News
Carousel milking parlor alleviates labor issues for Illinois dairy farmer
Investing in a new carousel type milking parlor has increased efficiency and alleviated labor shortages on a dairy farm in southern Illinois.
Nick Harre of Nashville, IL tells Brownfield they moved from their old parlor in mid-December and it has been a smooth transition for the cows and employees.
“It allows us to milk 180-250 cows per hour, almost 3 hours less time per milking per day compared to our old setup.”
He says the increase in labor shortages the past few years is the main reason they built the parlor.
“Finding people who want to do the physical work that is required of them on a dairy farm is getting more and more challenging. So, the only way to keep up and grow the size of the operation is to become more efficient on the labor front and an investment like this certainly helps get us there.”
Harre says it hasn’t taken long to see obvious savings on the labor side from the rotary style parlor, which is one of only a handful in the state.
