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Farm/dairy name: Penhill Farm
Owners: Andrew Richards
No of dairy cows: 110
Breed of cows: Holstein
Housing: Loose Housing
Milking system: 18 x 36 DeLaval Midiline 50° herringbone
Number of milkings per day: Two
“The new parlour has freed up a lot of time. Now I have more time for other important tasks... Cows and heifers are more content in the new parlour”
Milk from the pedigree herd won the National Milk Records top production award for Carmarthenshire last year and is supplied all year round to Golden Vale Creameries –now part of Kerry Plc. This year the herd was short listed for the prestigious RABDF Gold Cup competition.
The cows like the Euro 50 stalls. “Every cow has her own space and there is no bullying. And these stalls allow easier access to the clusters”. Andrew also like the stalls and is saving four to five hours a day by using them. “The new parlour has freed up a lot of time. Now I have more time for other important tasks and if there is a meeting I want to attend it is easier to finish at a decent time and get away earlier.”
The blue floor mats look good and are comfortable to walk on compared with a concrete floor. A useful addition to the drafting facilities is a cutter gate which allows Andrew to sort animals needing veterinary attention, AI service and hoof paring. He simply programs in the cow numbers the evening before and what was once a time consuming two person job, is now an easy task. There is also “less stress on the cows”.
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A new DeLaval parlour was installed in March 2004 and Andrew is delighted with his investment. His herd’s average yield is around 10,000 kilograms annually, with butterfat at 3.9 per cent and protein at 3.3 per cent.
Andrew says it was taking over three hours to milk 75 to 80 cows in the old 6/12 parlour. Cows were waiting in the yard and that wasn’t good for their feet, so Andrew decided to invest in the “best milking system available”. With his new 18/36 Midiline parlour Andrew says he is “milking over 100 cows per hour and the cows spend far less time in the yard, so they have more time for grazing and relaxation.” Milking is now so much easier that Andrew is considering milking three times a day and intends to increase cow numbers to 150/60 in due course.
“Cows and heifers are more content in the new parlour. There’s no danger of over-milking with the ACR system and no pressure on the milker”. Andrew says the Harmony clusters are “nice and light”, adding “there is no slippage as there was with old clusters; no need for kick bars and we have a lower cell count”.
The herd is fed using the DeLaval ALPRO computer, DeLaval out of parlour feeders and a TMR system. Andrew expects “to maintain yields and have more efficient concentrate usage” with ALPRO because it allows him to feed according to yield - avoiding under or overfeeding. It is also “easier to change rations”, he says.
The ALPRO computer allows Andrew to monitor feed consumption, herd health, milk yields and so on. It alerts him to cows due for service, repeats and potential problems such as mastitis.
The Hygenius C200 auto plant washer uses 40 per cent less water, less detergent and there is a significant saving on energy. According to Andrew it does a “better wash”.
“You must invest if you want to go forward... it makes life much easier,” says Andrew. He adds, “the new plant is a good long term investment.” He believes the new parlour and high tech equipment will improve herd health, save labour and reduce feed and veterinary costs. He mentions the activity meters which he is now using to good effect “to identify silent heats.”
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