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Farm/Dairy name: Allerhouse Farm
Owners: Richard & Sally Reed
No of dairy cows: 150
Breed of cows: Holstein
Housing: Cubicle building
Milking system: DeLaval 20x20 Herringbone parlour with full Alpro system
Number of milkings per day: Two
All Richard Reed wanted was to be a dairy farmer so together with wife Sally they sold up their house and risked everything to take on the tenancy of a county council holding of 60 acres together with a 6 x 6 abreast parlour. “Times were hard at the start but we managed” said Sally but their determination won through and the dairy farm was a success.
At this time the tenancy was coming to an end and the council had planned to amalgamate Richard’s farm with two others. Fortunately Richard’s father had decided to retire so they were able to rent his farm in June 2006 with the tenancy on the other farm running out in March 2007. This gave them nine months to get a new parlour sorted for their herd which now totalled 150 Holstein’s.
After looking around Sally and Richard decided on a DeLaval 20x20 herringbone parlour Richard said “we preferred a clear pit with nothing overhead and the one step to the next cow and unit appealed to us” “We wanted to go for yield per cow and think this type of parlour would allow us to give maximum attention to each animal”
The DeLaval parlour was installed by BH White who Richard didn’t know at the time. “We went to see some of their installations which looked nice and tidy and they had a good reputation with their customers. We have found them a friendly family company prepared to go the extra distance to give great service just when we need it” said Richard
We wanted to stay with DeLaval – it was not the cheapest but it is excellent value for money. We’ve been using it for over twelve months now and are very pleased with the performance.
The Reed’s are well set up now for a future in dairying which Richard sees to be bright He’s just a little disappointed that there aren’t enough youngsters prepared to have a go!
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