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FOR A LOW-COST, EFFICIENT MILKING SYSTEM ...
SWING OVER TO A WAIKATO PARLOR
For dairy producers in New Zealand, the Waikato name has been synonymous with top-quality
milking equipment for highly efficient, low-input dairying since the 1950s. But New Zealand producers aren’t the only ones who can enjoy the low-cost luxury of a Waikato system.
Waikato milking systems are marketed in 37 countries, and have been sold in the U.S. and Canada
since 1990. But it wasn’t until DEC International (parent company of Bou-Matic) purchased InterAg (former parent company of Waikato) in 1996 that North American producers had greater access to Waikato products. Today, Waikato
milking systems can be purchased through any Bou-Matic dealer in the continental U.S. The addition of the Waikato product line to Bou-Matic’s established network of dealers gives them the ability to fit a milking system to
everyone’s needs.
“Our Waikato milking system is inexpensive, quiet and easy to use. Its a simple system that’s very efficient. “We can milk cows fast and get them back to pasture.
One person and a part-time pusher can easily operate 16 units and milk 120 cows in 1.5 hours. “Our long-term goal is to add eight more units which we estimate can milk 165 to 180 cows per hour — and milk 300 to 400 cows. “This
Waikato system fits our philosophy for least cost production.”
Joel Kurtenbach, Wyoming, Iowa 150 cows, swing-16
Bou-Matic offers high-quality milking systems for stanchion barns, traditional low-line,
double-up parlors and rotary parlors. Waikato fills a niche for producers interested in high-quality swing-over parlors where one set of milking units is stationed in the center of the pit to milk both rows of cows. As one row
finishes, the milking units are swung over to milk the second row. ”The Waikato name is tied exclusively to New Zealand-style
swing-over parlors,” says Dean Bell, marketing manager for Waikato Milking Systems. “It targets transitional producers and pasture-based producers.” Bell defines transitional producers as those who milk about 60 cows in a stanchion barn. “To be viable they have to milk more cows,” he says. “And milking more than
about 100 cows in a stanchion barn is difficult. These producers are considering a parlor for the first time.” Swing-over parlors are a natural fit with low-input dairying such as grazing. Pasture-based producers want to milk
cows quickly and efficiently to get them back to the pasture as soon as possible. “The emphasis is to reduce capital debt load and costs to milk as many cows as possible,” he says. Pasture-based producers in New Zealand want to
finish each milking shift in 1.5 to 2 hours (2x a day milking), Bell explains. To accomplish that they build large parlors. For example, a producer with 300 cows would, on average, milk in a swing-26 parlor. “Waikato systems
are designed for producers who need an efficient parlor for a reasonable amount of money,” he says. “No one specializes in swing-over parlors like we do.” •
“We chose a Waikato swing-over parlor because it met our needs for price and space. We needed a
narrow parlor that would fit into a 22-foot wide lean-to that we added to the existing barn. Plus, we didn’t want to make a large investment into a new parlor. “The swing-!2 parlor has automatictake-offs, and it’s very
comfortable for our milkers. “Since we started milking in the parlor in January 1998,
it’s been very low maintenance.”
Dale Jensen, Amery, Wisconsin 215 cows, swing-12
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