JTP Farms in Dorchester, Wis. recently achieved unprecedented milk production with its four DeLaval voluntary milking systems VMS™. In a seven-day period this winter, the dairy – owned by Tom and Peggy Peissig and Jake and Tolea Peissig – harvested an average of 6,453 lbs of milk per VMS station from their 247-cow herd. These results are the best yet for any VMS customer in the world – and possibly any producer milking robotically.
“What we’ve been able to achieve is the result of a team effort that would not have been possible without our cows, our families, our facility, and the support we receive from suppliers like our dealer, Bob’s Dairy Supply, and the staff of DeLaval,” said Jake Peissig. “A big factor in planning for success went into designing our new facility. We put a premium on cow comfort and animal welfare, and it’s clearly proving out as the right decision.”
The farm started milking their cows with the robots in January 2012. They transitioned their herd from a stanchion barn to a new, cross-ventilation facility with sand-bedded freestalls, swinging cow brushes and automatic manure scrappers. The new operation requires significantly less labor giving the Peissig’s more time to care for their cows and manage their operation.
“What JTP Farms has accomplished is a testament to their good farm management practices and their cows,” said Mark Futcher, DeLaval Marketing Manager of Automatic Milking Systems. “Dairy producers like the Peissigs make it impossible for DeLaval to state the maximum milk production of VMS. I think we’ve yet to reach the limit, as our VMS customers are proving every day.”
DeLaval VMS has been designed to offer excellent teat stimulation for maximum milk let-down. Producers can monitor their herd’s performance with DelPro Farm Manager and make a series of customizations by herd, group, cow or even teat to improve milking speeds and robot capacity.
JTP Farms performance facts:
– 247 lactating cows
– Two full-time employees for the entire herd and cropping needs
– 12 total labor hours per day for all herd-related activities
– Average daily milk production for all four VMS units over a seven-day period was 6,453 lbs (2,927 kg), equaling 104.5 lbs (47 kg) of milk per cow per day
– During the same period, one VMS harvested 6,902 lbs (3,131 kg) of milk in 24 hours