Our farm was established in 2009 on a leased dairy farm. For the past five years we have milked our cows in a double four parlor. What that means that on each side of the milking parlor, we can milk four cows at a time. This parlor was also designed to feed cows grain in the parlor while they are being milked. We do not feed grain in the parlor, so the grain feeders were just wasted space. The cows did not like having to stick their heads in empty grain feeders.
Milking Parlor Before Photo
We have been exploring our options of a new milking parlor for the past two years. Why would we want to upgrade?
- While waiting to be milked, the cows are waiting in the holding pin. We want them standing there for the least amount of time possible. The more cows you can milk at any given time reduces the amount of time they are waiting to be milked.
- While the cows are being milked, we want them to feel as comfortable as possible. Removing the grain feeders would give them more room.
- Our farm is a business. In order to keep our girls we love so much, we still have to run the farm as a business. The most financially draining part of our farm was the amount of time it took to milk the cows. Because the old parlor was so inefficient, we have had to have much more hired help than we can actually afford.
- Efficiency is key to any business. While being efficient affects the bottom line, on a dairy farm it affects the overall health of our animals.
So what were our options? We received several quotes, we felt like we did not have any options. The quotes were $60-$70,000 to do the upgrades to milk in a double six or eight milking parlor. Adding just a couple extra units was not cost-effective. So why did we not make the investment?
- Our farm is a leased farm. Any payment plan we would have entered would have exceeded our lease on this farm.
- We run a cash flow operation. We have no credit lines, credit cards, etc. We would like to keep it that way as we have dreams of owning our own farm. Staying out of debt is very important. We could not cash flow that kind of money.
- You cannot take it all with you when you go. Yes, there are parts of the upgrade that you can take but not the entire milking parlor.
What about used milking parlors? We explored our options looking at several used milking parlors. The thing you have to consider is that each parlor is designed for the space on that individual farm. A lot has to be “just right” in order to use someone else’s used parlor. Unfortunately, we were unable to find anything that would work on our farm.
To build or not to build? Our nutritionist told us about another farmer that had built his own milking parlor. He took farmer to go look at it. The set up was incredibly simple. By looking at that parlor it gave us a starting point for designing something that would fit in our space that would fit our cows.
So farmer took the measurements, drew up what he wanted and our local fabricating shop built it. Go big or go home must have been his motto as his plan included a double eight parlor. That means eight cows can be milked on each side at the same time. Once it was built it was sent off to be galvanized. Before we could install the parlor, we had to fill out an application through the Washington State Department of Agriculture to make the upgrade.
The Crew
In November a work crew that consisted of friends and family came to our farm. On a Saturday morning directly after milking while farmer was feeding the cows, the crew tore out our entire milking parlor (both sides).
Throughout the day farmer, an employee of ours, the crew and our dairy maintenance guy installed the entire milking parlor (before afternoon milking). It was ready for cows by the time they were supposed to be milked.
After Installation Photo
The first cows came in completely confused. Several turned around and went back out. Despite all the confusion amongst the cows, it shaved off an hour and a half off the milking time. Such a huge difference.
The cows are doing great, they still have their moments. Overall we are happy, the girls are happy and it is paid for. Keep a look out for a post that focuses more on the parlor design.
Krista Stauffer
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The new one is looking very modern and clean.
Yes it is. Nice to have new equipment.