Jim Dockery from the Farm Relief Services says that to get an idea of what life is like for a cow, you’d want to go down on your hands and knees and walk from the paddock to the parlour and back out again.
This is to see and feel things from the cow’s perspective.
He was speaking about cow flow on Conor Fitzpatrick’s farm. Conor is milking 160 cows through a 20-unit parlour, overlooking the town of Mallow in Cork.
The parlour was put in a number of years ago, with a new bulk tank installed recently. Conor hosted a Milking Smarter event in July, which was organised by AHI, FRS, Teagasc and Dairygold Co-op.
Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services explaining how he would improve cow flow in Conor Fitzpatrick's collecting yard.
“Conor has a well laid-out farm, with a good network of roadways and the parlour is in a central location. But there are still a few small things that we could improve, which should in turn help to improve cow flow,” Jim said.
Roadways
The first thing that Jim commented on was the farm roadways. The roadways leading into the parlour are wide and have a smooth surface, which Jim said was good.
However, he spent a good bit of time looking at the point where the stone surface of the roadway meets the concrete surface of the farmyard.
“You see there’s a bit of a hollow in the roadway just before it meets the concrete.
"Now the weather is dry at the moment but I wonder what it’s like when the weather is wet? Can the water escape?
"I’d say that hollow should be filled in and the roadway sloped back to the drain to take the surface water,” Jim said.
The worst type of stones are small, sharp stones because there’s no give in them
“Stone pebbles on concrete is a major cause of lameness and it also slows down cow flow as cows slow down to pick their steps and avoid walking on the stone.
"The worst type of stones are small, sharp stones because there’s no give in them, particularly not on concrete so if a cow walks on them the stones will go up into her hoof,” he said.
Jim says this post could be an obstruction to cow flow as cows might be afraid of getting pushed into it.
He said that the area between the roadway and the concrete yard should be kept clean and clear of stones. He said a concrete kerb can help to prevent stones getting dragged on to the concrete.
Another thing he noticed in Conor’s yard was a steel post near the entrance to the yard, used for holding up a wire.
Cows pass the post as they enter the yard and most people would take no notice of it but Jim said it’s a potential obstruction;
“A shy cow might be fearful of getting pushed into it by a more dominant cow, so she would probably be inclined to stay away from the post which would make the herd nervous and reduce cow flow into the yard.”
Collecting yard
“You can tell a lot by looking at the steel both in the yard and in the parlour. Shiny steel on bars and gates is an indicator that it’s being rubbed by the cows. It highlights potential pinch points,” Jim said.
Not all the cows in Conor Fitzpatrick’s herd can fit in his collecting yard, meaning gates need to be adjusted and cows moved during milking.
Jim said he measured the yard and 104 cows can fit in what space is there, before the 40 cows that go into the parlour are counted.
In this yard, there’s a lot of ‘churning’ of cows as they are forced to fit into another area next to the collecting yard
However, he said all the cows should be able to fit in the yard and leaving some into the parlour before milking isn’t ideal.
“In this yard, there’s a lot of ‘churning’ of cows as they are forced to fit into another area next to the collecting yard.
"This means that they are facing away from the parlour and not towards the parlour which affects cow flow.
"In an ideal world, the collecting yard and handling unit would be re-configured to take all the cows in one bunch and the crush would be pointing in the direction of the cow paddocks, not away from it, which would mean they leave the parlour and fill the crush a bit easier,” Jim said.
The entrance to the parlour was also looked at.
At the moment, the cows enter the parlour through openings in a block wall, which makes the interior of the parlour look dark from the outside.
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Jim Dockery from the Farm Relief Services says that to get an idea of what life is like for a cow, you’d want to go down on your hands and knees and walk from the paddock to the parlour and back out again.
This is to see and feel things from the cow’s perspective.
He was speaking about cow flow on Conor Fitzpatrick’s farm. Conor is milking 160 cows through a 20-unit parlour, overlooking the town of Mallow in Cork.
The parlour was put in a number of years ago, with a new bulk tank installed recently. Conor hosted a Milking Smarter event in July, which was organised by AHI, FRS, Teagasc and Dairygold Co-op.
Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services explaining how he would improve cow flow in Conor Fitzpatrick's collecting yard.
“Conor has a well laid-out farm, with a good network of roadways and the parlour is in a central location. But there are still a few small things that we could improve, which should in turn help to improve cow flow,” Jim said.
Roadways
The first thing that Jim commented on was the farm roadways. The roadways leading into the parlour are wide and have a smooth surface, which Jim said was good.
However, he spent a good bit of time looking at the point where the stone surface of the roadway meets the concrete surface of the farmyard.
“You see there’s a bit of a hollow in the roadway just before it meets the concrete.
"Now the weather is dry at the moment but I wonder what it’s like when the weather is wet? Can the water escape?
"I’d say that hollow should be filled in and the roadway sloped back to the drain to take the surface water,” Jim said.
The worst type of stones are small, sharp stones because there’s no give in them
“Stone pebbles on concrete is a major cause of lameness and it also slows down cow flow as cows slow down to pick their steps and avoid walking on the stone.
"The worst type of stones are small, sharp stones because there’s no give in them, particularly not on concrete so if a cow walks on them the stones will go up into her hoof,” he said.
Jim says this post could be an obstruction to cow flow as cows might be afraid of getting pushed into it.
He said that the area between the roadway and the concrete yard should be kept clean and clear of stones. He said a concrete kerb can help to prevent stones getting dragged on to the concrete.
Another thing he noticed in Conor’s yard was a steel post near the entrance to the yard, used for holding up a wire.
Cows pass the post as they enter the yard and most people would take no notice of it but Jim said it’s a potential obstruction;
“A shy cow might be fearful of getting pushed into it by a more dominant cow, so she would probably be inclined to stay away from the post which would make the herd nervous and reduce cow flow into the yard.”
Collecting yard
“You can tell a lot by looking at the steel both in the yard and in the parlour. Shiny steel on bars and gates is an indicator that it’s being rubbed by the cows. It highlights potential pinch points,” Jim said.
Not all the cows in Conor Fitzpatrick’s herd can fit in his collecting yard, meaning gates need to be adjusted and cows moved during milking.
Jim said he measured the yard and 104 cows can fit in what space is there, before the 40 cows that go into the parlour are counted.
In this yard, there’s a lot of ‘churning’ of cows as they are forced to fit into another area next to the collecting yard
However, he said all the cows should be able to fit in the yard and leaving some into the parlour before milking isn’t ideal.
“In this yard, there’s a lot of ‘churning’ of cows as they are forced to fit into another area next to the collecting yard.
"This means that they are facing away from the parlour and not towards the parlour which affects cow flow.
"In an ideal world, the collecting yard and handling unit would be re-configured to take all the cows in one bunch and the crush would be pointing in the direction of the cow paddocks, not away from it, which would mean they leave the parlour and fill the crush a bit easier,” Jim said.
The entrance to the parlour was also looked at.
At the moment, the cows enter the parlour through openings in a block wall, which makes the interior of the parlour look dark from the outside.
Read more
Moving back to the milking parlour
Double trouble in Tipperary
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