Simplicity is the key to parlour for the 21st century

摘要

Devon-based organic farmer Oliver Dowding has completely re-organised his dairy enterprise putting in a new 60/30 parlour and housing which allows for expansion up to 500 cows. Mary Richards went to see the new set up. Whereas it used to take organicdairy farmer Oliver Dowding three hours to milk 145 cows, his new 60/30 herringbone parlour lets him complete the task in just over an hour. On his 360ha dairy and arable unit, at Shepton Montague, near Wincanton, he used to milk 300 pedigree British Holsteins in two herds - on separate sites - using two parlours, a 10/10 and a 20/10, but the system involved a lot of road work. "One of the sites was in the middle of tenanted land and dissected by a road," Oliver says, "which made movement of tractors and cattle difficult and wasted a lot of man hours."