Harrisonburg, VA - (540) 433-9117 ~ Rocky Mount, VA - (866) 361-2474

SCENERY HILL DAIRY

Maintaining a dairy operation is a family-wide effort for Kenneth and Joyce Heatwole of Scenery Hill Dairy in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  In charge of herd management, Joyce works with her sons, Eric, Wesley, and Austin; and Kenneth Heatwole dedicates his time to the family’s poultry operation, feeding cows and assisting with milking chores.  Days for the Heatwole family are busy, but each person shares in the responsibility.

Wesley Heatwole says, “I was raised on the farm, so it was natural for me to get into the dairy business.  My parent’s purchased the farm from Nelson Heatwole in 1991.”

Named ‘Scenery Hill’ in recognition of the magnificent landscape that surrounds it, the Heatwoles’ dairy operation has a mountain view from every direction on the farm.

“Scenery Hill Dairy gives us a great place to raise a family, while allowing each of us to work together”, Joyce Heatwole notes.  “We’re always concerned about our bottom line – that’s a dairy producer’s biggest challenge – but our philosophy is that it is essential to be a good manager of what the Lord has entrusted to you”

Scenery Hill Dairy milks approximately 200 cows and recently underwent a significant upgrade of equipment to a Double 12 Parallel parlor with DHIA and PC Dart herd management systems sold and installed by Dairymen Specialty Company.  Heatwole feels that the milk meter, combined with the equipment geared towards cow comfort, are the most critical elements of the operation’s dairy equipment.

Wesley Heatwole comments that his family has been long-time customers of Dairymen Specialty Company, which influenced his decision to work with Don Weaver of Dairymen Specialty on the equipment and supplies that would best suit their needs.

“They’ve done a great job”, Heatwole says of Dairymen Specialty.  “They went out of their way to help us overcome obstacles help us get into the new parlor as soon as possible.  They really helped us to get started with great service”.

Dairymen Specialty’s Don Weaver says: “The Heatwoles have managed the transition well and now have very good cow-flow throughout their new parlor.  They are careful to avoid going out into the holding pen and have created a good routine for the cows.”  Weaver adds, “The Heatwoles have a very well-managed milk harvesting facility”.

With sales, service, installation, and guidance throughout each step from Dairymen Specialty, Scenery Hill Dairy now features:

• Double 12 Cascade Parallel Parlor manufactured by DeLaval’s Blue Diamond Manufacturing Facility.
• Envision SS Curb and Curb Cabinets to house the DeLaval Alpro MM 25 Meter which displays the amount of milk that each cow has given.  The meter’s keypad is housed in the Maestro Cabinet, which also holds the rod less air cylinder, which removes the milker from the cow when her milking is completed, and the balance hose support, which provides excellent unit alignment.
• Envision’s easy-to-use remote start option, allowing the Heatwoles to turn the unit on from the curb without reaching over-head.  Clean-in-place jetter cups fold neatly into the cabinet to be tucked away during milking, but are easily accessible of the wash mode.
• Blue Diamond SS light cabinet-finished stalls, which directs the light exactly where it’s needed: at the cow’s udder.
• DeLaval Silicone Milk Hose
• Germania Top Unloading Claw
• 61 Plate Mueller Plate Cooler Dual Pass with DeLaval's Smooth Operator for excellent pre-cooling before the milk reaches the tank.
• 5000 gallon Mueller Cooler with Energy Star scroll compressors.
• 2 Block Water Heaters, which add extra energy-efficiency while providing hot water.
• Flint and Walling 3 HP centrifugal pump Wash Down System
• Mueller Fre-Heater

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