20 : 40 Milking Parlour

[jimmer]

Thank you for your thoughts. We foam then wipe and bed on sawdust and lime.

sorry i know this is a bit off topic but , bedded on sawdust and lime and scraped regularily , with a 31l yield i would assume your cows are fairly clean and wonder if you would consider a less intensive pre milking routine

providing your scc is sensible , this would greatly justify a longer parlour and improve throughput

 

[farmer on a bike]

We have a Waikato 22:44 on our spring farm great parlour but only works with one man if you just slap clusters on. That works fine with Kiwicross kept out at grass.

Our autumn herd (currently av 25litres) is milked in a 20:40. We use a full routine. It is not the greatest parlour, it was orginally a Fulwood 16:16 lengthened with extra stall work. So cows at 45deg not 80 in Waikato. It does take longer to fill and empty. We milk using a full routine and this afternoon we milked 300 in about 2 hours 20 mins without the sick pen and washdown. However that was 2 people and both of us hardly stopped moving. If you need to use a full routine (and I tend to agree given your cows and their yield, you should) with one man, then a 20:40 is a waste of money.

Many years back I met with a US farm advisor in California. He had a herd that milked through 2 parlours, one a swing over, one a double up. The cows in the double up yielded 1.5 litres more despite the same breeding and diet. He believed the issue was inconsistent routine in the swing over. I think it is manageable as long as you can always put the cluster on when the cow has been prepped. Therefore you need plenty of time for the previous cow to finish. Given higher yields than my cows I think 16:32 is the maximum needed, maybe even a 14:28

 

[rusty]

I would be worried about your idea of a hybrid of different manufacturer's for the parlour. If anything does not seem to work together you can guarantee that they will all pass the buck to one of the other suppliers!
Fullwood 20/40 here with ADF and auto ID and auto segregation, 7500 litres Autumn block . Fine when out at grass with minimal prep for one man. Good operator can do 120/hr with pre spray and medicated wipe in winter routine but its full on.

 

[Jamer]

15/30 here with ACRs auto id and ADF but no feeders, yields c.8500l, milking 190ish through parlour, full routine resulting in usually in approx 75 cows/hour but if we drop the pre-spraying lark can be closer to 100.

I think alot is down to operator,- when I milk, admittedly not very often, I wish for a 20/40 cos I hate waiting for units and cows in full milk can hold up a row sometimes. An observation more than a criticism but some milkers here definitely wouldn't warrant a bigger parlour. We do milk a row in 2 goes; front 8 prepped and on, then back 7 which works far better than it sounds especially with the slower loading of no feeders. I think a 20/40 would give you the capacity to milk without waiting when in full milk in autumn/winter then if your routine eases in the spring you can push on when they are stale?

 

[lady muck]

We have a 20:40 rapid exit (baling system) with about 280 cows max going through it but usually two men in parlour albeit one chasing up cows and dipping. If hubby milking on his own he would rather cut parlour down to 16 each side as with a full routine 20 too much. In winter we would sometimes be pre-dipping too. Relief millers locally would never want to milk through that size of parlour themselves and would always expect a second person. Cluster flush would be a desired item on our system. I don't milk now but don't like the milking environment as pit narrow and cows stand around so messy parlour to milk in as you get sh!t on. these long parlours are fast but you don't get a minute to think and it is much nicer to milk yourself through a 20:20. Milking should be an enjoyable experience. My 13 year old son prefers to milk at his second cousins rather than here. 12 year old daughter still not tall enough for our parlour but can dip and chase up cows.

 

[More to life]

Every one is quoting cows an hour when in fact liters per hour is the relevant number full prep 1200-1500l hour is good going

 

[Will Blackburn]

Every one is quoting cows an hour when in fact liters per hour is the relevant number full prep 1200-1500l hour is good going

I disagree, the work in a parlour is cow based not litre based. You prep a cow not a litre.

 

[Beef farmer]

I disagree, the work in a parlour is cow based not litre based. You prep a cow not a litre.

But a 30 litre and a 15 litre cow will go through at different speeds

 

[More to life]

I disagree, the work in a parlour is cow based not litre based. You prep a cow not a litre.

Your job is milk harvesting not cow moving

 

[More to life]

But a 30 litre and a 15 litre cow will go through at different speeds

And need different prep

 

[Will Blackburn]

Your job is milk harvesting not cow moving

So if you've got high yielding cows you've need to build in time to admire your work and do a lap of honour?

 

[Will Blackburn]

And need different prep

rubbish

 

[Will Blackburn]

But a 30 litre and a 15 litre cow will go through at different speeds

That is a parlour design issue not an operator issue.

 

[More to life]

So if you've got high yielding cows you've need to build in time to admire your work and do a lap of honour?

Milking time is all about labour cost do you not work out your cost per liter certainly every one I know that benchmarks does

 

[Beef farmer]

That is a parlour design issue not an operator issue.

My cows are doing 24 litres @ 4.8 3.8 we have a 20/40
One man parlour. 20 sides and wash down 3.5 hours am 3 hours pm. They run in and run out, there is no prep, 2 dump cows at the moment. Bacto and cells in top band. If cows don't need different prep then why are people preping as to me it looks a waste of time. And why isn't every one averaging 140 cows an hour in a 20/40 including wash down? We peak @180 cows an hour.Probably because a 10000 litre cow will take longer to milk out, and dare I say it, she walks in and out slower.

 

[Will Blackburn]

My cows are doing 24 litres @ 4.8 3.8 we have a 20/40
One man parlour. 20 sides and wash down 3.5 hours am 3 hours pm. They run in and run out, there is no prep, 2 dump cows at the moment. Bacto and cells in top band. If cows don't need different prep then why are people preping as to me it looks a waste of time. And why isn't every one averaging 140 cows an hour in a 20/40 including wash down? We peak @180 cows an hour.Probably because a 10000 litre cow will take longer to milk out, and dare I say it, she walks in and out slower.

That is a top post, more should question everything they do.

 

[More to life]

That is a top post, more should question everything they do.

That's 1600 l an hour with no prep what's the difference I did ask how you benchmark your costs per liter or per cow

 

[Will Blackburn]

Milking time is all about labour cost do you not work out your cost per liter certainly every one I know that benchmarks does

My cows yield between 20 and 30 litres a day depending on time of year, prep time also changes depending on the time of year. This is related to the cow living environment not daily yield.

I think the better benchmark is per cow and certainly figures in calculating margins for low yields against high yields.

 

[Will Blackburn]

That's 1600 l an hour with no prep what's the difference I did ask how you benchmark your costs per liter or per cow

Includes wash down!

 

[Cookie]

16:32 here, no automation apart from feeders. Wipe with valiant foam and use a cheap iodine post dip. 150 autumn cows in milk at the minute, I turned the pumps on at 4pm last night and was back in the house by half 5 without breaking a sweat. No acrs helps throughput IMO as you can't hang about, if you do you're overmilking cows.