FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT

At first blush, the floors of milking parlours would seem to be one of the last areas of concern for dairymen. Typical milking parlour floors are generally concrete slabs designed to withstand the heavy loads of the milking cycle.

Unfortunately, concrete is by no means the perfect long-term solution to safe, hygienic floors. Lactic acid will attack unprotected concrete, as will chemical cleaners.

Before you know it, the sun will be shining and hay will be lying in the field ready to be baled. Does your normal spring round baler start-up procedure go something like this? Connect round baler to tractor.

Turn on the PTO and hope something doesn’t break.

Cow comfort is an all-encompassing term, which includes almost everything we do on a dairy farm. When we really think about the whole picture, every minute detail has an influence on the comfort of the cow.

As an example, the location of the facilities is a major consideration. Are they near or on a hilltop, in a valley, by trees or by a large body of water? This influences ventilation, which is a major component of cow comfort.

Robert passed away in 2004; his wife, Shirley, remains a partner in the enterprise. Philip’s wife, Debbie, is involved in the farm by keeping the financial records. His son Richard joined the farm last year.

Providing clean, dry bedding for dairy cows is imperative to maintaining a healthy herd and providing for the overall welfare of the animal.

Dry bedding prevents bacterial growth, growth that contributes to high somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis, a leading herd health problem.

One of the areas we tend to have good intentions about practicing is farm safety, but sometimes our good intentions get set aside. I realize this is not intentional, but we must make an extra effort to not only think about it, but also practice it.

How many people do you know that are missing a limb or an appendage, such as a finger, or have had some sort of farm accident? Or even worse yet, have suffered the loss of a loved one?