The Holland Family, Hilltown Farm, Devon

20/40 sequential bailing, rapid exit, swingover parlour with feeding

Fifth

generation

dairy

farmers,

the

in a traditional herringbone parlour, which they

Hollands, recently invested in a sequential

upgraded 10 years ago with GEA equipment

bailing rapid exit parlour, with feeding, from

including milk meters and pulsation. However it

GEA Farm Technologies.

was taking one person 3.5 hours to milk 200 plus

cows, so the family made the decision it was time

For the past 20 years the Holland family milked

to invest in a new parlour.

GEA Farm Equipment | Sequential bailing

engineering for a better world

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Overall we are really pleased and know we made the right choice!
Michael Holland
Hilltown Farm in Devon has been in the family since the
1940s when Great Grandad, George, was a tenant of the
then sheep and dairy farm. Grandad, Wilson, then bought
the farm and it has remained in the family ever since. Now
father, Michael, and son, Peter, manage the farm and
Grandson Daniel, will join them after his studies.
The Holland family milked in a traditional herringbone
parlour which they upgraded 10 years ago with GEA
Metatron 12 milk meters and pulsation. These were
transferred over to the new parlour because they are good
old faithfuls said Michael. This is also testament to the
quality of the equipment and its ability to t and work on a
new parlour he continued.
As a family we came to the decision that it was taking too
long to milk. We have one man milking twice a day and it
was taking over 3.5 hours to milk 200 plus cows! So wed
been talking about a new parlour for a while, but it didnt
take us long to realise sequential bailing with rapid exit was
right for us, in fact it took just three weeks!
Sequential bailing ensures cows come into the parlour
quickly, as they cant access the feed manger until they
reach their correct position. The 80 degree angle of the
stalling allows good operator access to the udder and
cluster positioning during milking. The rapid exit feature
releases 20 cows quickly and quietly from the parlour,
which increases throughput and also greatly reduces stress
on both the cow and operator. With a typical 100 cows
and 1,500 litres per hour output with one man milking, the
Hollands new parlour is about as efcient as it currently
gets.

Michael continued: The parlour stall work looked strong

and sturdy and for what we wanted it seemed to tick all the
boxes. Weve also worked with Venture Dairy Services for
years and have a good relationship with them, so this was a
major factor in making our decision on the new parlour.
The parlour is larger than we need at the moment but
it gives us the opportunity to expand the herd if we wish.
Were pleased that milking now takes two hours at each
end of the day.
Cow ow was an issue but has improved massively with
the new parlour. We just push a button and the cows are
gone. The hydraulic lifting is much quieter than compressed
air and requires very little maintenance.
The cows are out grazing in the summer so having inparlour feeding is great because it ensures the cows get the
concentrate they need as we dont use the feeder wagon
during that time of year.
Since weve been in the new parlour weve noticed
considerable benets to the herd and the farm. Weve
more time for other jobs on the farm and nd people are
happier milking the cows.. The cows come into the parlour
on their own accord too.
The cows have taken to the new system really well - cell
counts are good at less than 100, bactoscans are low and
cases of mastitis have also declined.

Sequential bailing parlour features:

Available with in-parlour feeding
Automatic placing of cows ensures good cow comfort
Hydraulic lifting technology for rapid exit of cows
Suitable for standard and swingover parlours.
Choice of 80 or 60 versions with side or front exit
700, 750 or 800mm spacings to suit your cows
Easy to operate via an accesible button.
GEA Farm Technologies UK
Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG
Tel. +44 (0) 2476 692 333, Fax +44 (0) 2476 698 398
www.gea.com | www.gea-farmtechnologies.co.uk
info.geafarmtechnologies.uk@gea.com