More days/mornings off or shorter easier day

[kill]

I'd be tempted to speak to your staff again and see what they each would prefer. Perhaps offer a premium for unpopular shifts

You also need to think outside of the box that is "5 on 2 off"

I've worked with:

4 x 12 hour shifts per week
Rolling 4 on 4 off
4 on 2 off followed by 4 on 1 off
6 on, 1 2 or 3 off
And the killer-weekly rotating 8 hour shifts at 0600, 1400 & 2200!

Would it maybes possible to get an independent person that’s unrelated to the farm to ask the questions as then the staff maybe happier to voice their opinion and keep it confidential ?

Or maybe a anonymous survey with plenty of space for workers to voice their thoughts?
Could be interesting and it could keep staff happier in their jobs if they are consulted.

 

[Durry cows]

Might sound daft. But why not put 2 16/32 side by side and have a man in each.

This, have a 16/32 here now and would definitely recommend. 1 man in each would do 200 cows/hour comfortably....takes some beating IMO definitely worth looking at

 

[DairyGrazing]

Would it maybes possible to get an independent person that’s unrelated to the farm to ask the questions as then the staff maybe happier to voice their opinion and keep it confidential ?

Or maybe a anonymous survey with plenty of space for workers to voice their thoughts?
Could be interesting and it could keep staff happier in their jobs if they are consulted.

Yeah do a bit of that on different things anyway so will get the consultant to ask. We are extremely open anyway. We are constantly talking about improvements to system and working practices.

 

[DairyGrazing]

This, have a 16/32 here now and would definitely recommend. 1 man in each would do 200 cows/hour comfortably....takes some beating IMO definitely worth looking at

What is your calving pattern, yields and what is your routine?

Wouldn't cost alot to do that as I already have a 38 point parlour so I could split it!

 

[Sid]

You what ?, I hear time & again on here it is robots with the savage maintenance costs

With 100,000 Eastern Europeans gone home in the last 12 months, I would be more worried about finding good staff.

 

[DairyGrazing]

I know a couple of Eeastern European lads who had saved up enough money to buy a patch of land and build a house. They "retired" but came back after a bit because they were bored and the kids hated it.

 

[GrassRats]

For what it's worth I'd steer clear of complicated expensive things like rapid exits, or anything Dairymaster.

I know a number of 350+ cow herds with a 24:48 Waikato. Basic ACRs. Flat rate trough feeder.
One person in the pit.
Cows enter straight, exit straight. No turns, no single file awkward areas. 2 hours AM, 1.5 hours PM is very doable.
Build the shed as light and airy as possible. So cows are happy to come in.

Keep it simple. Auto draft, ADF, ID, they're all points of failure that will slow the job down and cost you in the long run. Everyone can tell you about a disaster they know about. The guys making it work are quietly cracking on.

 

[ollie989898]

With 100,000 Eastern Europeans gone home in the last 12 months, I would be more worried about finding good staff.

I've said this before, the biggest threat to the industry long term will be a lack of anyone wanting to do it. Any changes to a system should be done with a mind toward reducing labour or making the routine jobs so easy they are almost fun.

Ask the Danes about this- very few Eastern Europeans there because of taxation and the language barrier.

 

[Jdunn55]

For what it's worth I'd steer clear of complicated expensive things like rapid exits, or anything Dairymaster.

I know a number of 350+ cow herds with a 24:48 Waikato. Basic ACRs. Flat rate trough feeder.
One person in the pit.
Cows enter straight, exit straight. No turns, no single file awkward areas. 2 hours AM, 1.5 hours PM is very doable.
Build the shed as light and airy as possible. So cows are happy to come in.

Keep it simple. Auto draft, ADF, ID, they're all points of failure that will slow the job down and cost you in the long run. Everyone can tell you about a disaster they know about. The guys making it work are quietly cracking on.

Agreed, every single place I've seen put in a rapid exit I've been unimpressed and quite frankly if they were mine I would have been massively disappointed.

The only 3 mod cons I think worth the money is acr's, adf clusters and an auto wash system

 

[Beef farmer]

For what it's worth I'd steer clear of complicated expensive things like rapid exits, or anything Dairymaster.

I know a number of 350+ cow herds with a 24:48 Waikato. Basic ACRs. Flat rate trough feeder.
One person in the pit.
Cows enter straight, exit straight. No turns, no single file awkward areas. 2 hours AM, 1.5 hours PM is very doable.
Build the shed as light and airy as possible. So cows are happy to come in.

Keep it simple. Auto draft, ADF, ID, they're all points of failure that will slow the job down and cost you in the long run. Everyone can tell you about a disaster they know about. The guys making it work are quietly cracking on.

This. Cow flow!

 

[DairyGrazing]

For what it's worth I'd steer clear of complicated expensive things like rapid exits, or anything Dairymaster.

I know a number of 350+ cow herds with a 24:48 Waikato. Basic ACRs. Flat rate trough feeder.
One person in the pit.
Cows enter straight, exit straight. No turns, no single file awkward areas. 2 hours AM, 1.5 hours PM is very doable.
Build the shed as light and airy as possible. So cows are happy to come in.

Keep it simple. Auto draft, ADF, ID, they're all points of failure that will slow the job down and cost you in the long run. Everyone can tell you about a disaster they know about. The guys making it work are quietly cracking on.

April fools was a couple of days ago! 350 cows in 90 mins requires you to put on a unit or spray a cow every 8 seconds.

Can't even do that in my head. Happy to be shown to be wrong.

 

[Uggman]

I know I might not make myself very popular but you got to look after your staff they might not be able to home in he day to see the wife kids like you can. I know that the farmer has a lot more pressure / stress but you can't expect men too put 60 + hours a week it's not there farm and there wives won't stick it so if it's a toss between a job where you dont feel valued or your wife kids which would you choose?

 

[jimmer]

April fools was a couple of days ago! 350 cows in 90 mins requires you to put on a unit or spray a cow every 8 seconds.

Can't even do that in my head. Happy to be shown to be wrong.

Your doing a fair bit of teat prep all year round if your going to keep doing this going forward then it needs to be factored in and you won't get high outputs like others

 

[dairydurham]

Exactly, milking really is dead time when you look at it and it should be minimised as far as practical. I won't ever understand folk who want to spend 7,8 or 9 hours a day stood in the pit, it's a waste of your time really.

I think your totally wrong, as when milking if at all interested in cows you see so much going on.Yield ,behaviour, seasons. Do you milk cows ?

 

[DairyGrazing]

This. Cow flow!

Milked a 1000+ cows through a 50/100 reed with no acrs in NZ so I get it but some of the above numbers are just nonsense

Your doing a fair bit of teat prep all year round if your going to keep doing this going forward then it needs to be factored in and you won't get high outputs like others

Thats the point I was making on the previous pages. Thought I was a genius when I first came home used to knock the sand off and sling the units on. Think we got a different bugs from somewhere in the autumn of 2017 and struggled for a few years.

We've sorted it in the winter but still suffer at different periods of the grazing season.

 

[DairyGrazing]

Agreed, every single place I've seen put in a rapid exit I've been unimpressed and quite frankly if they were mine I would have been massively disappointed.

The only 3 mod cons I think worth the money is acr's, adf clusters and an auto wash system

Dont forget the rubber matter in the pit!

I've seen 5 American style ones of varying sizes in the UK/IRE and they have all been unimpressive. Im proposing a swing over with a simple lift up tube front. 50 degree so it loads quickly and in an emergency they can still walk out the front.

 

[DairyGrazing]

I think your totally wrong, as when milking if at all interested in cows you see so much going on.Yield ,behaviour, seasons. Do you milk cows ?

Yeah I like seeing the yields as well one of the few good things about a jar parlour! I wouldn't want one of the stainless steel fast exit parlours with a muck pan as you only see the cows legs.

 

[Grassman247]

You what ?, I hear time & again on here it is robots with the savage maintenance costs

3 rotary parlours installed by members of my discussion group. All Milfos/GEA. 40, 50, 54 point. The 40 point has been in longest, 360 cows, one operator , block calved , high output herd.
Auto retention and deck spray on two, I haven’t seen the newest. Would expect help needed(understandably) at calving as they’re all block calvers.
Regarding running costs, I wouldn’t know, @Grassman247 has his finger on that pulse.

Local college has that, I quite like the idea, but many scoff and say you need two skilled rather than one and a monkey in a single large parlour!

8k a year on my 50 point Waikato, was about 4K when it first went in, it’s 12 years old and last time I checked the feeder counter had milked well over 5 million cows. I expect the bills to come down in the next few years as some major things like the feed auger needed replacing and the odd electric motor needed
People spending silly money on parlour Maintenance bills bought the wrong make.

As for the op getting a new parlour I wouldn’t listen to a single thing any dealer says, I like my dealer but they sell parlours and parts for a living the more out of hours call outs they do the better off they are. I think I’ve only had 3 in 12 years.
The key to good profitability going forward will be good working conditions for staff as they are the key drivers. Any parlour I put in the future will be as large as I can afford and a nice a place possible to milk in so that people come to work knowing they will go home on time and not have to worry about breakdowns or the parlour being frozen or roasting hot in the summer.
It’s like buying a new car and then 2 months down the line driving round on 3 wheels and accepting that is okay. Except your not driving the car it’s driving your staff mad instead.
Why farmers put up with it baffles me

 

[DairyGrazing]

I know I might not make myself very popular but you got to look after your staff they might not be able to home in he day to see the wife kids like you can. I know that the farmer has a lot more pressure / stress but you can't expect men too put 60 + hours a week it's not there farm and there wives won't stick it so if it's a toss between a job where you dont feel valued or your wife kids which would you choose?

Lucky in that regard as everyone lives in the village and the farm runs up to the back of their houses. So they go home for breakfast and lunch. Obviously wont be the case forever. We've had the same herdsman since 1988. He would never have picked his kids up from school unless he had a week off.

 

[DairyGrazing]

8k a year on my 50 point Waikato, was about 4K when it first went in, it’s 12 years old and last time I checked the feeder counter had milked well over 5 million cows. I expect the bills to come down in the next few years as some major things like the feed auger needed replacing and the odd electric motor needed
People spending silly money on parlour Maintenance bills bought the wrong make.

As for the op getting a new parlour I wouldn’t listen to a single thing any dealer says, I like my dealer but they sell parlours and parts for a living the more out of hours call outs they do the better off they are. I think I’ve only had 3 in 12 years.
The key to good profitability going forward will be good working conditions for staff as they are the key drivers. Any parlour I put in the future will be as large as I can afford and a nice a place possible to milk in so that people come to work knowing they will go home on time and not have to worry about breakdowns or the parlour being frozen or roasting hot in the summer.
It’s like buying a new car and then 2 months down the line driving round on 3 wheels and accepting that is okay. Except your not driving the car it’s driving your staff mad instead.
Why farmers put up with it baffles me

If you want the truth dont bother asking a farmer either!

Our dealer printed off all the parlour software reports so its as close to the truth as you are going to get give or take some yield meter inaccuracy. Other thing to do is go and stand there for a milking.