First-Of-Its-Kind Portable Milking Parlor

First-Of-Its-Kind Portable Milking Parlor DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 21-1-4 A Whiteford, Md., dairyman eliminated the expense of a permanent milking parlor by taking his milking parlor to his cows. Dan Delp is believed to have the only portable milking parlor of its kind in North America. He pulls it from field to field, following his cows which rotate between 30 to 40-acre pastures. "It's a super economical way of milking," says Delp who's used the system to milk 60 cows twice a day for the last year and a-half. "My electricity bills for the barn are only about $50 a month because the only time you use power is when you bring the system in to wash it and early in the morning to turn lights on before the sun's up. In the past, I had electric bills of $400 to $800 a month for the barn." Delp's system is housed on the 24-ft. long frame of an implement trailer he bought at an auction. The frame is built of 4 in. sq. tubing. It consists of three parts divided by partitions: a power station, a milking parlor, and holding tank. Power is supplied by a front-mounted 3-cyl. Deutz diesel engine that burns about 5 gal. of fuel in two days of milking. It operates the pumps, compressors and a 1/2 KW electric generator. The 9 by 15-ft. parlor section is covered. Eight cows are milked at a time and each is fed 5 1/2 lbs. of grain through a floor-level 4-in. auger. A 40-gal. water tank and pressure hose is used to clean the parlor after milking. Finally, there's a 300-gal. vacuum-sealed stainless steel milk tank on back. The unit is hydraulically raised to 18 in. off the ground for transport, either with Delp's 1986 Ford 4-WD pickup or a 8160 Belarus tractor. It's positioned next to a fence so cows can exit through the front into an adjoining field. Milking units raise so the next group of cows can enter. After milking, the unit is returned to the barn where milk is emptied into a stationary bulk tank and the system is cleaned and sanitized by equipment in Delp's permanent milking parlor. Delp uses the system up to three miles away from his home, and neighboring farmers offer him free grazing in the fall in re-turn for removing late-summer regrowth in their fields and pastures. This helps to re-duce his feed costs. Cows, he says, adapt easily to the system which has been virtually trouble-free. Delp says a portable milking parlor like his can be built for around $28,000. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dr. Robert Peters, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. 20742 (ph 301 405-1401).

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