Virginia family buys farm after 30 years in dairy business
By
Fran Alt
Steve Henson points back up Windy Oaks road. "The first house, the new one, that's where you'll find Vivian and Raymond. This is where Susan and I live," he says, motioning to the nearby farmhouse. With that Steve went goes to help his wife Susan at the barn, and I head back down the road toward the new house.
Windy Oaks Farm in Boones Mill Virginia is home to Rayfay Holsteins, the family owned dairy of Raymond and Vivian Scott. Set amidst a backdrop of lush green hillside and myriad of shade trees, the farm, even on this drizzly day, takes on the aura of a picture postcard.
Inside, the house is cozy and comfortable, and I find Vivian and Raymond Scott the perfect complement to the scene and to each other.
Raymond and Vivian, met at a local church, and have been married for 40 years. "Raymond was going to Ferrum College, a two year Junior College, when we got married in November of 1958 and I worked in a bank," Vivian says. After the wedding the couple moved to Blacksburg and continued their college education. They received their degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
After college both Raymond and Vivian taught school. Vivian, an elementary school teacher, stayed on the job for 32 years. Raymond says he taught high school biology for one year, but it didn't 'feel right.' His parents were dairy farmers and in his heart he knew wanted to farm.
Despite being a city girl, Vivian had no problem handling life on the farm. "Farming is a good lifestyle; a good place to raise children," she says. With a smile and hint of pride she adds, "and grand children."
I am curious about the name - Rayfay Holsteins, and Raymond says, "The Ray is me, and Fay is both Vivian's and Susan's middle name."
Susan is Susan Henson, the Scotts only child. Susan and her husband Steve have two children Stephanie 15 and Stephen Jr. 13.
Like her dad, Susan is a natural born farmer and the father and daughter team, work side-by-side in the dairy and the fields, while Vivian acts as the farm's bookkeeper-secretary.
The Scotts bought this farm three years ago, and Raymond's only regret is not buying 30 years sooner. "All those years of renting and putting money in a farm we didn't own," he says, shaking his head.
They originally hoped to buy the farm they were renting, but the owner did not want to sell. This twist of fate worked out in their favor, because the new farm is much better equipped than the original farm.
"Even though we made quite a few improvements during the last 10 years that we rented, we couldn't make all the improvements we wanted. Much of our money went to things that we had to leave on that farm," Vivian says.
After talking awhile, I leave the Scotts to their work and wander around the farm taking pictures. Cows lulling about the hillside and curious calves coming out of their hutches offer ideal photo opportunities. Although most of the hutches are plastic, I notice some are made of wood. Later Raymond tells me the quaint wooden hutches are of the homemade variety and came with the farm.
At milking time the Scotts two employees, D.W. Aldridge and Fanny Taylor wander out onto the hillside near the parlor and call the cows in from the field. The Scotts have 136 milking head - 99 registered Holsteins and 37 Grades. The cows are milked twice a day in a Trigon parlor (triangular in shape - three sides with four milkers on each side).
We are standing just outside the milking parlor and Raymond waves his hand toward a spot on the shaded sloping hillside. "The cows like that one particular place beyond the fence," he says. "We had to put the fence up to let the grass grow back. We don't use pasture so much as a way to feed the animals but as a clean place for the animals to go."
The Scotts own 270 acres and rent 85 acres. Their crops include 170 acres of corn for silage and 130 acres of small grains. "We buy alfalfa hay, alfalfa haylage, cotton seed, shelled corn, brewers grain and we raise corn silage. All of this is mixed together in a mix-wagon to feed the cows," Raymond says.
All their cows are artificially inseminated with 99% Select Sire Bulls, and Raymond tells me they manage to keep cows in the herd longer than average and that their culling rate is low.
"There are a lot of little things that account for this," Raymond says. "You watch them closely; when they are in heat, get them bred right away. Another thing is to be careful about the way you feed them. We don't push them quite as hard; don't feed them heavy grain. Make sure you have properly balanced rations. All those little things add up and help make the cows last longer."
Besides selling cows to farmers in the US, Rayfay Holsteins have sold registered cows to farmers in the Netherlands, Spain, Eqypt, Taiwan and Hungary. Many of their bulls are sold to AI Services.
The Scott's claim they don't have any time for hobbies outside of the farm, unless you consider farming a hobby. But it you happen to visit, take a close look and you'll find grand parenting might well be considered a viable hobby for Raymond and Vivian.