Dairy photos for Greg Oliver and anyone else

Greg asked for some photos of our dairy and about the steps up to the platform. We are so flat here we kept the pit floor at ground level and made the cows walk up so we dont have to worry about filling the pit up with siltin a flood. Water nealy got to the top of the platform in the 2010 flood we had which is 2nd largest in about 150 yrs. The steps are abit under half a cow long dont have a tape measure lol. Once they get on they keep going up no worries at all. Can be intresting breaking in a heifer but after 1st time or 2 no worries. Its safer than useing a ramp to go up. Once done they exit down a ramp to a holding yard. Its a 90 degree herringbone 10 cows a side but we have only ever got 1 side done. We built it ourselves in 2007 i think into our existing shed that was a fun couple of months. Feed milled grain in bails either barley wheat or corn or a mixture depending on what we have or can buy when we carnt grow enough ourselves. Takes 2 hrs to milk 75 cows crossbred gurnsey,brown swiss, holstiens. We took a drop in liters going away from our pure bred holstiens but lifted our fat n protein have a lot better in calf rate hardly any calveing issues and mow they will fight not lay down n die if they have trouble calveing.

Friend has a stepup parlor but individual stalls . In his cows step up one step and operator steps down one. It works real nice and he was still milking at 70.

We graze the cows most days on sudan in summer and oats and reygrass in winter and feed a mix of corn silage, distillers grain of we can get it, conola meal and hay of a night and also to fill feed gaps and wet days through a seko mixer on a feed pad

Why the loose concrete blocks on the floor of "pit" ?

Look like steps for folks with short legs. Step up on the cement block, and gain some reach, just my guess

Very nice! Thank you for sharing

Downunder farmer Thanks for the photo's! I always like to see how other dairy farms operate and yours looks good! Back in the 80's my dad and I purchased a used Delaval double 4 parlor but never put it in. I had room to milk 33 in a tie stall with pipeline and only had to switch a few cows. Our neighbors barn burned and he brought his 80 head over and we milked almost 8 hours a day for 6 months. I quit in 1994 as milk prices were in the gutter and at 30 years old I was taking to many steps backward. I now help out a couple neighbors on there farms just to relive the glory days. The first 3 photo's were from 1993 on my farm. Next was my tractor at the neighbors farm hooked to the spreader. Last 2 photo's are my neighbors farm down the road and inside his barn.