Milking 1300 Cows 3 times a day with a 72 Point Rotary - Metcalfe Farms, Yorkshire Dales

In part 1 with Metcalfe Farms, Robert Metcalfe gives us a walkthrough of their 72 point rotary, handling and drafting facilities. They are milking 1300 cows, 3 times a day. Stay tuned for Part 2.

[@nigelrowney7003]

Excellent video boys.Thanks for showing the parlour and milking procedures on an excellent well run farm by the Metcalfe boys 👍👍

[@keithandrews3824]

Great blog very informative

[@eamonnleonard9162]

Back in 1974 myself and one other man milked 300 cows in a 20 unit rotary milking parlour.
I think it was the 4th or 5th such parlour in Ireland. I think there is a golf course there now.

[@usere65]

Any information on that parlour Eamon ? Must of being like a space ship in 1974. 300 cows in 1974 is the equivalent of 1000 cows now

[@eamonnleonard9162]

​@@usere65the machine was a 20 unit fulwood. The farmer was a very progressive guy who farmed near Enniskerry in county Wicklow. It replaced an eight unit herringbone Alfa Laval. For the last couple of months when we were still milking in the herringbone parlour, it was taking 12 hours a day to do the milking, the cows were being brought in for milking in relays. We moved to the rotary parlour in the beginning of April 1975 not 1974 , because I just remembered I milked cows in Cork in a 22 unit rotary parlour in the summer of 1974, that was a New Zealand make of a machine. I remember the make but I won't be able to spell it right, but it sounded like Rua Koura it was a stop start platform rather than constant motion. That farmer was brilliant at least forty years ahead of anyone farming in Ireland at the time. At that time he was vice president of the IFA or was it the NFA he later became president of the IFA/NFA. If you check your history you will figure out his name.
I hope he is still alive and well he'd be in his eighty's now.
I was a young man then, working for Ashe farm relief service. I milked cows all over Ireland back in the day. Oh I think the parlour in Cork was either the 1st or 2nd built-in Ireland.

[@loiolofernes1267]

Good day sir. How to apply sir? I am currently working here in japan as a dairy farmer but I am willing to relocate

[@sakilahmad8155]

I like to works cow fram.i wait to works with you and your fram.how can I apply

[@pauleng883]

How many lactations do you get from your cows?

[@mrwellington102]

37% of their herd is heifers so not many I can imagine! I suspect the farm is subsidised by their heavy haulage work for the MOD.

[@pauleng883]

@@mrwellington102 dairy farming in the uk is turning into the battery hen egg production of the 80's....in my opinion.

[@mrwellington102]

@@pauleng883 I couldn't agree more. It's only going one way unfortunately. In 1950 there was 196,000 dairy farms in the uk. Now theres roughly 11,000. In terms of welfare, environment and rural economy and community, small is better.

[@dairychannel786]

Jop please😫🙏🙏💓

[@mlynch8657]

35 staff for 1300 cows, thats only 37 cows each. how can that be viable.

[@dylanfarrell9682]

Multiple businesses on farm

[@alexannal]

I was thinking that as well. He does have a lot of part-time staff, so hopefully it is only 15 equivalent staff.

[@dylanfarrell9682]

@@alexannal yeah close to 15 I say give or take 100 cows per person

[@rpark8265]

If you listen to the explanation of the staffing many are part time covering the milking and they see the benefits of having plenty of staff allowing people to do the number of hours that fit personal circumstances .

[@SH66667]

Plenty of staff with plenty of time off is the way to go in modern farming.