Farmer/owner: George White and family
Farm location: Swadlincote, Derbyshire
Farm name: Oaklands Farm
Herd: 350 White Oaks Pedigree Jersey cows
Milking system: Fullwood 36pt Rotary Abreast
Date of installation: April 2005
The White family, founders of GLW Feeds, run an award winning 350 strong Jersey herd. George White purchased the farm over 30 years ago and has since established a very successful dairy farming and feed enterprise.
Mark Moore, Herd Manager at Oaklands Farm, has been employed by the White family for 18 years and helped to create the successful dairy farm and pedigree herd. When Mark started, the farm was milking 180 Friesian cows through a Fullwood 10:20 herringbone swingover parlour, purchased from Ivor Bayley, founder of Fullwood Installation Dealership Mark Bayley Ltd, now run by his son Mark.
From 2000 to 2001, George and Mark decided the farm’s dairy unit and sheds were becoming too small for the quantity and size of their Friesian herd and the infrastructure was prohibiting expansion. They looked to changing the breed of cow and George and Mark purchased from five Jersey herds and have since reared their own from this stock.
After allowing some time for the Jersey herd to settle in, George and Mark wanted to increase the number of cows for a higher milk yield and explored the options of a larger parlour to suit. They decided upon a 36pt rotary abreast parlour and new dairy unit to be built adjacent to their existing farm buildings.
The family purchased the parlour from Mark Bayley Ltd who is located only a couple of miles from the farm – and it was only six months from ordering to commissioning the parlour on 9th April 2005. “A lot of the decision was based on the existing relationship and support we received from Mark and his team and even now we can’t fault it, they are very good.”
In 2012 the farm received a positive TB testing during which time their herd increased to 580 cows. This was an unsettling time but once the herd was free of TB, Mark reduced the number to 350 and this has remained the average figure since.
Mark has said the main benefits of working with their rotary parlour are the increase in yields, decrease in milking time and the ease of using the system. The milk yields have increased by 2,500 litres per year and Mark added “it is a much nicer environment to work in”.