Manor Farm
E300 Rotary
Manor Farm, Otterhampton
Farm location
OtterhamptonHerd size
750“The time savings are only one of the benefits we have seen. As part of installing the rotary we have taken the opportunity to rejuvenate the farm. Traffic flow, cow flow, essential services and clean/dirty water separation have all been improved, as well as the working environment for the team. It has been a revelation,”
The installation of a 60-point DeLaval E300 rotary parlour alongside a DeLaval teat spray robot at Finefarm Ltd has more than halved milking times, improved cow health and enabled the Passmore family to manage the whole farming system more efficiently.
“We milked twice a day on two sites from 1984 until 2017 when we consolidated the herd and moved to milking three times a day through our old 30/30 herringbone parlour. We soon realised that milking for up to 18 hours a day was not sustainable for the staff, or the cows, and we made the decision to invest in the rotary parlour. Our local dealer B.H. White, and DeLaval, orchestrated the installation of the rotary, and it was a smooth transition that has brought benefits to every aspect of the milking process,” explains Sam.
The rotary has cut milking times to two and half hours, which has reduced from the six hours the farm spent milking with the herringbone.
Improved milking and cow management
Whilst the operational benefits have been significant, herd manager Matthew Hilton sees the improvement in cow health as equally important to the farm. He explains that standing time has reduced and, with it, foot health has improved. Mastitis cases and SCCs have dropped, and milk yield has improved too.
“We are averaging 12,000 litres per cow at 4.01% fat and 3.3% protein. Lameness has all but disappeared because the cows have more lying time, and we are seeing far fewer foot problems such as ulcers. The SCCs and bactoscan results have dropped, as have mastitis cases. This is largely due to the implementation of our milking protocols which include improved teat preparation and cleaning for good teat stimulation and our DeLaval post spray robot,” says Matthew.
The rotary is fitted with DeLaval’s Evanza clusters which are easier to operate due to a quick-change liner. The Evanza cluster also features technology that increases milk flow and reduces the frequency cartridges need to be changed. “We change the cartridges every 5,000 milkings – our old liners would last half that time. And it used to take us up to three hours to change the liners, now it only takes 15 minutes for two people,” he says.
The teat spray robot is positioned at the exit of the parlour and has helped to reduce the man hours needed for each milking by taking out the need for an extra person. DeLaval’s FastExit™ and low profile FastBail™ system pivots the cow, enabling her to turn and exit the rotary faster. “The teat spray robot is operating at 97% success rate which is excellent considering that this figure is inclusive of a regular automated cleaning routine, and we are making significant savings in spray chemical because the robot is so consistent. This coupled with the improvements in cow flow has really helped to streamline the exit process. I can even watch the teat spray robot on my laptop because it has a camera that I can link to.”