
Principals: Owner Arie De Jong and Farm Manager Jonathan Vanderham
Cat Fleet: 415D Backhoe Loader, 330B L Hydraulic Excavator, 140G Motor Grader, 623F Wheel Tractor-Scraper, several wheel loaders including four 928G models and an original 936. |