By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — They call their company “Calf Housing Specialists.”

From the humble beginnings of a shed at his home in Ontario, Canada, President and CEO Darren VanBuuren, along with his brother, Rob, have built the company Agri-Plastics into one of the leading agricultural manufacturing businesses in the world. They started with original wood hutches in 1995 and now produce top-of-the-line plastic calf hutches.

Agri-Plastics will be one of 700 exhibitors at the upcoming 56th annual Farm Science Review (FSR) at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio, from Sept. 18-20.

Agri-Plastics’ line of products includes 10 types of calf hutches, four indoor calf pens, several models of group hutches and other plastic ag-related items such as stock tanks, feed bunks and silage carts. Agri-Plastics, an Ontario-based manufacturer, opened its first U.S. production facility in Sidney, Neb., in June.

“Our new Nebraska facility will help Agri-Plastics better serve dairy producers and calf raisers in the western U.S., and help us meet the growing demand for quality calf housing worldwide,” Darren VanBuuren said.

Agri-Plastics invested $4.5 million in its new 159,000 square-foot plant. “We began experimenting with calf hutch designs to provide better environments that shelter one’s investment,” he explained.

“Calf housing challenges can have a big impact on the health of a herd, and we know firsthand the difficulties one can experience on the farm, so we came up with hutch designs to provide healthier, more comfortable environments for calves that help improve efficiencies for one’s business.”

According to VanBuuren, each hutch, pen and group housing system focuses on five life-sustaining elements to help reduce calf mortality.

Quite popular is the Movable Starter Pen, which includes four wheels, two swivel wheels with brakes and two ridged wheels that are mounted direct to the molded, slatted floor. The VanBuurens say these pens provide easy access to the calf, are easy to keep clean and have top and bottom air flow vents.

The Starter Pen sits directly on the ground and can be placed in a building or outside under an overhang. Choices include one with a bottle front feeding door or a teat bucket front feeding door.

The Group Hutch is used to help calves adapt to their environment and other calves.

“When calves are raised in calf hutches and then, after weaning, are placed with a large group, it causes much stress on the calf,” VanBuuren said. “By transitioning weaned calves into a group hutch, you will eliminate the competition for food and water, and the calf will adapt to being with others.”

All items are made of polyethylene and come with a 10-year warranty.

Visitors to the FSR are able to view more than 4,000 product lines such as these, as well as engage in workshops, presentations and demonstrations delivered by agricultural experts.

“Anyone involved in agriculture will find products, services and knowledge from exhibitors and ag experts to improve one’s operation,” said Show Manager Nick Zachrich.