double up or mid line milking parlor

patD22

Calling all dairy farmers I am going about a new parlor the current one is a basic 5 unit double up parlor that is 40 years old. I am intending to milking 100 cows no more than 120. In this part of the country we farmers like to finish milking and be home for 6.30 quality of life is important.

So in another words I would like to milk the cows (excluding spring time) in under an hour and the milking done properly. most of my nebiours would have 16 - 20 unit parlors the sales reps are saying 18 units but one sales reps is wanting me to install a 10 unit double up (in real terms that is a 15 unit parlor) his reason for this is that the cows will be milked properly in an hour but I will be able to spend time on prepping the cow before milking her and hence better quality milk.

What my question is are there any farmers out there who installed double up parlor on a green field site or have gone with the gang and put in a mid line parlor and those with a double up are you happy in that parlor and if building again would you stay in a double up parlor. I intend going with full bells and whisles

kevthegaff

patD22 wrote: »

Calling all dairy farmers I am going about a new parlor the current one is a basic 5 unit double up parlor that is 40 years old. I am intending to milking 100 cows no more than 120. In this part of the country we farmers like to finish milking and be home for 6.30 quality of life is important.

So in another words I would like to milk the cows (excluding spring time) in under an hour and the milking done properly. most of my nebiours would have 16 - 20 unit parlors the sales reps are saying 18 units but one sales reps is wanting me to install a 10 unit double up (in real terms that is a 15 unit parlor) his reason for this is that the cows will be milked properly in an hour but I will be able to spend time on prepping the cow before milking her and hence better quality milk.

What my question is are there any farmers out there who installed double up parlor on a green field site or have gone with the gang and put in a mid line parlor and those with a double up are you happy in that parlor and if building again would you stay in a double up parlor. I intend going with full bells and whisles

if you want lots of time for prepping, cleanin cows etc. id go for a 16 unit with cluster removers and the option of another 4 units

bbam

Double up parlours are only really a solution where the length of the parlour is a problem and your trying to fit in capacity.

A Mid line parlour will give good throughput and value for money..
14 units on a good machine don't need cluster removers, they would only be needed from 16 units onward. More handy on a 14 unit that needed.

kevthegaff

bbam wrote: »

Double up parlours are only really a solution where the length of the parlour is a problem and your trying to fit in capacity.

A Mid line parlour will give good throughput and value for money..
14 units on a good machine don't need cluster removers, they would only be needed from 16 units onward. More handy on a 14 unit that needed.

i reckon tho for 120 cows a 14 unit is 8 and a half rows which would take an hour and a half to milk at least. Also u would be busy on your own milking, very hard to prep or wash the cows, so overmilking is possible. im currently milking 80 in over an hour and twenty with a 12 unit.

Tipp Man

No matter what parlour you put up and how much money you spend you are going to be hard pushed to milk 120 in under an hour if you are by yourself and intend washing and drawing each cow

We put up a 14 unit 5 years ago - every cow drawn every milking - 98 cows going through it this year and it takes a little over an hour by yourself - 45 mins when there are 2 of us in the parlour. Now if you remove drawing every cow from the equation with 1 man in the parlour then the times would drop considerably - especially this time of year when yields start to fall - but 45 is about as fast as it goes

Personally think cluster removers are an absolute necessity - we initially didn't set them up with the parlour but added them in after about 5 months - money well spent and i don't think we'll ever milk cows without them again. If you are more often than not going to be in the parlour yourself and if you are going more than 10 units then i would consider them a necessity

whelan1

Tipp Man wrote: »

No matter what parlour you put up and how much money you spend you are going to be hard pushed to milk 120 in under an hour if you are by yourself and intend washing and drawing each cow

We put up a 14 unit 5 years ago - every cow drawn every milking - 98 cows going through it this year and it takes a little over an hour by yourself - 45 mins when there are 2 of us in the parlour. Now if you remove drawing every cow from the equation with 1 man in the parlour then the times would drop considerably - especially this time of year when yields start to fall - but 45 is about as fast as it goes

Personally think cluster removers are an absolute necessity - we initially didn't set them up with the parlour but added them in after about 5 months - money well spent and i don't think we'll ever milk cows without them again. If you are more often than not going to be in the parlour yourself and if you are going more than 10 units then i would consider them a necessity

we have 15 units with cluster removers, at the minute milking 130 takes an hour with 2 people, fore milked,teat sprayed etc.... on my own about 1 hour 15 .... would have 150 earlier on in the year wouldnt go any more cows with 15 units imo

John_F

OP whats your calving pattern? and also what type of cows have you? if its fairly compact calving then a swing over is probably the best for throughput in terms of cows per hour. but if your yields are all over the place and your holding up rows / the next cow letting down milk with out a machine on then in my opinion the double up is the best option. this is why its so common in the UK where seasonal milk production is scarce due to the liquid market being so dominant. A double up does give you more time to prep cows giving better let down, more milk harvested etc.. but swing over will (in a seasonal herd) give you cows per hour...... in my opinion. but which is more important> cows per hour or litres of milk per hour?

just curious... what make machine you are thinking of installing??

maxxuumman

I started off with 12 units, with cluster removers 10 yrs ago. Then added 6 units 3 yrs ago. 18 units with cluster removers now and cows are auto fed.
I don't pre draw the cows, but I do post spray. @18 units you'll be kept busy. I'm used to it so I'm able to keep up with the cows, but the frs guy took along time to get used to it. only 1 person ever in the parlour.
IMO at 12 or over, cluster removers should be mandatory. It is very hard to consistently milk cows every day when you are watching more than 12 units. At this time of the year you will see cluster coming off cows in a completely different order to the way they were put on. Over milking causes as much mastitis as under milking. And with ACRs whether you are there or not, the cows get milked the same way.
My cell count is always under 200
And usually around the 20-30 mark. That's not down to me, I'm putting it down to ACRs and a good post spray.

A parlour is a big spend. But one of the few things, that you can justify spending to get the right thing.

If I was in your shoe, aiming for 120 cows, I'd go with a 14 (or 12 with room for 2 more units). In time you have a choice then to either add 2units to the 12 or double up the 12. If you do go down that route, get the price now for additional work you may do in a couple of years. Adding bits to a parlour can be expensive when you have your colours nailed to one particular mast.
Remember there are other ways to speed up milking besides adding units. E.g good cow flow, auto plant washer, easily cleaned standind/exit area.

PS On doubled up parlour, I read a study some where where apparently the most economically fast herringbone for 1 person is 14 units doubled up. Any bigger you loose time on cows entering and exiting. Any smaller operator is not at his optimum.

Best of luck with your decision.

mooverlive

built a new parlour in 2006 , went to see alot of machines and met alot of wise farmers, had intended in putting a 16 unit midline with room for 4 more units . when visiting these farmers first question was how many units i was thinking of installing and how many cows was i going to milk . the guys who had 16 all bar none regretted they didnt go to 20 units and the guys who had 20 regretted not going 24. i put in a 20 unit,now from my experience ,cow flow in a problem especially from mid august on they take ages to get them out of parlour still milking 100 in the hour in morning + washing out . when buying make sure u buy all ur units going back a in a couple of years and adding on , uwill b fleeced they have u over a barrell best of luck