Pennsylvania Dairy Finds Shade Solution

Providing shade is an important part of managing an organic dairy operation. When a farm improvement project at Sunrise Ridge Dairy near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, eliminated much of the farm’s natural shade, owner Todd Frescura needed to find a quick solution. He found it with a Shade Haven mobile shade system.

Born and raised on a dairy farm, Frescura took over his grandfather’s 100-acre farm in 2000. He transitioned to organic production in 2016 and today rotationally grazes 40 to 45 registered Ayrshires and Milking Shorthorns, marketing the milk through Horizon Organic.

Need for Shade

The need for mobile shade came about following a farm improvement project partially funded through the NRCS EQIP program and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program. Part of the project involved installing a cattle walkway along an abandoned township road. The construction required removing trees that once provided valuable shade for the herd.

“That was the shade area I had on my organic certification,” Frescura explains. “I’m required to provide shade, but I now had 50 acres with absolutely no shade.”

He began looking for an alternative and came across Shade Haven on social media. The SH1200 Shade Haven mobile shade system was exactly what he needed.

Praise for Shade

Today, when the herd enters a paddock without natural shade, the Shade Haven goes with them. Frescura typically moves the Shade Haven daily with a UTV.

“The cows are consistently using it throughout the day,” he says. “They will do some grazing, cool off, and go back to grazing again.”

Frescura noted the cattle especially love the built-in scratcher brushes on the Shade Haven. He also noticed an operational benefit: the cows spend less time in the barn during hot weather, reducing the need for fans and helping cut down on manure handling.

He praises the ease-of-use and mobility of the Shade Haven along with its durability, which was recently evident when a storm with significant wind speeds moved through the area. “I usually get out there and collapse the shade in bad weather, but I didn’t make it out there for this storm,” Frescura explains. “When I did get out there, the Shade Haven was in the same spot, no damage – like nothing happened.”

Whether dairy, beef, sheep or goats, a Shade Haven is a durable, easy-to-use mobile shade solution for any herd.