Parlour Option

Which parlour to milk 200 cows an hour

  • 32/64 with feeders

    Votes: 17 23.3%
  • 32/64 with basic fast exit

    Votes: 8 11.0%
  • 50/60 point rotary.

    Votes: 48 65.8%

  • Total voters
    73

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
We are milking for more than 3 hours at the moment with an extra 150 heifers to calf in the next 12 months.

I'd like to milk 200 cows an hour. Holsteins 9500litres+ average so 30-33 a day. Currently do a mix of foaming/washable wipe on fresher calvers and soaked washable wipe on the rest.

I would only consider ATL/Milfos/GEA.

Interestingly I've spoken to a few fitters from different companies and they all said if they were milking themselves they wouldn't have a rotary.

An example of the style of fast exit i'm considering.
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
My reason for rotary is it will be the most likely to be easily automated in time the rapid exit can't see automation happening.

Automated exit and teat spraying exist now. Automatic clusters on has been worked on for years but it will arrive and will be a retrofit option when available.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
We are milking for more than 3 hours at the moment with an extra 150 heifers to calf in the next 12 months.

I'd like to milk 200 cows an hour. Holsteins 9500litres+ average so 30-33 a day. Currently do a mix of foaming/washable wipe on fresher calvers and soaked washable wipe on the rest.

I would only consider ATL/Milfos/GEA.

Interestingly I've spoken to a few fitters from different companies and they all said if they were milking themselves they wouldn't have a rotary.

An example of the style of fast exit i'm considering.
I recently watched a video, milking 5100 cows, double fast exit, the most striking thing was there was someone in the collecting yard bringing cows in, plus an abundance of parlour milkers.
Three members of my discussion group have put in rotaries in the last two years, one has a 40 pointer, autumn calves, has just passed 10k litres and milks 350 cows with one operator in 2 hours, washed out. If you can afford it, rotary would get my vote.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
We are milking for more than 3 hours at the moment with an extra 150 heifers to calf in the next 12 months.

I'd like to milk 200 cows an hour. Holsteins 9500litres+ average so 30-33 a day. Currently do a mix of foaming/washable wipe on fresher calvers and soaked washable wipe on the rest.

I would only consider ATL/Milfos/GEA.

Interestingly I've spoken to a few fitters from different companies and they all said if they were milking themselves they wouldn't have a rotary.

An example of the style of fast exit i'm considering.
Trouble is your "fitters" are fitters, not dairy farmers or milkers. If they were I'm fairly sure after a few weeks they'd change their mind.
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
I probably have not milked in enough parlors to have much knowledge of outputs. I would be surprised though if anything could beat an appropriately set up rotary for output and labor efficiency. Took me a long time to get used to a rotary though and they cost more than a regular parlor. However you are less fatigued at the end of milking and cow flow is effortless.

Your routine could be accomplished with two people on a rotary with acrs and retaining bars with some form of teat spraying.

Rapid exit appears to be an overhyped oversold feature that doesn’t do much for output. Popular option in the US though no doubt.

I’m very well versed in long milking times unfortunately. I grew up in a double six putting 290 cows through it. 6 hours. Per milking
 

Bald Rick

Moderator
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
Easy to achieve 300+/hr on an appropriately sized rotary.

Work out how much time is considered about right to milk and go from there
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,286
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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