Large numbers gathered as Dairymaster hosted their open day on the farm of John, Noreen and Billy Dunne in Ballyhimkin, Ladybridge, Co. Cork.
The Dunne family has embraced innovation to streamline their operations on their family farm, where they are milking 263 cows on a total of 134ha.
Recognising the need for reduced labour and increased efficiency, they installed a 26-unit Dairymaster parlour, fitted and serviced by East Cork/Waterford Dairy Services.
The open day provided a unique opportunity to see the state-of-the-art milking system in action, along with an in-depth analysis of the system they installed from Dairymaster representatives.
John spoke about how the parlour has made his life a lot easier on the farm and the reasons why he chose the Dairymaster parlour in the first place.
Dairymaster parlour
The Dairymaster parlour that was installed was a 26-unit, Swiftlfo, swing over parlour with sequential baling which allows for optimal cow flow, increased efficiency and reduced milking time.
The parlour also has cluster flush. Pat Ryan of Dairymaster said that “cluster flush controls infection brilliantly – as if a cow has an infection, the bacteria can stay on the liner and infect six to seven more cows on the same unit”.
“You will have a sterile cluster attaching the cow at all times, while reducing your somatic cell count,” he added.
The parlour is equipped with a diversion line, auto wash, and a variable speed milk pump, which pumps the milk gradually through the plate cooler, allowing for efficient cooling of your milk.
The 26-unit machine is also equipped with a variable speed vacuum pump which allows for extremely low enegy levels on the farm.
“A normal machine needs two pumps with 40 amps throughout milking, while the Dairymaster parlour only uses 15 amps throughout milking, with one bigger vacuum pump.
“In order to run one of these pumps, you don’t need three phase as it works on single phase and halves your running cost,” Ryan said.
John, along with his family also put in a three-way drafting unit which links up well with his commander box in the parlour, making his life easier when drafting and sorting cows for breeding.
“The drafting unit can be controlled through your phone, the commander box and even the feed box. It has been a great addition to the Dunne farm,” said Dairymaster design engineer, Padraic Harty.
Dairymaster
John urged the crowd before choosing a milking parlour to “go out to different farms with different parlours to see how their system works, as they will tell you the truth”.
Dunne said he was extremely happy with parlour so far, as he wouldn’t change a thing about it. He added that the parlour is a “lovely atmosphere to work in”.
Dunne was particularly impressed with the sequential baling, as he told attendees that six to seven heifers came in at once at first, “but they came in nice and tight and I only had to put a clamp on one or two of them and didn’t get kicked at all”.
The sequential baling also allows for rapid cow flow and saves a lot of time when you’re milking, he said.
“It’s a dream of a parlour, with plenty of comfort and room and it is all about cow flow,” he added.
John was full of praise for the backup service he receives with the parlour, as he told those in attendance that he had an issue in the early hours of the morning and Dairymaster showed up 20 minutes later.