September 2022

Tino and Paul Ijsseldijk are two brothers who sold their family farm in Holland to move to Canada to operate a 120-cow dairy farm in Springfield, Ontario. In the past 22+ years, numerous modifications and renovations have been made to improve the health and comfort of the overall herd, from calves to milking cows. There have been several expansions and renovations to the main dairy barn, they built new heifer and calf barns, and the most recent expansion was the 50 stall GEA rotary parlour built with more cow housing, which connects to the main dairy barn. Currently, the Ijsseldijk’s are milking 900+ dairy cows. In the picture above, from left to right are Kathy (Herd Manager), Tino (Owner), Paul (Owner) and Porter (Paul’s son).

2018 Transition to Rotary

The rotary start-up was in February 2018, and the initial transition took three days for the cows to get used to walking onto a moving rotary. Paul said,

“We had a lot of assistance at the beginning provided by Dairy Lane Systems employees to help achieve a smooth and successful transition. After we were up and running with a smooth flow of cows from the pens to the parlour, we calculated our savings on labour costs and milking times to be 1.5 hours minimum per milking compared to the previous double 24 parallel parlour. A very fast, smooth and effective flow of cow traffic is the main area we see improvement in our transition to the rotary parlour.”

2022 Rotary Bail Retrofit Project

In 2020, GEA released the new T8900 series of rotary parlours with their new AR24/7 Stainless steel rotary bails.

• The new bails are made from hydroformed stainless steel, eliminating any sharp edges that could injure cows and making clean up easier.
• The new bails are also substantially lower allowing cows to enter and exit the rotary platform more easily.
• The new bails can be angled forward or reverse 15 degrees to meet the farm’s preferences and requirements
• The new bails can be configured with PosiGuide arms (milking units stay above the deck) or with PosiForm Arms (milking units drop below the deck)

Paul and Tino immediately saw the benefits this new bail offered and began to investigate how it could be retrofitted on their existing parlour. Together with the staff at DLS a method was developed to replace these bails during the short window of time between milkings using custom fabricated adapter plates.

Paul and Tino decided to angle the bails 15 degrees – Reverse.  This allows the PosiGuide Arms (milking units stay above the deck) and milking units to stay on the leading bail, eliminating extra steps during the attachment process.

Another unique change was lifting the milk hose nipple 6″ off the rotary deck. This allowed for a shorter milk hose to be used (26”) and has eliminated any cows stepping on hoses.

Project Results

Since the renovation, the Ijsseldijk’s have found the rotary cow flow to be exceptional. The cows find the new AR24/7 bail to be extremely comfortable. The cows walk on and off the deck confidently knowing that there are no sharp edges or pinch points.

With the modified milk hose inlets and short milk hoses they have achieved a practical, effective, and simple milking procedure. Even employees with little experience have an easy time attaching the milkers as hoses and units are more out of the way. They also really like that when the milking unit detaches, it does not hit or affect the cows in any way to ensure their comfort level is not negatively impacted.

Milking time has been cut nearly in half even with milking more cows! Previously it took 5 hours per shift to milk 700 cows in their double 24 parallel parlour, now post-renovation, they are milking 900 cows in 3.25 hours or less per shift. Cow comfort is the best they have seen, and mastitis and udder rot have nearly been eliminated from their herd.

There is one other key feature that was originally installed on the rotary, although not part of the recent renovation, that is worth mentioning here as it has played a key role in cow udder health. A backflush system cleans each milk unit between each cow milking. This prevents an infection between cows, and has aided in achieving an almost mastitis free herd.

Paul says that

“Dairy Lane Systems did a fabulous job in helping us achieve our goals, and they made the setup flawless for us to operate. The crowd gate has an operation unit at the front and the back of the holding area, making it easier for those moving the cows into the holding area and the milkers to work together. Sensors are located at the entry in case a cow isn’t on the deck fully to ensure their safety if someone doesn’t catch it immediately. The cow flow in the barn was well planned for efficient shifts and the successful health of the herd. It has proved to be a stress-free working environment for employees and owners. Also, the rotary, with its stainless steel material, is easy to clean and maintain.

We are always continuing to do research to ensure that we are providing the best comfort and health for the cattle and our employees.”