Low Cost Milking Parlors—Producer Surveys

Abstract

Producer surveys showed very positive results in switching from flat barn parlors or stall barns to LCP's. An average of 54% more cows are able to be milked with an average of 2.44 less daily hours of labor. Producers on average doubled their labor efficiency in number of cows milked per hour with some reaching the goal of 70 cows milked per labor hour including setup and clean-up. Production increased 15% while SCC dropped 22.3%. Feeding and housing efficiencies were gained as well. Investment in a LCP allowed producers to drop cost of milking cows to $1.27 per hundredweight (some less than $1 per hundredweight) with labor included. In sum, LCP gave a very positive quality of life, financial return, and milking labor advantage over stall barns or flat barn parlors.