Grandpas Milking Parlor…time for a change?

[@klaaslammers6849]

Your cows are very wel build with very very good udders You sure work with a lot of joy working with cows looking like that

[@laurajackson2429]

Kip you have the cleanest cow's I've seen on a dairy. You know each cow and their history. Your Mom is shining down from heaven proud of you and the farm!

[@KevinChristiansen-i2q]

Great video Kip

[@blanekopp7339]

Good luck this weekend stay safe!!!

[@RichardNettleton]

When there is no milk flow in the bowl , Lip then removes the cups

[@randycharest4507]

I ENJOYED WATCHING THE VIDEO KIP 😊

[@danieldzurko8053]

Thank you for the tour.

[@EdHaight]

Congratulations on your award! Keep on keeping on.

[@dekdek551]

Great share Kip, some absolutely cracking cows 🐄.

[@homey3051]

They would be even cleaner if you put some cow brushes in. Did you look into renting a portable milking parlor for a couple of month while you build your new one.

[@bradleverton3233]

Im curious about the Simplicity sign on your wall. My family has been a Simplicity dealer since the late 50's. Thanks for sharing your world with us.

[@ildairyfarmer2436]

In 2012 I very nervously borrowed more money than my father and grandfather had ever borrowed together and built a brand new double 10 parallel with rapid exit, crowd gate, and all the bells and whistles… two more years and I’ll have it paid off!!! Best investment I’ve made

[@johnhughes2113]

Hi, it would be interesting to know whether it was paid from overall farm income, or was it paid off solely on what the investment was for ! ie: milk receipts, also how many cows you milked through the parlour, time saved per milking etc thanks John, from UK.

[@Andy-ix2ox]

In 1998 I replaced the 4 unit parlour with an eight unit swing over and in 2008 replaced it with a double up with all the bells and whistles over the same period of time we went from 40 cows to 120 and we now milk almost 200 so we are putting in a dairy master 20 unit swift flow with feed to yield, building work is almost complete and the parlour arrived yesterday we expect to be milking cows in it by the 1 st February, the expense is enormous however from past experience I think we will increase production by about 7.5 percent and I think we should reduce meal feed by about 20 percent and reduce milking time by about half and energy consumption by about 40 percent so when you do the sums we expect to have a pay back in 9 years, regardless we needed to do something as we were spending way too much time in the milking parlour and I am not getting any younger, my lads have young kids so even from a work life balance point of view it is a no brainer. Our growth has been curtailed by our milking facilities and we have a big enough land bank to grow to 250 cows so we have allowed room to extend to a 26 unit which has increased costs a bit but basically we expect to get the whole job over the line for about €2200 per cow . Regards from Ireland.

[@johnhughes2113]

Thanks for your reply, you explain it well and it makes sense with the planed herd expansion and the younger generation following into the business growth making it a variable investment figure, thanks again and good luck to the youngsters, john 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@joepfeiler5911]

We discontinued dairying in 2014. I seen the low profit margin per cow and realized we were not in a very good position in the industry. I have seen the labor savings over the years as we went from double 4 swing to double four with units at every stall to double 6 with units at every stall. We were milking 80 and did not have the land base to expand. As cost of things like health insurance keeps going up, a farm has to do something to keep up and in a lot of cases, that may mean getting bigger and adapting systems that lower the labor per cow. I took an off the farm job that has health care as a benefit and no longer farm.

[@patkappes6140]

Awesome as usual, 😍

[@ronaldbeuron3766]

Your cows look super clean and great! Great job to all of you! You guys are the back bone of the country. Being born and raised on a dairy farm, I appreciate the hard work dedication it takes to run a successful farm. Thanks Kip!

[@SteveNicoson-u1i]

Thanks for another great video Kip. It was most interesting. Thanks for explaining the milking parlor to us. I am not from that environment but helped on one but not in the parlor. I find it extremely interesting on how you work the parlor from beginning to end. Is really a process. I find it most interesting how the cows are used to entry and eventually leaving the parlor. I can see where the updating you are talking about would add to the efficiency and capability of your parlor and overall productivity. I see all kinds of designs in milking parlors. Your ideas would most certainly be good but in a family operation it takes everyone’s agreement to make it work. I assume you would add new milkers and I can guess that would not be cheap. You have a good operation so assume in a short amount of time would have that investment paid for. Looking forward to seeing your 3-d design on a new parlor. Moving forward and keeping current with equipment is important. Your are doing great Kip. Thanks for everything Kip. You all take care and be safe. The Iowa farm boy. Steve.

[@bobpurs]

Great video Kip. Stay safe with this storm and Cold temps we got coming . 👍✊

[@danielelliott1570]

Good show very informative thank you

[@TheJimmybud]

My wife thinks it's cute how you talk to the cows. I have her watching my farm channels, she never grew up around farming so she learns something every show.

[@Andy-ix2ox]

My wife thought it was weird that I talked to my cows too but now she is quite happy to chat away to them when she thinks I can’t hear her, sometimes it’s comical to eves drop on her chatting away to some random cow like she was her sister, I have often thought that it would be hilarious if I could get a ventriloquist to respond to her as the cow, I suspect she would hardly even notice and just continue the conversation.

[@danielelliott1570]

I hope you get the update to your parlor

[@davidburnham4394]

You have enough tractors now the moneys made in the parlor and don’t forget a plate cooler to great job

[@balfourfarm]

Congratulations on the award! I know how hard it is. Nice clean cows!!

[@neilardison1734]

I had a NewPulse system. I really like your videos. Retired about three years ago

[@williammatzek4660]

50 yrs ago I helped the neighbor. They had a herring bone 5 cattle a side.

[@gregorseverkar1734]

Hey Kip, milking is your most time consuming chore in the farm.......Try squeeze 15-20 stall parlour into that old parlour, if needed it would be smart to tore the wall on one side down in order to extend the parlor by few stalls. As far as silo setup go, it would be stupid to tear them down, because you put new roofs just few years ago. You should take into account that your unloaders and conveyors are 50 years old, so changing them with new it would make a lot of difference.

[@scottrayhons2537]

Glad there are people like you that milk cows. I grew up as a kid helping my dad milk. I never will complain about the price of milk! Even if soda pop is cheaper, milk has what the body needs. Thats a 7 days a week job and it never ends. Lucky to have great help. Thank you for a great video.

[@ronaldfeuerstein435]

Hope you can get your up grade. You surely earned it. With all the hard work you and Lonnie do. Tks for sharing. The weather man says your going to hit harding then me down by Belding Michigan. Please just be safe and careful up your way.

[@mikeschuyler4691]

Nice video of your daily routine and showing off your girls and how well they are producing,strong genetics and good breeding a must in today's farming i like how your looking to make good improvements for the future of the farm and members associated with it and how your not making quick decisions keep up the great work looking forward to more video's about the farm past and future!!

[@davidmeisner5590]

Parabone 15 would be your best bet and fast to install it would take roughly 12-24 hours to get it completely installed

[@kimcwhite6509]

Loved the video of your girls & how clean they are. Kip, do you have someone watching you when you're in the silo for safety? I just worry for you. I lost my 43 year old son last year & he left his two little boys without him. I worry because you are a Daddy💙

[@shawnparks5076]

I enjoy all your videos mostly due to being a true family farm and your from Michigan keep up all the work you guys due you guys probably have the cleanest cows I have seen

[@AmandaDoll-hi4dr]

You do a good job milking on the farm, which you do with the calefs

[@DickAnderson-k9y]

Thank you for explaining the newspaper in the parlor. I had never seen any other dairy farmer do that. do you have the option of bringing in a portable milk parlor while you remodel the old parlor ? I’ve seen other dairy farmers do it but not sure how close they are to Michigan. Good luck with the decisions that you are thinking about doing and Thank you for showings all the work that goes into being a great dairyman.

[@billsauberlich7337]

Looks like the biggest drawback with a single side herringbone is you have to wait for all the cows in that group to be milked before they can exit,then no cows will be milked while they exit and the next group is brought in and prepped,to bad you couldnt find a way to make a double side work, maybe run it other direction where the cows now enter and go out into holding area ,or build a new building along side of existing holding area or parlor

[@dairyfarmkindoflife]

Great video, Kip! So exciting to be thinking of a parlour update. Your current parlour is so unique we would certainly miss seeing you work in it! Hope you're feeling better soon!

[@Dairy_Farmer]

I milked cows since childhood in a 50 cow barn, De Laval units. Far northern Illinois. I was also born with disabilities. On thing I admire about your ways of milking is the "lets go" attitude. As growing up, we were on the very same principals. And I loved it. I am almost 40 years old, and can no longer milk anymore. But I miss it with a passion. Many had always told me I have herdsman qualities. I enjoy your videos and will continue to follow. Vincent, Western Wisconsin

[@KevinChristiansen-i2q]

Great job milking Kip

[@floydschriber1051]

Kip did Lonnie get to spend time with your Grampa an know him I’m sure that would’ve have been great for both of them an absolutely a team effort ! You all do a tremendous job with a quality product going out the door keep it up we all need good food

[@richmaniscalco201]

Kip when I was farming, I installed a nu-pulse pipeline in the barn, it only had one hose that brought the vacuum and took the milk away. I really liked them, they were supposed to be real soft on the cows udder and kept mastitis down

[@KipSieglerFarming1]

Yeah it works pretty well, I know it’s old. We’ve got low somatic cell 👍

[@phyllishalley8972]

Great video!!!! Ty❤ How do you know when a cow's done milking,or is all times? Do they all get milked the same amount of time??? Ty ..God bless🙏❤️ Ohhh... how's the A I coming along?????

[@dmfor9001]

Gotta sat your cows are clean. Key to milk quality award is: consistent good management, attention to detail and no bad luck!

[@Faouzia-47]

As growing up, we were on the very same principals. And I loved it. I am almost 40 years old, and can no longer milk anymore.

[@pauljstod8804]

Congrats on the award!!! Would love to see you get a new parlor, you would rock it!!! Can’t imagine the expense, Happy New Year and hope 2024 is good for you all!!!

[@rogerschlitter5116]

I grew up in Northeast Iowa on a 45 cow dairy farm. Everyone around us milked cows into the 1970’s and ‘80’s. Not that way today, mostly larger dairy herds or no cows at all. The local paper had a story last June for Dairy Month. A family built a new 650 cow robotic facility in 2020. They were milking 350 cows in a traditional parlor. They still have and use the 350 cow traditional parlor. The interesting part of the story was that production is 30% higher in the robotic herd. Robotic cows averaged 2.7 milkings daily and that is what they attribute the higher production to.

[@randybennett5417]

How many cows do ya prefer to keep milking consistantly, year round ?

[@dozawoolford5100]

love your work Kip!

[@tonymajor8528]

Sore throat, gargle salt, and water regular salt, always salt takes everything out

[@CharlesKelly-h4k]

Love that 12 year old cow! Udder is still above her hocks.

[@michaelbrennan7148]

Wolverine! Kip you da man ! Great team work on the farm. You guys in the Up going beast mode. You guys are Him!!! Yah heard !!!

[@marcoreichelt7631]

Hi Kip, du you thougt about milking robots?

[@larryanglea3458]

Kip, enjoyed your video,first time to watch from Arkansas , I had a double 4 parlor dairy in the 80's,90's , enjoyed it . Nice to see how you do things. I like the news paper thing, watch those bulls, I A.I. my cows a lots of trouble but safer good luck.

[@AdrianRees-s9o]

My father milked in a 6 point tandem. Great parlour for cow contact. My idea would be up grade that parlour with cup removers and new pulsaters and reduce cow numbers!!

[@chrisburke848]

Good show, keep up the good work. Happy New Year

[@douglassmith6448]

Good video agen stay warm there do you all do Dhia there

[@johnwudarcki9315]

I’m not a farmer, but one show I watch is Duffy Ag He was a tech for DeLavel They specialize in robotic milkers. They are amazing !! Totally hands free milking. They track each cow. Everything health related. Production, heat cycles, everything. I’ve seen some where the cows come in when they want to be miked, usually three times daily. Might be something to look into. BTW, still some corn standing in Lapeer

[@MrMagnum7220]

I agree. We are in the process of doing 4 Lely robots.

[@justinwenzel8459]

I have a mate in Australia who have leyl robots and they hate them want rip them out and go back to herringbone. they brought the farm with the robots so much drama with them

[@dralord1307]

@@justinwenzel8459Interesting, Can you give some details on the issues your friend is having?

[@MrMagnum7220]

Must not be doing something right then. People around here with any robot love them

[@helenmeyer8343]

I can hear in your voice that you have what is going around. I am 83 and have been fighting this since the second week in Dec. It goes to my bronchial tubes right away. Got it from my grandaughter. Very interesting seeing how your milking parlor works. Nice looking cows. You take care. Seems like your farm needs all there help to be healthy.

[@johnwudarcki9315]

Only 70 but got something near thanksgiving again after Christmas. I got ivermectin off Amazon Three doses good to go

[@ronriehle1337]

COVID - FLU is coming too. Get vaccinated. Good to go !

[@Northernman68]

Definitely time to upgrade and expand with all the family working there. Is there any tillable land over your way foresale or lease? That's what will stop a guy from growing his farm.

[@Steven-i4q]

Got a double 4 autoflow, in Silverwood.

[@markklumpp39]

For your number of cows. You need a more efficient parlor. I know it costs money. But I'd say we'll spent

[@discoverybricks3694]

We went from a double four to a double ten twenty years a go, milking 220 cows four to six hour down time , three years ago put a new parribone double 12 milking 650 shutting the barn down for 13 hours with a Turner stalls out of Idaho

[@ipfreely10001]

Good vid on the milking side kip. Putting in, up grading an existing parlour is never easy, decision wise, cost, minimal disruption to the norm, I've done it 3-4 times here in the UK, your existing buildings are going to take a lot of sorting for new milking, going away from silos. But don't forget if you use ag bags, watch that bottom sheet , from your mate Ian here in Norfolk, UK. All the best on what ever you do.

[@kevinklingner7712]

The temperature of the motherland particularly the bull.influences the temperament ofthe calves. I've seen it in bo t h dairy and beef.cattle

[@raymondsloan2148]

Say Kip, Greasing your Elec Mtrs, How do you know if the Bearings are not sealed and you arenot pumping Grease into the motor windings. Most motors have Sealed Bearings...

[@allproearthworks8550]

A liquid manure storage system would also be more efficient.

[@davidkimmel4216]

Thanks

[@sallydunbar1683]

Thanks for showing inside the silo! Dad raised beef cattle and put up silage, I always wondered what the inside of the silo looked like! Love the smell of silage. Don't you santitize the teets, or you just didn't show it? Congratulations to your team on the certificate. Great job to you all!

[@kimcwhite6509]

I saw the dippers hanging there, I'm sure he didn't show it. They wouldn't get that award if they skipped dipping ❤️

[@tonymajor8528]

So important, feed those cows when they milking That’s standards of excellence

[@ThomasDrehfal]

Kip, you really have a superb looking herd of cows. You are currently milking eight at a time, how many additional cows do you want to milk at a time? The system you have is very efficient. Good job! Take care and God Bless you and your family.

[@ronriehle1337]

6 to 8 hours a day - not efficient enough. Especially for farm still growing. Need to update milking. 20 per side if you can will serve for decades. Robots is an option at $3000 to $4000 per cow.

[@TheJimmybud]

Hi Kip, what do they do with really low grade milk? We had a neighbor whose farm and animals were horrible forever and I used to deliver fertilizer too.

[@bighill9556]

PS your herd will thank you win win let's get it

[@itszecowgirl]

God Bless ❤

[@petercroweswords]

With the right milking equipment dealer it is possible to switch out the parlor to a single 16 -18 parabone parlor in two days.

[@rainerborgmann7326]

Very interesting to see a parlor like this when I'm so used to seeing doubles. A single sided parallel in the same space might not increase your throughput. I'm guessing you might be thinking about single 16 in that space? Which puts you at maybe 70-80 hd/hr (still with two guys). If you could find a way to fit a 12 swing parlor in the space (or allocate additional space), one guy could probably do 70-80 hd/hr while the other guy scrapes and feeds.

[@RichardNettleton]

Hi Kip, do you not have a plate cooler ? If so would be a great asset to the new dairy. Cheers Richard 🇦🇺

[@brendanperry6429]

Got a cold? Try Elderberry Kip; Fat Stone Farm LLC

[@burtzorn4059]

Hopefully you don't get dumped on too bad. Looks like the west side of the state is the worst. Still probably 10 to 12 inches of the nice white stuff. You guys all take care, stay safe and warm. Really enjoyed the video today Know a little about the dairy business. Just enough to be dangerous 😅 Hope your family and especially the Grant Man are doing well.

[@thomasdalton7539]

How much milk does cow give

[@okthen3197]

Good job bro

[@Scotthobart1086]

another great video!

[@markrisebrough]

Kip, do any of the cows ever get out thru one of the exits before they get milked?

[@pinekornerfarms5726]

Have you considered lely systems? I know they are expensive, but everything is. I wonder if it would help manage manpower and actually increase feed efficiency?

[@leviwulff]

Why not get a portable 16 stall milk parlor on loan while you do the retrofit

[@donaldshinn7867]

In 1972 I took over management of our family farm and started remodeling but by 1980 family issues with sisters caused problems and they ended our dairy operation. Be sure to get the legal transfer of farm issues worked out before you invest in future

[@bramhague2010]

How long does it take to milk?

[@geesss8675]

On average how many oz of milk do you get from milking one of your cows? How any times are they milked daily? How long in minutes does it take to milk a cow start to finish? Where does your milk go what dairy picks it up and what stores is it sold

[@karlherzog3979]

Milk is usually measured in pounds here in the states. National average is around 80 pounds per cow per day. They are typically milked 2 or 3 times per day depending on what the farmer wants to do. Cows very in how long they take to milk out. 5 mins is probably average.

[@geesss8675]

​@karlherzog3979 thank you. . . 80lbs seems like a lot. . . I would have never guessed that.

[@karlherzog3979]

@@geesss8675 it is a lot. It’s about double of what it was in the 1940’s and 50’s.

[@deanschafer5919]

Hi Kip if u guys get a different parlor going. Are u going to add cows? Get a bigger herd? Or stay still around 200?

[@ronriehle1337]

IMO - if milking is going to be done with family labor it should take 1 to 2 hours per milking. When building or remodeling make it big enough to get milking done in 1 hour and your farm can grow to 2 hours. Don't let the old get in the way of the new. Better to temporarily milk cows in cobbled together area during construction if it means building a proper sized , proper placed and properly equipped milking parlor. Remember - nothing works more and makes you more money than your milking system. You use that for hours per day , everyday , year after year , for decades. (I'd try for double 20 on your farm.)

[@bighill9556]

Make sure you get all your contractors and books in order as far as different stages phases , Starting dates , sight forman 😊 should be exciting , like you said long overdue stay safe. PEACE OUT

[@gregcatlett1458]

When you take feed out of parlor,crowd gate solves cow flow then. Do your home work young man lots of ways to milk umm. I have seen the side open stalls like yours but full automated 25+ years ago double 4 or so one man can milk some cows,to much walking for me though 😂😂😂 Thanks so much for your videos sir. 🙏🙏🙏

[@dschefers9700]

I’m curious. What kind of pulsation do you have? I think a new double6 parallel would get you in and out reasonably fast. I would start with a modestly small size new parlor building that could utilize your existing holding pen, milk house and utility room. Good luck on your upgrade process.

[@cormacbrowne9571]

For 200 cows I disagree. Althought I have no idea of his average numbers going through the parlour. Here in Ireland a herd that size would have at a minimum 14 unit usually swing over, but up to 30 with a.c.r's would not be unusual. Too many farmers put little value on their own time. He should be looking at reducing time milking.

[@dschefers9700]

@@cormacbrowne9571 not disagreeing, sticker shock on what you are describing in the USA for that size setup would stop most farmers. I did install a double 20 Demetron 60 set up in 2021. They milk 360 cows in 2hrs.

[@cormacbrowne9571]

@@dschefers9700 Indeed, prices for such here are also expensive. Though grants are available or were anyway. Kip would probably need to demolish most of his existing unit to accommodate such.

[@johnbathgate904]

Choices on retrofit are limited I'm sure,the 8 cows over 70 feet of distance is I'm sure taxing on any milkers knees and hips being on concrete.this being said I saw no crowd gate in holding area you guys have your system down pat everything clicking good maybe instead of the huge investment in a new parlor maximize your current system for efficiency like added alternating pulsation and ato's.possibly upgrade current stalls to air operated close and release so the loading and unloading of each stall doesn't require the amount of human movement just few ideas especially if not planning 3x milking in future and not a planning a doubling in cow numbers never know just couple of Tweeks in old single sided 8 get the farm through another 10 -15yrs

[@RichardNettleton]

You will regret not building double side and bigger.

[@MichaelBrandao-v9s]

I bet you the reason why that bull is so mean it's got Jersey

[@RobertCowden-y3c]

Fred Flintstone built that parlor. I get the feeling you don't make many decisions on the farm old man and other brothers decide what going to hope just have a feeling lol

[@andrewjardine3820]

Wiy don't you have two rows off cows much faster and efishont

[@Steven-i4q]

"Copulsation " out of New York, any dairy farmer needs to look into this system. Makes you money.

[@steveketchum9836]

If you hire it out, I know they could get you milking in 12 hrs, might not have everything done, but it wont be a month.

[@MATTREBARCHEK28]

STAY SAFE WITH THE BILZZARD COMING FOR YOU GUYS UP THERE

[@jayceredmer7300]

I'm confused because you should be freshening 75 new hiefers a year but yet you milk around 170 to 200 ,do you go thru that many cows a year?

[@dogwoodish]

double 12

[@Daveco82]

robots?

[@jimcox6687]

Ware do you live in Michigan?