Farmer/owner: Liam Roche
Farm location: Ballybeg, Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland
Farm name: Liam Roche
Herd: 165 Friesian Holsteins
Milking system: 20:40 Herringbone Parlour
Date of installation: August 2008
Jim Roche has been milking since the tender age of six, which adds up to an incredible 67 years, and he still loves every minute of it. And as surprising as it may seem, it was another twelve years after he began milking that the farm benefitted from the installation of electricity. Which is an indication of the time that has passed, since those early days, and of Jim’s lifetime dedication to the dairy farm. He can even remember a time, back in the early 1960’s, when he hand milked his 18 cows in 1 hr 50 mins and was justifiably proud of his achievement.
But times have changed and so have milking times. Today his son Liam runs the dairy herd of 127 Friesian Holsteins and understands only too well that ‘time is money’. That’s why being able to milk his entire herd in just one hour is such an important contribution to the profitable operation of the farm. He achieves that kind of performance with a Fullwood 20:40 Herringbone parlour. And to ensure that he maintains high quality output, Liam has Sensomatic meters linked to Crystal software to control milk consistency and cow health. With an eye on his running costs he recently installed “out of parlour” feeders which have further improved his financial outlook by significantly reducing his meal costs. Liam’s own words best express his feelings “the Fullwood parlour is a great set up and easy to manage – even the bank manager is happy with what we’re achieving”.