tonightd feature night is by Robin Hood,,milking equipment

larry@stinescorner · Mar 24, 2016

Robin Hood wants to see or hear about milking equipment,and wants to know about pipeline vs parlor milking.He also wants to know how many on the site here are or have been dairy farmers.He worked at a dairy farm years ago,and would like to hear or see pictures from you all. ,,,,,Tomorrow night,,,,,RBoots wants to see engine and equipment damage,blown motors etc. Either broken or in the process of getting fixed and some of the damaged parts.

RayP(MI) · Mar 24, 2016

Our farm was a dairy farm from late 40's until '70. I grew up in that time frame on the farm, so I guess I qualify as dairy farmer. My sophomore year in highschool I took over and ran the farm while dad was laid up after surgery. Also helped out my uncle on his dairy farm as well. When I was in college, just about to be married over spring break, my future father-in-law was hospitalized after an incident with his bull. I went down and took over his dairy operation until he got out. He did make the wedding. Couple weeks later he showed me the milk checks. No change in production! He was very impressed that a new herdsman could come in and do that. Made a lot of points with my new FIL. (Bull was history by the time he got out of hospital.)

We used DeLaval bucket milkers, uncle had IHC, which were similar. FIL had Surge. Man, I hated those Surge with the back straps. All were stansion operations. Before parlors and pipelines. Sorry I can't share pictures.

Yeah, guess I could say I am (was) a dairy farmer.

Had fun at the 4-H fair a few years back. Kid wanted to teach me how to milk by hand. Had half a bucket before he knew what happend!

Cory Schmidt · Mar 24, 2016

don't have dairy animals(haven't had on the farm since before me) still have some equipment collecting dust, like these milk pails and surge bucket on the shelf in the shop. We still use milk cans and a milk strainer for maple sap.

Bob NY · Mar 24, 2016

I grew up on a dairy farm in northern Jefferson Co., NY and ran the farm myself from 1974 to 1984. I have been an Eastern/Genex A.I. technician for 31 years as of tomorrow. I go to farms that use everything from bucket milkers to pipelines to old herringbone parlors to new parallel parlors to robots.

gab · Mar 24, 2016

Sign I found in an upstairs room ceiling while doing a remodel.

Charlie M · Mar 24, 2016

I grew up on a small dairy farm in the 60's. Had 26 cows.Milk from each cow was carried in a pail to the bulk tank. In the early 60's we still had milk cans. My Dad had a milk route. I remember riding with him as a kid barely able to lift the empties.Had 3 plants where he dropped off the cans and picked up the clean ones. Sometimes one would come back red tagged. Unbelievable what was in the can that the farmer thought they would take. Those old water bath tanks for cans were great in the summer for holding a water melon or drinks after being in a hot hay field all day. I was about 6-7 years old at the time of the milk route. I'm now 62, can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning but I can still drive that route and point out each farmer and their names.Those kinds of experiences growing up have an awful lot to do with what you become later in life.

PaGlenn · Mar 24, 2016

Empire Milker

farmerwithmutt · Mar 24, 2016

Milked most of my life universal, new pulse , surge . Pipeline milk transfer and foot. Remember milk cans in driveway of barn and cats getting a squirting of milk.
One thing I'll bet few have ever heard of but my dad loved it thats hand stripping. When the first milkers came out they started by machine and finished by hand I still have add talking about inflations that reduces the amount of hand milking he even milked for a time after they had there calf by hand . Nothing like having a wet tail wrapped around your neck early in the morning. A lot of cows wouldn't let there milk down unless you milked them by hand they just didn't like the milker

greg oliver · Mar 24, 2016

I was a dairy farmer and now work at excavating and construction and help out on neighboring farms. We excavated and formed and poured cement for a parlor last year. The first picture is me in 1993 with a Delaval pipeline. The mini excavator was used to dig the pit for the milking parlor last year. Next is the forming and last pics are finishing up installation. The farmers were still milking in part of the barn but was a less than ideal situation!

gab · Mar 24, 2016

Farm I grew up on, round roof barn is a 1947 I think, I'm a 49. Barn had nice 3 stall parlor with a pipeline to cans to start with, few years later pipeline came out bulk tank went in and milk was carried to the tank. Ground feed placed above parlor, feed came down a metal duct in frt of each cow and a short auger was hand cranked a couple times. I never did much milking but I got in on a lot of hose time washing the place out and scraping the rest of the barn out.

Brendon Warren · Mar 24, 2016

I grew up on a dairy farm in NNY. Then I worked at a couple other dairies and then for my uncle. I just bale and sell hay now. I miss the cows but I don't miss the work.

Ivan in Mich · Mar 24, 2016

I did not grow up on a farm but have been around and working on one since I able to walk. We use to come up to my grandparents place and I went with my dad and uncle out to milk cows as soon I was able to walk. At that time they were all milked by hand and I remember him teaching me how. He had a stool that was tee shaped that he would sit on but I never mastered that. He then went to using the surge milkers which speeded things up.
A couple years ago we were at a yard sale by Higgins lake and on the table was the bottom half of a surge milker and they had it labels as a portable male urnal. After I got a laugh the woman asked me what was funny about it so I told her what that was. Her face got red and see tool the sign off it. She said her husband told her that is what it wa. I sure would not want to have been him that night

rrlund · Mar 24, 2016

I don't know that I have any pictures from inside the dairy barn. Dad shot a few home movies of it,but I don't have them. We milked in a 44 stanchion barn with a pipeline and gutter cleaner. I started out in a 16 stanchion barn with Surge buckets and a can cooler just before I turned 16. Dad got mad at the milk inspector and told me if I wanted to milk cows,I could have 2/3rds of the milk check if I paid all the bills and did all the work,so I took him up on it.
The wife and I were Michigan Milk Producers Association District 5 Outstanding Young Dairy Couple in 1990. I was president of the Dairyland Local,a member of the MMPA State Resolutions Committee and District 5 Nominating Committee for a lot of years. The boys just didn't want to keep it up anymore,so the cows went out of here November 23 2003.

crooked rows · Mar 24, 2016

My brother and I milked cows for almost 50 years.....I couldn't find any pictures of the inside of the milking barn in a hurry (need to get my pictures organized )....the first picture is when we started with 20 cows in a stanchion barn and the last picture was taken a couple of years after we sold the cows. We were milking between 160-180 cows in a parlor freestall setup.

David Snipes · Mar 24, 2016

When I was growing up my dad ran a small dairy at home besides his town job. We sold raw milk to all the neighbors (never got anyone sick) when it was not so regulated. We had a Surge milking machine and were married to the girls every 12 hour. I have good memories of it but I wouldn't do it again.

Bruce from Can. · Mar 24, 2016

I have been a Dairy farmer for over 35 years now, started out in a rented barn with 15 Holstein cows and two Surge bucket milkers, I was 20. Now all these many years later our barn ties 105 , and I have Bou-matic auto take-off milkers , that run on a track.Milk goes into the pipeline , and away to the tank. We started to buy a few Jersey cows in 1995, and sold off the last of our black and whites in 2004. I have been very lucky that I found a wife that will not only put up with me ,but likes the cows . She goes with me to the barn every morning, before leaving for her day job.What a trooper! Our 28 year old son is with me full time on the farm, so there is no immediate end in sight. Always loved the barn , the cows and the farm in general, and have been blessed with good physical health . Some folks complain about their childhood on the farm , or chew about being tied to the cows. The life of a Dairy farmer can be tough at times , but the rewards of doing what you love to do far out way the hardships. And it sure don't hurt any if your wife feels the same way. You don't have to be crazy to be a dairy farmer , but if you are , it sure helps. Bruce

pms · Mar 24, 2016

My Grandfather and father started in the dairy business in S. California in 1948.They milked about 50 cows.They moved the dairy farther out of town because local kids kept letting cows out at night.Urban sprawl finally forced most of the dairies out of the area entirely.We moved to Washinton State in 1972.Milked about 100 until about 1983.Same thing happened in Washinton.Most of the dairies in the area either went out of business or moved to Idaho.There was a herd buy out program going on at the time.All the turmoil that caused has convinced me that government price supports and milk quotas don't work in the long run.Probably catch hell for saying that!Out of all my siblings(there are 14 of us)only myself and one of my sisters still do any farming.

Paul

gtractorfan · Mar 24, 2016

I grew up on a small farm, (dad also worked in a factory) we had about a dozen milk cows- also hogs. Enough that we always had to be home at chore time. Now I know of 4 mega-dairies in the area. The one pictured here have several buildings housing cows like this, they have 24 on a side parlor, milk around the clock except for clean up time. I have a picture of the parlor but it includes people whose identity I wouldn't betray without permission.

JimB2 · Mar 24, 2016

Dad first bought an IH vacuum pump and pail milker in 1945. The milker milked two cows at once. Later in mid 1950s he bought three Surge pail milkers. We had a couple cows that we had to strip by hand and ever once and a while when the power would fail, we would start milking by hand hoping the power would be restored before we finished. No backup generator in those days.

JimB

JayinNY · Mar 24, 2016

Great pics and nice story Bruce, thanks for sharing a piece of heaven, no lely robotic milker? Lol

Bradiniowa · Mar 24, 2016

Milked on my own for 27 years plus at least 8 while at home. Sold my cows in 2012 to a new robot set up.

JD John · Mar 24, 2016

Started milking in a stachions and buckets right out of high school in 85. Carrying the buckets to the tank. Started milking in the palor 4-28-99. Palor is a double 4 Bou-Matic, 4 cows on a side, with a Mueller bulk tank. Still need a bucket milker to milk fresh and treated cows in. Milk runs to the receiver jar in the corner then is pumped to the tank. 35 cows in the herd. Can't think of anything else I would rather do. Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.

Tim(nj) · Mar 24, 2016

My grandfather had a contraption that fit in place of a sparkplug on the Ford NAA that would run the vacuum pump when the power went out. I still have the gauge and fittings but the hose has dry rotted away.

IA Roy · Mar 24, 2016

Do you run those cows thru a cow-wash? The only place I have seen cows that clean is at the county fair!

IA Roy · Mar 24, 2016

Bruce, you are blessed!

Dave Sherburne, NY · Mar 24, 2016

Back in the late 40s my father used a Universal milker that looked a lot like the one PAGlenn posted. He put it between 2 cows and milked both at the same time into the same bucket. The vacuum hose from the milker went directly to the vacuum pump which hung from a barn door like track the length of the barn about 12 cows on one side and a few less on the other side because the horse stall were on that side. After a pair of cows were milked out the milk got dumped into strainer which sat on top of the milk cans which when full were carried to the milk house and put in the milk cooler. In the morning the cans were hauled about 3 miles to the milk station where they were put on an outside conveyor which carried them inside thru a small can sized door. Inside the cans were dumped and cleaned with real hot water and then the cans came out another door. If it was summer time and the well was dry we hauled water home in the cans.

BJ-WI · Mar 24, 2016

Hi Bruce, thanks for the pictures. I have a 73 cow barn in Wisconsin, but the cow's butts face each other. Just wonder how you feed the round bales in the barn? Also, I noticed you put two take offs between each cow. I never seen that around here.
Thanks, Bruce from Wisconsin

JD John · Mar 24, 2016

No cow wash, the free-stalls are beded with sand and that does help keep them clean.

ssgshelton · Mar 24, 2016

Great shots everyone. Larry how about we have a topic night of pictures of old farms/new farms as seen in aerial photographs? I would like to see a few if this has not been already covered. Thanks

GregCO · Mar 24, 2016

Well I had a goat dairy if that counts. Milked 250 head twice a day. We had a sanitary pipeline filling two bulk tanks. Parlor was a double 12 side by side. Somewhere I have more pictures. Just need to find them.

Greg

farmerwithmutt · Mar 24, 2016

Guys milk jerseys because there to poor for Holsteins and to proud to milk a goat. Love the little brown cuties milked a herd of mostly jerseys and now raise jersey beef on grass. It looks like yours are well taken care off

farmerwithmutt · Mar 24, 2016

We had a 300 utility with a stall cocktail on the vacuum tube between the engine and carburetor tractor ran a little funny but a little better then by hand

JMS/.MN · Mar 24, 2016

Home farm photos...1952, old barn. Block layers, plus me, the little guy at 8yo. New barn walls went thru old barn. Rafters made on the haymow floor, of home sawed cottonwood. Silo was lowered and left inside barn to reduce freezing of silage. Last photo is 1962, 16x40 silo and unloader added. Never had a barn cleaner, except me...

Eldon (WA) · Mar 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 14:29:30 03/24/16) Robin Hood wants to see or hear about milking equipment,and wants to know about pipeline vs parlor milking.He also wants to know how many on the site here are or have been dairy farmers.He worked at a dairy farm years ago,and would like to hear or see pictures from you all. ,,,,,Tomorrow night,,,,,RBoots wants to see engine and equipment damage,blown motors etc. Either broken or in the process of getting fixed and some of the damaged parts.

No pics here! Milked my last cow at the age of 18 and have had 40 years of joy since LOL!

JayinNY · Mar 24, 2016

One thing I noticed is were are the water bowls? Maybe I'm missing them in the pic.

Eldon (WA) · Mar 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 18:37:13 03/24/16) My Grandfather and father started in the dairy business in S. California in 1948.They milked about 50 cows.They moved the dairy farther out of town because local kids kept letting cows out at night.Urban sprawl finally forced most of the dairies out of the area entirely.We moved to Washinton State in 1972.Milked about 100 until about 1983.Same thing happened in Washinton.Most of the dairies in the area either went out of business or moved to Idaho.There was a herd buy out program going on at the time.All the turmoil that caused has convinced me that government price supports and milk quotas don't work in the long run.Probably catch hell for saying that!Out of all my siblings(there are 14 of us)only myself and one of my sisters still do any farming.

14 of us too, grew up in South Dakota milking from the age of 10 till 18. I was smart enough to move on, still have 2 brothers there that milk.

Paul

unclesilo · Mar 24, 2016

got my first milk check at the ripe old age of 11 my grandpa put in electric milkers in a stanchion in 1946 went to a double 6 herringbone for my dad and uncle, two other uncles had a double 3 bypass parlor, other uncle had a double 4 herringbone. I bought out my uncle in 90 my cousin bought out the other uncle in 87 by 97 and his fourth wife he was through and in nov 03 with both parents in failing health and taking money out of the bank instead of putting it in we made the decision to cut out a losing proposition and sold the cows, my cousins (one of whom is an attorney and the other is a pharmacist) are still juicing at the rate of around 200 cows, I pray for them daily.

JMS/.MN · Mar 24, 2016

I left home in "64, for the military, then college. Home farm was sold. Started on my own in"72 with 28 cows, built the dairy to over 70, did that for 30 years, quit in "02, don"t miss them a bit. Background in both photos is most of the dairy setup here.

tomstractorsandtoys · Mar 24, 2016

We milked for 20 years. Had mostly holstein cows and about half were red and whites.I never relly enjoyed milking but liked the steady income and the field work. We had a 48 cow tie stall barn here and a loose housing setup that held about 35-40 at our other farm before we bought this one.The loose housing took lots of bedding but that manure was great for building up a run down farm. We now have a beef herd and raise some steers that we fatten out.I never had much money when we milked and still do not,the only difference is I get about two more hours sleep.LOL

sammydwm · Mar 25, 2016

Have lived and worked on dairy farms since 1969. I remember using cans at our first farm. We were the last farm to switch to a bulktank.
Got a stepsaver in 73 and bought a farm with a pipeline in 79.
Milked 30 organic cows in a homebuilt swing 6 parlor.
Milked 12 or so goats with a DeLaval bucket currently just have 1 tie stall for a family cow.

JerryS · Mar 25, 2016

This is the only thing I have left from the little 10-stanchion dairy my family operated during the late 40s until 1958. We usually milked about 30 to 40 cows with three surcingle-held Surge milkers. The milking parlor was open on the south end, so the temp inside was about the same as outside. Fortunately our winters were relatively mild. While waiting to be milked, the cows stood in a large pen. In the rainy season the mud got so deep the cows dragged their udders through it, so we had to bathe them with warm disinfectant water. My hands stayed red with dermatitis almost year round. I don't regret the experience, but I sure don't miss it.

vscummins · Mar 25, 2016

Worked for a dairy last year as a mechanic wasn't bad don't know if I'll go back yet the silage bagging system about did it for me on the dairy experience

Bruce from Can. · Mar 25, 2016

I recognize that little guy . Goes in the lid of a Surge bucket milker , and the pulsator goes on over top. Bruce

Bruce from Can. · Mar 25, 2016

Water bowls are silver ,Stainless steel ,and are hard to spot in these pictures,cows heads are blocking them out. One bowl for two cows.

olddog · Mar 25, 2016

AAAAAhhhhhhhh yes! BTDT & they didn't give Tshirts back then!
You too, woke up in the mornin', with a surcingle in one hand, pail & hose in the other,
sayin' "Get over, gurl!"

Gambles · Mar 25, 2016

I grew up on a dairy farm. It was eventually taken out by a tornado.
The company that I work for gets a lot of work by two dairies, both having about 1,500 cows.

JerryS · Mar 25, 2016

tonightd feature night is by Robin Hood,,milking equipment

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