New Age Thinking

Ask Dale McClellan about his work and watch his face change. An authentic smile appears, along with a twinkle in his eye.

Dale McClellan

It’s a sign that Dale, owner of M&B Dairy and M&B Products, is about to tell you a story—about his family history in dairy farming or the newest product his processing plant is planning to roll out. His willingness to share his experience and expertise is a large part of the reason he was named the 2012 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year.

Other measures of his success are via hard numbers.

1 million: Combined units of milk and juice packaged and processed at M&B Products every day

65,000: The square footage of the M&B Products processing plant in Tampa, Fla.

690: Dairy cows at M&B Dairy

6,000: Gallons of milk produced by those cows on a typical day

140: People employed by M&B Products

Efficiency measures abound at M&B Dairy. The cow barn, which sits on a 2% slope, is routinely flushed with water. The liquids are used to irrigate the fields, while the solids go to a 2-acre compost site where the composted material becomes padding for the cow beds. The compost system allows for 100% use of all manure solids, so no manure waste is shipped offsite.

As it is with any business endeavor, opening the new M&B Dairy came with challenges. At first, residents and business owners in Citrus County, where the dairy resides, were wary of such a large operation being built in their backyard. Instead of reacting defensively, Dale held community meetings to discuss his plans for the site, and invited his family and his engineer to come and speak.

His efforts paid off, and now the McClellan family enjoys a great relationship with their neighbors in the county. Leon and Dale sit on the board for several local business and charitable organizations. Additionally, in an effort to promote ag tourism in Citrus County, Dale and Leon open the dairy for tours. They also work with the commissioner of agriculture to promote “buy local” efforts in Florida, while Dale, along with three other producers, has started a co-op with other area dairy farmers in an effort to help market local milk.

Dale’s son Leon McClellan estimates he’ll put about 2,500 to 3,000 hours of work on the family’s new Massey Ferguson® 5465 tractor this year. As the winner of the 2012 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award, Dale won use of the tractor for one year, and both he and son Leon (the primary operator) are happy with the machine.

Used for tillage, planting, turning compost, loading the feed wagon, pushing up feed, putting compost bedding out and loading manure, “It’s kind of an all-around, one-size-fits-all tractor,” says Dale.

So far, the McClellans have been especially impressed with its ability to turn compost smoothly. “It’s got a low gear in it,” says Leon, “so it turns the compost better because you have to go as slow as you can.”

With the amount of time he spends in the cab, Leon cites comfort and visibility as important features. With the mechanical cab suspension, it rides smooth, even on rough terrain. “And the transmission is good,” Leon says of the Dyna-4™. “It switches from A to B to C and D, just like that. You don’t have to push in the clutch for any of it.”

Leon also likes the additional power the AGCO POWER 66 CTA 6-cylinder engine gives him.

When their year of use is up, Dale and Leon expect they’ll purchase the MF5465. “Basically, it can fill any space in the company that we need, small or large,” Dale says.

To read more about M&B Dairy and M&B Products, visit http://www.myfarmlife.com/features/new-age-thinking/?page=all.