Barnes United Kingdom

Easy

Clare Bayly

The Barnes family – from left Harry, Charlotte, Jane and Mark.

A birds-eye view of Farmer Barnes Dairy.

Jane Barnes recalls their herd moved into the newly developed milking parlour at the end of October in 2018, taking to it “like ducks to water”.

The Barnes family had been running their dairy operation in Melton Mowbray since 1940.

“In the 1940s, great grandfather John Barnes moved with 20 milking cows to Southfi elds Farm, Somerby,” says Jane.

“After more than 70 years the original farm buildings and milking parlour for 60 cows were no longer viable so, after much consideration, Mark and I, along with our children Charlotte and Harry, took the gigantic step and moved out of the village.

“In 2018 we built a modern dairy farm enabling us to milk 250 cows producing milk for the award-winning Long Clawson Blue Stilton Cheese which can only be made in the three counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.”

Prior to 2018 Jane featured on the public speaking circuit promoting the quality standards behind the production of Long Clawson Blue Stilton Cheese and appreciation of modern dairy farming.

Opportunity

The development of Farmer Barnes Dairy created an opportunity to expand this successful diversifi cation project with the development of a purpose built ‘Cow Classroom’ alongside the milking parlour.

The classroom features viewing windows and overhead gallery where visitors can watch the cows being milked. On a regular basis Jane holds farm talks, farm tours and educational tours for schools, where visitors are guided through the process of dairy farming in the UK today.

The Barnes family farm 161ha of High Leicestershire grassland milking a predominantly Ayrshire herd of 250 cows, 50 per cent spring calving and 50 per cent autumn. The cows graze outdoors for nine months of the year in a New Zealand style grazing system.

Planning

Jane, Mark and Harry, who now manages the new farm, admit that a lot of planning went into the design and operational aspects of the new milking parlour.

“At the top of the list, it had to be set up for single-person milking, it had to be effi cient in terms of time, labour and running costs but also it had to be a simple, reliable system,” says Jane.

“Harry had milked in a couple of Waikato Milking Systems Supa4 Herringbone parlours during his college years. The parlours were 24 aside which means 48 cows in the parlour at a time. The clusters simply swing over from one side to the other.”

The Waikato Milking Systems Supa4 is a premium quality 100mm single milk pipeline, mid mounted swing-over milking system capable of high throughput with less labour and minimum effort.

“At the top of the list, it had to be set up for

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The spacious layout of the dairy fosters good cow fl ow. Visitors watching milking from the Cow Classroom viewing gallery.

“Harry found the system to be very effi cient and simple to operate and so we decided to replicate that format with three key technology options – Swing Arm Automatic Cup Removers (ACRs), automatic wash system and variable speed pump.

“We had ACRs in the previous parlour so were accustomed to them and it’s especially handy to have with 24 units on the new parlour, not 12 as in the previous one.”

Improvements benefi cial

The swing-over arms improves cluster alignment and reduces pull on the cups during milking, which has a benefi cial impact on production and udder health.

The Waikato Milking Systems SmartDrive variable speed vacuum pump controls the delivery of milk through to the bulk tank.

Using digital sensors, the milking system vacuum is continually monitored and the vacuum pump speed adjusted according to airfl ow demand.

“The variable speed pump keeps energy costs to a minimum, so that is a no-brainer,” says Jane.

Waikato Milking System’s SmartWASH is a completely programmable automated wash system for the milking machine. A modern touch-screen provides the operator with a comprehensive menu from which a range of wash scenarios can be selected.

SmartWASH uses a Hurricane Slugwash system which incorporates a unique transition cone that enables the wash water to be precisely controlled, ensuring the milk line is thoroughly cleaned every time.

Activating the auto wash is achieved by the touch of a button and Jane says the hygiene levels they are achieving are consistently good with low BactoScan scores.

Happy chappy

Jane says Harry is also happy with the swing down cluster wash system, which lowers the cluster washer so it is easy to access and manage.

Waikato Milking Systems installed the new dairy parlour for the Barnes family in the summer of 2018, when the new farm was being developed.

“We moved the cows into the new set up on October 31, 2018 and they took to the new parlour like ducks to water,” says Jane.

“We feed a small ration of feed in the parlour to entice the cows but the whole milking process has – from day one – been easy and effi cient both in time, labour and running costs.

“We have four people milking for us. The simplicity and ease of operation of the parlour is a huge advantage as it ensures consistency across all operators.”

Jane, Mark and Harry Barnes say the new milking parlour, will allow them to increase cow numbers in the future from the current 250 to around 300.

More than two years on from the fi rst milking in the new parlour Jane says the family is “thoroughly happy with this simple, effi cient parlour, which has made the milking process the easiest job on the farm. Everyone wants to milk in it!”

Jane Barnes hosts up to 100 tours a year, providing the public with an overview of modern UK dairying and the quality standards behind the milk which goes into Long Clawson Blue Stilton Cheese. The Supa4’s 100mm single milk pipeline, mid mounted swing-over milking system, is capable of high throughput with less labour and minimum effort.

The cows took to the new parlour “like ducks to water”.