Dairy chit chat II

farisfat

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Have acrs with jars with 3 years now. Get the auto activated ones so they switch on as soon as you lift the cluster. Neighbour retro fitted them after milking here one evening for €100 a unit iirc. A bit cheaper if going in first day I'd say.

You might be able to pm the cost of fitting thanks far

kowtow

farisfat wrote:

You might be able to pm the cost of fitting thanks far

I'd be interested as well. Have been looking at delaval acrs to go with jars but confused about how they integrate with wash or release. ATL say they have a special acr for jars where you can switch everything to wash from one unit for example.

Really want to dump every cluster on a wash line and hit the tit to wash while I do something else. then hit start at the next milking and they all lift.. Not sure how realistic that Is?

Coolfresian

How do people find working in a narrow pit?Putting in a new unit too but restricted by space. It l prob be 4 ft 8. Anyone using feed to yield or is it worth the extra outlay?

Buford T. Justice XIX

farisfat wrote: »

You might be able to pm the cost of fitting thanks far

A lot will depend on what you have already in terms of switches but you are looking at €1k a unit or thereabouts.

visatorro

Keepgrowing wrote: »

They are an utter waste of time and money both the jars and acrs. You'd need to be passing 20 units to consider Acrs

I'd personally go for auto drafting

I kindof agree with you in that I think you can do without them. But I'd imagine any fella that put them in would never be without them. Verging on a luxury item but then again if your going to stand in a parlour most of your working life you might aswell make it as comfortable as possible.

Think Timmaay mentioned before about feeding calves between rows. At least you could come back and not have the tits pulled off cows if you got delayed. So maybe handy for one man show trying to do a couple of jobs at once.

Don't have acr's here and now don't think a new entrant needs to spend the extra cash on them straight away but once cashflow settled and a better handle on bills I'd see them as a good addition.

The part time boy

Lot of advanages to arc . Your cows will always be milked the same way no matter who doing the milking . U could have a farmer who likes to keep clusters on till there not a drop left and a relief Miller who likes to pull it off once milk slows down .

Also as all ready stated you could feed calves during rows . Also know a another fella that some morning he put clusters on last row and run up and bring kids to school 15 min job .

I never came across anyone who put in arc and regretted it

mahoney_j

Coolfresian wrote: »

How do people find working in a narrow pit?Putting in a new unit too but restricted by space. It l prob be 4 ft 8. Anyone using feed to yield or is it worth the extra outlay?

Ideally you'd want put 6 foot wide at least ,feed tonyield yes ,def worthbinvestement ,very quick pay back allows targeted feeding of better producing cows ,better cow condition etc

Coolfresian

mahoney_j wrote: »

Ideally you'd want put 6 foot wide at least ,feed tonyield yes ,def worthbinvestement ,very quick pay back allows targeted feeding of better producing cows ,better cow condition etc

Thanks, yea il have to see what i can do with pit width and get it to 5 feet if possible. Will prob go with field to yield as anyone that has it and makes use if it seems very happy and can see results. Does it take much maintenance or can much go wrong with it? Are swingover arms worth the investment?

mahoney_j

Coolfresian wrote: »

Thanks, yea il have to see what i can do with pit width and get it to 5 feet if possible. Will prob go with field to yield as anyone that has it and makes use if it seems very happy and can see results. Does it take much maintenance or can much go wrong with it? Are swingover arms worth the investment?

No mantinance with the fty ,computer controls feeding ,swingover arms again idcsay yes even more so in narrower pit .if your stuck with narrow pit u don't need obstacles .are u building on existing site or from scratch ,I could of built on old parlour site but glad I didn't ,narrow pit low roof poor cow flow ,if I did build there it would never of been right nor allowed for further expansion

Mooooo

For the feed to yield what are required for that to work, milk metres, identification tags, anything else?

Coolfresian

mahoney_j wrote: »

No mantinance with the fty ,computer controls feeding ,swingover arms again idcsay yes even more so in narrower pit .if your stuck with narrow pit u don't need obstacles .are u building on existing site or from scratch ,I could of built on old parlour site but glad I didn't ,narrow pit low roof poor cow flow ,if I did build there it would never of been right nor allowed for further expansion

Building on the same site as it suits the farmyard layout and near existing sheds. The pit dept and cow flow is good, its just the width of the pit that has me snookered a bit. Looking a 20 units and leaving room for 4 more in future. FTy should be a big help mgt wise as calving all year round

johnny122

Coolfresian wrote: »

Building on the same site as it suits the farmyard layout and near existing sheds. The pit dept and cow flow is good, its just the width of the pit that has me snookered a bit. Looking a 20 units and leaving room for 4 more in future. FTy should be a big help mgt wise as calving all year round

Its workable but borderline at just less than 5'. Biggest issue is your own wear n tear. Hard on knees n hips as your turning in tight circle all the time. The parlour to be fair can be fitted in around it. Don't see acrs as a luxury item more an essential item for over 10 units. Less mastitis easier work with no overmilking. Anyone saying you don't need them until 20units is living in denial. And just don't want to spend the money.

GrasstoMilk

johnny122 wrote: »

Its workable but borderline at just less than 5'. Biggest issue is your own wear n tear. Hard on knees n hips as your turning in tight circle all the time. The parlour to be fair can be fitted in around it. Don't see acrs as a luxury item more an essential item for over 10 units. Less mastitis easier work with no overmilking. Anyone saying you don't need them until 20units is living in denial. And just don't want to spend the money.

Milked in 2 16 unit parlours when I did relief milking. Preferred to milk in the parlour with no removers and more cows tbh. Cow flow was better, parlour was brighter and much more enjoyable to work in. For me it would be get everything else right before putting them in but if you're going over 16 units I think they're needed

The parlour with removers had all the bells and whistles but you had to leave the pit every time to push in cows and had to push the last cows out of the parlour

Mooooo

14 units is manageable without acrs, no issue with them either way but if money is tight id spend it on drafting. Just draft out problem cows in spring and deal with them at the end and can be used for ai etc as well

johnny122

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Milked in 2 16 unit parlours when I did relief milking. Preferred to milk in the parlour with no removers and more cows tbh. Cow flow was better, parlour was brighter and much more enjoyable to work in. For me it would be get everything else right before putting them in but if you're going over 16 units I think they're needed

The parlour with removers had all the bells and whistles but you had to leave the pit every time to push in cows and had to push the last cows out of the parlour

Agreed cow flow makes or breakes a parlour. If ya can't get em in n out fast your slowed up. But cluster removers can't solve this. Everyone has preferences for or not n when younger you may not want to wait for them but as the years go on and with different milkers they are invaluable. They are not really that expensive either if getting a Grant. Around 6 r 7 hundred a unit. Sure tis not much in the grand scheme of new parlour

Sam Kade

The part time boy wrote: »

Lot of advanages to arc . Your cows will always be milked the same way no matter who doing the milking . U could have a farmer who likes to keep clusters on till there not a drop left and a relief Miller who likes to pull it off once milk slows down .

Also as all ready stated you could feed calves during rows . Also know a another fella that some morning he put clusters on last row and run up and bring kids to school 15 min job .

I never came across anyone who put in arc and regretted it

He would be better off getting up 15 minutes earlier, lazy sod.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Coolfresian wrote: »

How do people find working in a narrow pit?Putting in a new unit too but restricted by space. It l prob be 4 ft 8. Anyone using feed to yield or is it worth the extra outlay?

If you get a chance, go and see a lad in Laois with a narrow pit, about 4 foot wide. You just swing the units across from one side to the other and not walk down the pit. His kids used milk for him when they were young, it was that simple.

Looking at his setup really changed my mind about widths of parlour. I can PM you his name if you're interested, top operator and very open guy.

the_blue_oval

kevthegaff wrote: »

Getting prices on 20 unit parlour, going with removers , low line wash line, ( dumpline more than likely) mats maybe as bad knee from hurling, 😠.. any suggestions on extras and makes?

Would definitely put mats in the pit, they're a great job.

Dumpline is very handy. but we run a second herd here for any cows out of the tank or any lame cows, less risk of letting an inhibitor cow into the tank, or forgetting to change back from the dumpline to the main milk line and makes milking more relaxed for the main herd..

On acrs, I've milked in a couple of parlours with them, and at work weve a 20 unit with no acrs, and can't say I've missed the acrs at all. They slow down milking a fair bit, and find the swing over arms a right pain when milk recording.. no issues with scc or mastitis with out the acrs and there does be a few different people milking throughout the year..

Would find it very hard to justify landing out 20 grand for acrs, would put the money into good drafting, auto washer and either a flush wash system or backing gate for the collecting yard, would reducing milking time by 30mins a day for the whole year. Would be no need to leave the pit at all during milking and the auto washer would eliminate the risk of someone letting the wash into the bulk tank if you're going to have other people milking for you aswell.

Coolfresian

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

If you get a chance, go and see a lad in Laois with a narrow pit, about 4 foot wide. You just swing the units across from one side to the other and not walk down the pit. His kids used milk for him when they were young, it was that simple.

Looking at his setup really changed my mind about widths of parlour. I can PM you his name if you're interested, top operator and very open guy.

Yea sounds a good interesting setup. Lots of very good ideas out there and the more i look into it people are making narrow pits work. One farmer i know of purpose built his pit to be narrow.

Keepgrowing

Coolfresian wrote: »

How do people find working in a narrow pit?Putting in a new unit too but restricted by space. It l prob be 4 ft 8. Anyone using feed to yield or is it worth the extra outlay?

I took a few snaps for you this am. Feel free to call for a look. The pit is 4' 10" but not too narrow. If the jars were gone and with low line wash there'd be loads of room. I also have a 5' pit with no acr or jars and loads of room

mf240

Would you be better off putting in an extra couple of units of basic ; rather than the bells and whistles.

Coolfresian

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I took a few snaps for you this am. Feel free to call for a look. The pit is 4' 10" but not too narrow. If the jars were gone and with low line wash there'd be loads of room. I also have a 5' pit with no acr or jars and loads of room

Thanks, that looks a great job. Very similar to the space id have. im switching from jars to meters and a low wash line so that l free more space in my pit. Do u find it easy enough to work in? Would u think acrs and swingover arms are needed for a 20 unit in a narrow pit. Would u put them in if doing it again?

Keepgrowing

Coolfresian wrote: »

Thanks, that looks a great job. Very similar to the space id have. im switching from jars to meters and a low wash line so that l free more space in my pit. Do u find it easy enough to work in? Would u think acrs and swingover arms are needed for a 20 unit in a narrow pit. Would u put them in if doing it again?

Personally I wouldn't put in removers unless passing 20 units. This parlour is 100% well 90% run on paid labour. We moved here in April and had planned extending to 16 this winter and taking out the jars and acr but milker wants them. If that keeps him happy then I'm ok with that.

If you'd like them go for it but I find them a pain tbh. Jars are a complete bollix, I just don't see the need. Another dirt catcher. You'll notice that this is a narrow building and we milk in front of the leg as opposed to between them again no issue.

stretch film

the_blue_oval wrote: »

Would definitely put mats in the pit, they're a great job.

Dumpline is very handy. but we run a second herd here for any cows out of the tank or any lame cows, less risk of letting an inhibitor cow into the tank, or forgetting to change back from the dumpline to the main milk line and makes milking more relaxed for the main herd..

On acrs, I've milked in a couple of parlours with them, and at work weve a 20 unit with no acrs, and can't say I've missed the acrs at all. They slow down milking a fair bit, and find the swing over arms a right pain when milk recording.. no issues with scc or mastitis with out the acrs and there does be a few different people milking throughout the year..

Would find it very hard to justify landing out 20 grand for acrs, would put the money into good drafting, auto washer and either a flush wash system or backing gate for the collecting yard, would reducing milking time by 30mins a day for the whole year. Would be no need to leave the pit at all during milking and the auto washer would eliminate the risk of someone letting the wash into the bulk tank if you're going to have other people milking for you aswell.

how do cluster removers slow down milking .
It's a line that's often put out there and I've yet tho see it backed up .
Serious question .

the_blue_oval

stretch film wrote: »

how do cluster removers slow down milking .
It's a line that's often put out there and I've yet tho see it backed up .
Serious question .

Having to settle the cluster, make sure the twine for the acr isn't tangled and having to swing over the swing over arm are the big killers. as opposed to just taking the cluster off the cow, it'll be someway right in your hand when you take it off, and a little flick of the wrist will settle all the cups as your crossing over the pit to the other side, so there's no delay at all.

The 20 unit i milked in with acrs was taking me about 9mins a row, from starting to cup the row to letting in the next row. It had 2"6 centres and individual mangers.

The 20unit with no acrs is taking under 7mins a row. This parlour has 2"2 centres with head locking barriers. Cow flow on entry and exit on both the parlours is pretty much identical. And milk yield is very similar on both farms.

That's working out somewhere between 40-50 cows an hour more in the parlour with no acr, which is a huge difference considering they both have the same number of units and cow flow on entry and exit is the same. Don't find myself much busier or under any pressure in the parlour with no acrs. If I had to choose between which one to build for myself with out even taking money into consideration I'd more than likely go without acrs.

awaywithyou

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I took a few snaps for you this am. Feel free to call for a look. The pit is 4' 10" but not too narrow. If the jars were gone and with low line wash there'd be loads of room. I also have a 5' pit with no acr or jars and loads of room

Since we moved to rotary parlour.... Don't think I'd last too long in a herringbone esp one like in those pics.... Don't think I could handle the confinement......

awaywithyou

Coolfresian wrote: »

Building on the same site as it suits the farmyard layout and near existing sheds. The pit dept and cow flow is good, its just the width of the pit that has me snookered a bit. Looking a 20 units and leaving room for 4 more in future. FTy should be a big help mgt wise as calving all year round

Feed-to-yield is a super job

White Clover

Keepgrowing wrote: »

I took a few snaps for you this am. Feel free to call for a look. The pit is 4' 10" but not too narrow. If the jars were gone and with low line wash there'd be loads of room. I also have a 5' pit with no acr or jars and loads of room

Fine parlour there. Do the cows step up into the parlour?

cute geoge

awaywithyou wrote: »

Since we moved to rotary parlour.... Don't think I'd last too long in a herringbone esp one like in those pics.... Don't think I could handle the confinement......

Trow up a few pics.

atlantic mist

we have acr with 20 units, one person can handle all milking putting 140 cows through in an hour 20. while attaching the second last unit the first one is coming off so from a work flow it works well. we dont leave the pit during milking but cows getting fed meal here so they run in

we put pit as wide as possible at 2.3 meters, cant beat a bit of space especially with cluster removers, nice slap off them if your standing in wrong place