Milking Parlor Development...
Developing
a remodeled parlor can be an exciting process. It can also become complicated
and sometimes overwhelming, but it can be done by following the process step by
step. Determining your likes and dislikes is the most important part of the
process and will affect whether the resulting facility is something you love,
or tolerate, or hate. The first step is to develop a list of business and
personal goals. Use this list as a guide and follow it during the design
process. When decisions need to be made, use this list to help decide if a
particular decision accomplishes the goals listed.
Most
families have specific personal and business goals they are trying to achieve
with the decision to remodel a parlor and change the way they milk cows. Here
are some common goals offered by farms that went through the planning and
design process:
·
Improved health of back, knees, and hips
·
Improved labor efficiency
·
Improved quality of life
·
Improved milker safety
·
Improved profitability
People use a variety of terms to
describe the idea of building a low cost parlor. “New
Zealand” parlor,
“swing” parlor, and “low cost” parlor are terms that have been used in the
popular press to
describe what has been implemented on many farms. These terms are not
very accurate in
describing what is possible in planning, designing, and constructing a
remodeled
parlor.
The term "New Zealand” parlor
is a good example. New Zealand has all kinds of parlors, including
herringbones, parallels, and rotaries. The "New Zealand" parlor term
commonlyused by the media describes a parlor where the cows stand in a
herringbone arrangement with a parking angle of around 70 degrees. The milking
system uses a high or mid-high milk line over the operator area with one
milking unit shared between two stalls. The milking unit is swung from one side
of the parlor to the other and is attached to the udder from the rear. The“New
Zealand “ parlor also describes a parlor that has a simple stall design, with
the cows standing between a breast rail and a kick rail.
Even the term “low cost” has some
negative connotation. To some it may mean “cheap”. To others building a “low
cost” parlor is a major goal of the farm and the achievement of that goal has
allowed the farm to continue in the dairy industry. In many cases an existing
structure such as the stanchion/tie stall barn is remodeled into a parlor to
save the costs of a new shell and milkhouse.
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