Pam.,
The initial thing to evaluate is the parlor. How long has it been
sense it has been used? How many on a side? What size is your bulk tank?
Is it R12? Does it work? Have you had it looked at by the health
inspector that will be doing your inspections?
Are you going to feed grain in the parlor? Does it have grain storage?
Is the holding pen floor solid even in wet weather?
Tractor? You don't have to have one but they are very nice to have.
But, at least around here, a moderate sized tractor is a better buy than a
little bitty one and they are much, much more useful.
Acres of pasture ground? Are you going to have to move some land from
some other enterprise? Corn I would guess. My FIL lives in Farmington.
If you can get some corn silage to go with the pasture then you need less
acres of pasture. But then you are more likely to need a tractor. But 1
acre/cow is a good starting point.
permanent fencing? Yes, miles and miles of single strand high tensile
electric fence. It is the only way to go, IMO.
Putting the hay out and moving bale rings works. We have done it for
about 5 years but are now moving away from it in favor of unrolling hay
under electric fence. Alfalfa hay doesn't keep if kept outside even if
net wrapped, and the net wrapping can not be picked up.
I cannot think of anything in a parlor that makes it easier for one sex
or the other. Size is something else. Our parlor is designed for short
people. When I had a neighbor who is well over 6 feet milk for me, he
didn't fit. But it works for us short folks.
Clay
MO Ozarks
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pam Cowles" <kolzdari@netins.net>
To: "graze-l" <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2003 12:04 AM
Subject: [Graze-l] a new dairy
> Hi friends,
>
> I'm wondering what you all would say is the minimum equipment/land needed
to
> start, say, a 30 cow Jersey dairy. Let's assume there's already an
existing
> parlor which is fully operational.
>
> How many acres of pasture ground would be needed?
>
> Would a tractor be absolutely necessary? If so, how small would be the
> minimum required to do the job?
>
> If a tractor isn't necessary, how would you feed hay in the winter with no
> tractor? (I remember reading someone's post about using electric fence to
> feed large bales right where they're lined up - of course they wouldn't be
> under a roof in that case - possibly wrapped in plastic?)
>
> What type of "permanent fencing" is the best for the money? (not miles of
> single strand electric fence to constantly have to monitor and find shorts
> caused by leaping deer)
>
> Are there any women on this list who run their dairy alone?
>
> What features in the parlor make it easier for a woman to do the work?
>
> I appreciate any and all comments. I've always received many good
comments
> from this list, and have learned a lot.
>
> Thanks,
> Cowles Farm
> Southeast Iowa
>
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