21 year old dairy farm looking at an ideal system for running staff on a 3 times a day system milking 600 cows through a 32:62 parlour wondering what shifts other people in a similar situation use and how they keep people motivated milking cows for 4 hours. Is it a case of having a full-time calf rearer. look forward to hearing back cheers
staff systems
- Thread starter curriej
- Start date
Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
You need to elaborate alittle more on the system you run, your current staffing and be more specific on the question(s) you're asking. Is this real time or an exam question ?
Not being rude, but that message is very much like a hastily stabbed vague text message.
Princess Pooper
Member
- Location
- East Mids
Your final sentence suggests that they are doing the calf feeding during milking. Is this the case? In which case I would say that definitely isn't going to work, the calves will suffer and your workers get fed up. Is that 4 hours per milking, including wash down?
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Ask the staff how they think it should be done. They might have some good ideas.
If you were doing the milking and only had a wage in it, what would keep you motivated and what shift pattern would you be happy with?
- Location
- Wiltshire
3x here. 2 guys milking all the time. Another 2 move groups and do calves and young stock. Calf rearing is time consuming so shouldn’t be something that has to fit in between milking to do it properly. Entirely separate team of staff milk nights. They only milk.
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kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
I used to do a bit of night milking when I was self employed, quite enjoyed it. As with you the full timers took care of the day time and the nights were separate.
Only downside was if I had a morning milking booked in next day
Stick a rotary in and milk 300hr to start with. Milking for 4 hours must be sh1t.
If milking was 2 hours then as @Boysground says, team a do 2 milkings and General cow work between 5am and 5pm then night milkers do the grave yard milking.
If milking was 2 hours then as @Boysground says, team a do 2 milkings and General cow work between 5am and 5pm then night milkers do the grave yard milking.
ollie989898
Member
4 hour milkings, fudge me. I think I see the issue already.
Find a group of women to shift work around the calves. Setup protocols and the system that is easy to understand and carry out with a high degree of regularity and which is common between all staff members. I would probably advertise locally and get a group of Polish women or similar to do it. Pay them well and look after them. I bet they end up managing themselves very well. This model is often used in the hotel trade for all the cleaning and auxiliary staff.
Find a group of women to shift work around the calves. Setup protocols and the system that is easy to understand and carry out with a high degree of regularity and which is common between all staff members. I would probably advertise locally and get a group of Polish women or similar to do it. Pay them well and look after them. I bet they end up managing themselves very well. This model is often used in the hotel trade for all the cleaning and auxiliary staff.
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
We'd be similar at 4 hours Inc washdown with 550 through a 32:64 but only twice a day.
Full time staff work a 5 or 5.5 day week and no one does both milkings more than 5 days a fortnight.
Find more relief cup swingers. Relief milkers tend to like places with long milkings because it means more £££.
Full time staff work a 5 or 5.5 day week and no one does both milkings more than 5 days a fortnight.
Find more relief cup swingers. Relief milkers tend to like places with long milkings because it means more £££.
- Location
- Wiltshire
I have a good team at night. Couple with quite a bit of experience others less so. Timed so they finish by 11.30 at the latest so it’s similar to pub work. My newest night milker wants to give up her pub work so she can do more milking. She had never milked before starting here. One of the nights does do some extra in the days steam cleaning hutches and other gfw work.
At the moment no foreign labour here.
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rusty
Member
- Location
- Buxton Derbyshire
Written protocols are a good idea for large teams. If you are using some foreign labour consider having photo's in your printed protocols to help get over potential language barriers. I saw this done really well in Denmark.
Headless chicken
Member
- Location
- West Wales
Cull 100 cows and produce more
Princess Pooper
Member
- Location
- East Mids
My pre-uni year in the 1980's had 210 milkers - that was a very big herd for the UK in 1984. We miked in pairs (no ACRs) through a 12/12 . At peak it took us 5 hours per milking (twice a day). There were lots of other enterprises as they had a farm shop. We used to rotate duties so 2 were on milking for a month, 1 on calves/moving groups, 1 separating cream / bottling for the farm shop, 1 on 'other stock' (poultry, pigs, sheep). Admittedly most of us were students so doing different enterprises was the way we gained a varied experience, there was always a family member plus one student on milking. Radio was an essential in the parlour, but we were teenagers! Most important, after milking, you had a decent meal break eg 1 hour breakfast, or evening meal. But no way would be chop and change eg calf rearing from day to day.
In a modern scenario, streamline milking as much as possible,decent protocols in place, make sure the teams get on, decent breaks without milking - another farm I worked on we had 3 days off per fortnight - and a proper meal break and sit down afterwards.
Do the milkers know much about the bigger picture? Are they part of a team working towards known goals, kept in the loop on herd performance, given a chance to go to meetings, training courses etc or are they just cow slaves?
In a modern scenario, streamline milking as much as possible,decent protocols in place, make sure the teams get on, decent breaks without milking - another farm I worked on we had 3 days off per fortnight - and a proper meal break and sit down afterwards.
Do the milkers know much about the bigger picture? Are they part of a team working towards known goals, kept in the loop on herd performance, given a chance to go to meetings, training courses etc or are they just cow slaves?
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
I'll add, if you're only 21 you need to be on the milking roster too.
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
In terms of motivation, ask the staff what they want, what they're interested in etc. Some may be interested in helping formulate rations etc, some in breeding/pedigrees some in showing, some may like calf rearing, some may like heifer rearing. Some might like doing some field work. Give them the opportunity to do some stuff they really enjoy and they wont mind doing some stuff they like less.
In terms of parlour and cows, either forget the 32:64 and put in a rotary or else lower your cow numbers. You will regret it if you dont, namely because you're staff will hate it. 4 hours of milking on a rotary wouldn't be too bad as you're in the same spot, in a herringbone of that length you'll be running a marathon every day just milking. I couldn't think of anything worse personally and I love milking.
Personally I would have said you're asking the wrong people though. We arent going to be milking for you. Those who are should be who you're asking.
In terms of parlour and cows, either forget the 32:64 and put in a rotary or else lower your cow numbers. You will regret it if you dont, namely because you're staff will hate it. 4 hours of milking on a rotary wouldn't be too bad as you're in the same spot, in a herringbone of that length you'll be running a marathon every day just milking. I couldn't think of anything worse personally and I love milking.
Personally I would have said you're asking the wrong people though. We arent going to be milking for you. Those who are should be who you're asking.
kfpben
Member
- Location
- Mid Hampshire
Isn’t a 4 hour milking normal?
I don’t think I’ve ever milked on a farm where it’s taken less than 4 hours start to finish, at least in the morning.
I don’t think I’ve ever milked on a farm where it’s taken less than 4 hours start to finish, at least in the morning.
Good heavens no! Once you get over 2hrs it's time to make changes
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
4 hours on your own including getting cows in and washing down maybe. With 2 people absolutely not. That's 16 hours of milking a day. Plus in a parlour of that length you will spend more time walking up and down than milking. Every parlour salesmen I've spoken to aims to design a new parlour to have it done in 1.5 hours tops plus wash down.
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
1.5 hours is a lovely idea but that really means putting a rotary in for anything much over 250 cows.