Size of the Expansion
We increased the size of our herd from 1,400 adult cows to a total of 2,900 adult cows. We also expanded our heifer herd from 1,250 heifers to a total of 2,375 heifers.

Our Expanded Facilities Feature:

No New Liquid Manure Storage
Our new and added technologies and equipment, including our advanced wastewater treatment process and sand separator, allow us to accommodate the increased number of cows while ensuring there is no need for any new liquid manure storage.

Economics Associated with the Expansion
Larson Acres currently employs 53 top-quality local residents, which includes 15 new positions based on our expanded needs. We currently spend more than $7 million in the local economy through local businesses and vendors each year, and when dairy farms like ours spend money locally, it creates a multiplier effect of more than 2.5 times the original dollars spent. The current economic activity generated in our herd is $12,500 per cow per year.

Alongside the additional 15 jobs, the expansion will also create more employment opportunities for local vendors. More than 70 local vendors will participate in, and directly benefit from, our expanded operations. The expansion also increased the tax base for Magnolia Township and the Evansville School District.

To accommodate the increased number of animals in our herd, an additional free-stall barn will be built, and it will use state-of-the-art technology to provide complete cow comfort and to ensure we maintain our cows’ health. We will continue to use sand bedding, the most comfortable and healthiest bedding material, and the new barn will be equipped with advanced methods to provide our animals with maximum comfort in their environment. The barn features will include (the photos below are examples from other farms):

Side Panels and Cross Ventilation

The free stall barns will have water cooled side panels and cross ventilation. In a cross ventilated barn, fans pull the water-cooled air across the width of the barn, which provides consistent temperatures year round, better fly and bird control, improved air quality and increased comfort for the herd.

Increased Air Flow

The new barn includes air baffles, which forces air flow near the ceiling back down to the cows’ level for better, faster circulation. This again allows us to better maintain cooler temperatures in the summer and warmer tempuratures in the winter.

A Protected Environment

The fully enclosed environment of the new free stall barn provides a protected, comfortable environment for our herd year round by minimizing temperature swings.

The expansion of our dairy farm included the addition of four nursery barns, as well as a calf barn for 2-5 month old calves. These new barns provide additional nourishing, safe environments for our calves. The new nursery barns are operated as all-in, all-out facilities which means that when the calves are ready to move to the 2- to 5-months-old calf facility, we will empty the entire nursery barn, sanitize it and let it sit for an entire week before the next group of baby calves are brought in. This is a best management practice for the health of our herd.