Hay shed burns at London Dairy Farms

Thursday, May 29, 2014

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

A London, Ontario dairy producer says luck saved the day when fire broke out at his operation on Wednesday night.

“We’re extremely, extremely lucky,” says Tommy Faulkner of the fire that erupted in a hay shed at his London Dairy Farms Ltd. in the city’s southeast end. The wind was blowing west, away from the farm.

By Thursday mid-morning, the fire was still smoldering but Faulkner says the farm’s 1,000 cows were never in jeopardy and the operation’s milking routine has continued uninterrupted. “The power never went off,” he says.

Faulkner says he’s lost some hay and straw and “a little bit of equipment.” However, there is a second hay shed stocked with both hay and straw.

“It could have been so much worse,” he says.

OPP closed Highway 401 on Wednesday night “to ensure safety and to assist with fire fighting activities,” it says in a news release. The highway was reopened early in the morning.

Faulkner says it is not known yet what caused the fire.

London Dairy Farms Ltd. is one of Ontario’s largest dairy farms. BF