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Cow comfort takes priority for conventional milking system
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Watch: GEA Rapid Exit Parlour reduces milking hours for a Co. Waterford farmer
Third-generation farmer Patrick Kirwan is milking 200 homebred Holstein Friesians, supplying Tirlan all year round on his 110-milking platform in Kill, Co Waterford.
Up until 2023, Patrick, along with his dad Thomas, his partner and three children, were milking the herd through a 10-unit parlour which was not fit for purpose and or the expansion of the herd.
To view the GEA Rapid Exit Parlour in action, GEA and Waterford FRS invite everyone to a farm open day on Thursday, August 7 at Kirwan's Farm, Kill, Co. Waterford (Eircode: X42K751). The Farm Open Day is from 11:00a.m to 3:00p.m.
Patrick, who is milking the herd twice a day, said: “We did a lot of research into types of parlours to consider looking at rotaries and the rapid exit.
"We knew we wanted GEA, as our previous GEA parlour had served us well for 20 years.
"The decision was made to choose the rapid exit parlour as I felt that with 200 cows, we were not milking enough to justify the rotary and with cow comfort being one of the main priorities, I felt the rapid exit worked best for our set-up.”
The 24/48 GEA Rapid Exit parlour improves cow management, operator comfort and milking times, for which each milking takes the Kirwan family approximately 90 minutes, including wash up.
The parlour also has a stainless-steel dung tray fitted, which increases operator comfort and reduces wash-up time.
Automatic drafting allow the milker to draft cows throughout the milking.
Fold-up wash trays at waist height allows easy set-up for washing.
IQ clusters are installed, which limit any vacuum fluctuations and are designed to move milk from each quarter with minimum turbulence, with no cross-contamination.
Plus, if the cups are kicked off during milking, the vacuum automatically shuts off to prevent contaminants from entering the milk supply.
Patrick also has automatic cluster removers, further supporting the efficiency of the parlour.
The parlour is fitted with the latest herd management technology, including Metatron DT70 control boxes, which show individual cow data from milk flow to milk quality, including conductivity, which will highlight possible udder infections before any clinical symptoms are showing.
DairyPlan
All information is forwarded directly to the herd management programme, DairyPlan.
The herd are grazed with approximately 5kg of meal fed daily through the in-parlour feeders using feed to yield (FTY).
Cows are also buffer fed most of the year. Average yields are about 27L per day at peak.
The DairyPlan herd management software used by Patrick is the flexible solution that allows him to manage both his spring and autumn calving groups effectively and easily, ensuring both groups are always fed correctly in relation to milk yield and days in milk.
This was one of the most important items for Patrick on any new system installed, as it allows great flexibility when running both groups together.
“A key feature I like is the fact that cows have individual spots in the parlour, making the cows happy and comfortable when they are being milked.
"The new shed where we installed the parlour gives us the space for the parlour and the team to milk efficiently. The heifers adapt quickly and settle well through the parlour," Patrick added.
The herd are calved in spring and autumn, and to support breeding, Patrick invested in CowScout, which reliably tells him when the cows are ready for insemination.
CowScout
CowScout is GEA’s highly reliable and accurate heat detection and health monitoring system.
Cows are monitored 24/7 with convenient alert functions directly to the farm computer or phone.
Attached to the collars, the sensor provides constant heat monitoring and display of the optimal insemination time. It also notifies of any reduced eating and rumination times to enable early detection of health problems.
“CowScout has taken the pressure off as it is monitoring our cows 24/7 for us. We check the computer and can immediately see periods of high activity for each individual animal.
"This provides us with information to provide that cow with the attention required within 24 hours for successful fertility and health management!” says Patrick, who now has reliable animal identification in the milking parlour.
“The support and continued service from Eamon Phelan and the team at Waterford FRS has been really good, and no matter what day of the week, if we need their help, they are there.
"We are delighted with the new parlour, making milking our cows enjoyable and rewarding,” concludes Patrick.
GEA dealer
Waterford FRS have been a GEA dealer since 2010. They cover the south-east of Ireland, with customers in counties Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford.
Their service includes new installations, service and breakdown cover. They are supported in this by GEA Ireland in sales, spares and technical backup.
To register for the Farm Open Day, please RSVP to Eugene Jordon on 0860125518 or by email at [email protected]
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