xt7dbr8mf99s https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7dbr8mf99s/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station.  journals kaes_circulars_004_505 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 505 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 505   2014 true xt7dbr8mf99s section xt7dbr8mf99s I
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How to Reduce  
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I. b0I' St€ S and C ts II I
8 , p , OS II I
• D • •   I
Y"19  
EC ¤I
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22) I I
By I
Harry M. Young, Jr.  
gen- I
_ George B. Byers
rem
this _
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;Imt I
ges,
1 I0 I I
Circulor 505
, i11· I
ings  
ered  
;0s1s I  
I
II Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture und Home Economics I
:0lF I I
KCII. C0"€ge of Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Kentucky I
I I and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating I
FRANK J. WELCH, Director  
I ‘ I
  Issued in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914. I I
M-it    
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 ilii V
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II
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I ·•- 4-cow-abreast wolk-through milking urea (.5}.4 ··L
I A· 2-cow-ubreost wolk-through milking area,   \ i`
I .;- 3·§·_or 5·cow-iondem elevated-stall milking oreo   ·’ T;z:._4 A
I 0- Wolk-in - b¤ck·ouI milking ore¤   ’·’::-·  V _»v_ A\·» "*‘\,.;` `\n
.¤- Siunchion born _,‘   ' ____ ·.
    •6&”  ~ kngl `
_~*‘¤.,_ {  —· , ¤;;.;   \
’ — ef; *9-·’4»»·$ in ° ·
  Ig   ~·»- `        
> p Li i 7
   ·‘l’ ‘t v IN I ~
  ‘  4*6* I3 "I: S  
/ ‘~. I .,•°° /
( .... .___r_ -V-VF  { • Q. * rn l} D
I "" M I I l` • V »-·‘J _
’ P is- . ¤ /,J gO1I]g
` /` 1"7:.·· 2:;*.. ~:. ir ig).,     I-   __v_   min N .v 'A
1 Q"““""" `‘‘’`   ’ COm€
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Fig. I.- Location of milking purlors and stunchion burns included in the study reported I a pal
in Kentucky Bulletin 589, on which this circulur is based.   incre;
I latter
I milk
·rEN·rs I be 1.6
CON ~ needs
. labor
Page T
REASONS FOR DAIRY EXPANSION ...................,.............,.,.....,.. 3 I I
I tural
I I
MACHINE MILKING vs. HAND MILKING ................,...,.....,....... 4   p01'I£€
_ I Desig
WORK ROUTINES, BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT .................,.. 5 Chop
Stanchion Barns .....................................,,.....,...,................. 6 Hndir
Walk-Through Milking Parlors ...,...,.................r..........,.,..... 8 Can b
Four-cow-abreast, walk-through milking parlor
(level-type) with rest—shed ........................................ IO
Tandem-waIk—thr0ugh milking parlor
(elevated stalls) with rest shed ................................ II
Walk-In-Back-Out Milking Areas with Loose
. Housing Combination ..........................................i.........,. I2 D
to gy;
'SUGGESTED METHODS FOR IMPROVEMENT- .................,.......... I3 Cl
‘ass
COMPARISON OF BUILDING COSTS ..................,.........r........... I4 CI'€3Sl
8 0
BEDDING ...........................................................i.........,.............. is b   I
_ emg
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ARRANGEMENTS .... I9 OPPOI

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~ l
|·|ow To Reduce  
‘ Lobor, Steps, cmd Costs in Doirying  
Ax  By Harry M. Young, Jr., and George B. Byers  
  rl l
During the past few years the share of milk production costs   . {
going to labor has increased, while the share going to feed has be-    
come smaller. Greater emphasis on grassland farming may offer   `
md a partial explanation of this shift. On the other hand, the rate of   1
increase in feed costs has been much less than that of labor. The    
latter now makes up nearly a third of the total cost of producing l I
milk in Kentucky. It is second only to cost of feed.   I
How can labor needs be reduced? How much can labor needs  
be reduced? VVhat are the investments necessary to reduce labor  
` needs? What building arrangements are most suited to reducing l
labor needs?  
To answer these and other questions, the Kentucky Agricul·
tural Experiment Station began studies in 1947. Results are re-
i ported in Bulletin 589, “Effect of Work Methods and Building
r Design upon Building Cost and Labor Efficiency for Dairy
Chores,” of the Kentucky Experiment Station. Based on these
findings, certain definite statements and recommendations now
can be made. {
REASONS FOR DAIRY EXPANSION · [
Dairying in Kentucky is expanding because of land suitable   K
to grazing livestock, family labor supply, climate, and markets. l I
Grassland farming, suitable growing season for forage crops, in- _ J
creased production per cow, farms with available family labor,  
3 population under-supplied with locally produced milk, and  
being near heavily populated industrial areas furnish an attractive   `
opportunity for expansion of dairy farming in the state.  
l
   
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 C ll T
ll
| MACHINE MILKING versus HAND MILKING f
r
{ ' A milking machine is a substitute for labor. Therefore, eco-
nomical use of it largely depends upon cost of operation compared
1 with the value of labor saved through its use—if hired help is '
reduced, or if farm enterprises make use of labor released by the · .
l machine. Convenience and ease of doing the milking, flexibility-
in use of labor, and sanitation opportunities are further ad-
vantages of machine milking. With five or more cows, the milk- ‘
ing machine was found to save enough labor to equal the cost of ‘
y owning and operating two single—unit milkers.
Machine milking allows the farmer and members of his family ) .
’ or hired workers to relieve each other for vacations, weekends, l F
and holiday periods, apparently without disturbing the behavior .i
of the cows. Dairymen indicate that with machine milking, . "
changing workers does not disturb the cows as much as changing l
_ workers who milk by hand.  
In general, with the present equipment costs, machine milking   T
is more economical for herds of five cows or more when labor is ’ j
valued from 35 cents to 75 cents an hour. Combined cost of labor, 1 ]
electricity and equipment per cow is about the same for hand i ;
milking and machine milking with four to five cows (Fig. 2). , ;
_ Average costs per herd in owning and Operating milking 11121-  
chines and other dairy equipment for 28 herds studied are; j w
A Cows per herd ...................................................................... 15 f 1
lNVESTl\lENT: two single-unit milkers,
pump, motor and pipeline .............................................. $$29
Depreciation, annually (life 15 years) ............................................ $22
Repairs, annually .......................,...........,.......................................... $11
Interest, annually ..............................................................................   <
Total annual cost per herd of 15 cows ............... . ............................ S48 `
Total daily cost per herd ............................................ S .12 4
Total daily cost per cow ......................................... . .... $ .008
Electricity for milker per cow daily ............................ $ .0025 (
_ INVESTMENT in other dairying equipment .................... $613 1
Depreciation, annually (life 10 years) ............................................ 861 ;
Interest per herd, annually ........................... . ..................................  
Total annual cost per herd ........................................................ $79 f
Total daily cost per herd ........................................................ 3 .22_ 1
Total daily cost per cow .....................,..........................,......... S .010 I
El(?L'tTlClt}’ fOI` (.‘()()lCT 2II1(l \V21tCI` llCL1t(‘I` DCT (JOVV dlllly .......... S  
4
— . Proper timing of work operations of the milking job is highly j
important. The worker must be ready to Watch the machine czH‘F· <
fully during final moments of the milking process for each cow. 1

 | l
’¤ OC IHBITN IDQWI  
)CO §   J-labor at 75cents an hour ; I
’ ` a, 55 l
tred Q so l
is E 45 ` (J—Machine milking with   {
p Q 40 ` I¤borat50centsanhour  
dim . g gg li Hand matxanq vrithlabor \ (J-Mochinc mitkinowith l  
Illty E 25 ‘ got 75 cents an hour \ _ A _ labor at 35c¢nts an hour l  
d q 0 `_` ` Hand milking with labor ‘ I ·
il; lg   * ~ . _ _ _ _ _ _ rn`50 cents an hour ‘\ Crime milking with lobbr  l,
ru - ET IO *--____•·- c!&5;:e;ttj¢;nh¤ur  
st of E 5 " it
l § O 5 to I5 zoo 5 no is 200 5 to is zo  
. ¤ ;
[Tilly I J Number at cows per herd l  
mdsv ~ Fig. 2.- Daily costs of labor and equipment per cow for hand milking and machine milk-  
° y 1 ing. With wages for labor varying by areas of the state, and machine costs being fairly l
1VlO l I
. g   uniform for the state, three wage rates are presented with one set of machine cost data. `  
KID , I q  
l I  
ging ’   I
ll
lking l This will allow the worker time to keep the teatcups from creep- »
>or is q ing up on the cow’s udder as the last milk is being removed. yl
abor, Further time can be saved by massaging each quarter of the udder  
hand and at the same time pulling downward firmly on the teatcup l
_ ¤ assemblage during the final part of the milking process (Fig. 3).
g ina- Following a well-planned milking routine for each cow pro-
vides for correct operation of the milkingmachine and substitu-
tion of machine stripping for hand stripping.
Work Routines, Buildings and Equipment
22
11 i By using effective work methods, and having properly de- 2
l0 · . . . . .
E signed buildings with well-arranged equipment, a dairyman can
do dairy chores in about half the time otherwise required. Be-
cause of labor costs, and the need for efficiency in all farm opera-
tions, the dairy farmer can well afford to follow work routines  
@$2 and to use an arrangement of buildings and equipment to make
$6 economical use of labor in dairying. Work methods, building
g ,22 location and arran emcnt and kind and arran ement of e ui -
_ 015 g » g q P 1
  il)l2 ment affect the time needed for milking, amount of walking, ease '
of doing dairy chores, and routine of handling and milking cows.
hlgllll PY0perly designed and arranged buildings and equipment can re- I
e cine- duce overhead costs in dair in , as well as save time and walkin F
. . _ _ Y S l
h Cow in doing dairy chores. l
. 5 l

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1 " _  };’§ .·y;; V `
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.   ’’‘__ V ~.v,   ‘  
r i        Fi  i?  i
   »    »   Lv``   Y `
 ii     ”   -v4`    <_A   » `  s   .  
  I    .,,, · E . ' *5:; Ji 3
   L , i.   », A     Q,   _
  _r·.  I. » Z   Alpli   .· " __:_ g   ,·`,*;   Fig. 3.-Following a
  ‘_   »··- "     ~·      properly pl¤hI1€d milking
. H I   '~//WV   ,   routine allows the work-
,   1  . V    fi  er time to keep tent
  "    [ff] cups from creeping up p
  `     l   an the udder, and makes l
  M     V, V possible a saving in time  
"" if     · Q V by machine stripping the  
”   ,·   , COW. l
”” [   ··   
Stanchion Barns  
Labor requirements vary because of the type of building used A
for housing, milking, and feeding the cows, and because of the _ V
milking routine and equipment used by the worker. Man labor (
in doing daily dairy chores in stanchion barns of all types is about
120 man hours and 45 miles of walking per cow annually for mu- 5
chine milking. More labor is used in dairy chores for hering UP ~ NI I ll
:lm¤kes I lVlGl'lQ€T GFTQBT  
mtime Feed Glley Feed alley .l
ning *h¤ I . .·= = _1 ` F  
milker pump -. I d wl
ond motor II 69 I
_ TOOITI   I
C _[1_I'_O_C..'  WGTET l'l€Ol€f l
§ Il ; 'V*'l—K   msn vats
l i   .
l mi lk cooler   == - ·
l {Fi} ·.`~ ; lé;?}¤gl
g used |;"-';Z;Ll
Actual time and walking per cow per year—120 hours and 45 miles.
of tllt I Wlthzguggested improvements, time and walking per cow per year could be 77 hours Hlld I
ml CS.
1 labor Cost per cow on a 20-cow-herd basis was $408. (See Table on page 14).
; about (Consult local health authorities before starting construction.)
:01. mu. F_l9- 4-j Stunchion barn with hay loft, milk room, feed room and silo arranged for eftl- I
i 1   Clancy In handling! feeding and   COWS. BOTH $h0Wl1 is ft)! (1 20-QQw h€|’d_ `
· ici I
r h€1‘(l5 {
O1' and F&Cl1lg Cows outward in stanchion barns is 0. help in dOi1lg l
dairy chores, when there are two lines of cows (Fig. 4). Cows  
of bam should be faced outward even thou h more walkin and time l
  g S I
g dalll are needed in feeding—feeding represents only 15 percent of total l
le pl=}€€ W0Yl< time, while milkmgI cleaning the barn, and SO On, H13.l<€ up l
ni, Slltli U€€U`ly half of the total work time. l\/lilking and l)3.1‘I1 Cl€£11'1lHg 211`€‘
ow llm fl0H€ 1n a smaller area if Cows face outward than it they t2lC€ l
Inward.   .
 
7 l
l

 ll  
li . - .
1 Time can be reduced t0 /5 or 80 hours and walking about 20
l H1ll€S PGY COW Elllllllftlly. F1gL11`€ 4 Sl]OWS 3.1] 2lI`1`3.Hg€lTl€Ht Wl"1lCll '*
l would help in reducing chore time and walking in stanchion barns 7
for 20-cow herds. Kentucky Bulletin 589 contains detailed des-
C1`lptlOHS of l)2':I1`l] 2l1`1`23.1]g€lTl€DlS fllld Cl101`€ I`OUtlH€S Wl1lCl} could
bring about this more eflicient performance of dairy chores.
Many stanchion barns, very probably, ofler opportunities for . `
rearrangement which would increase labor efliciencyQ Often the
rearrangement would involve only small changes in layout, that
could be made at low cost.
i Walk-Through Milking Parlors
VValk-through milking parlors and rest-shed combinations en-
courage dairymen to use suitable labor—saving work methods with
less walking than in walk—in — back—out milking parlors, with rest
sheds.
_ Fi
Actual time and walking pvr l lc
cow per year—75 hours and I Ci
26 miles. , ln
With suggested improvements, gl
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. time and walking per cow
per year could be~52 hours
_ and 10 miles.
Cost per cow on a 20-corr
herd-basis was $303. (Soc
tablc on page 14.)
_ . HAY AND BEDD|NG (Consult local health autlrori- Vl
(smred on ground > :%g;Al§€‘fDl‘(‘ starting construe- ` il
. i kl
nr l`
MANGER’siIaqe and hay d
_ 2 :ROUGHAGE FEEDING AND RESUNG AREA l U
‘ g r for I5 to 20 cows f·T_‘.f._j4
ll -%--1   — - - 5 feed box on door U
U I h r'_.`C`.`, M
·»  -§ — -l o 0--—w—G1eIil-?€—{_§"§~'iP ll.K|NG ARE ·E S
· » r' ·Z ·~
il 3 l :     4—cOw) L! dYGlf\
` - 3 r · °f’l'-‘?"?'~°\ c
; ---- -· ; rrotorrve PEN   _ _P LZ; Hmngfeed bin
A r milker_purhp` FEED H
- 0 tt ...... ,9D°.'l‘°!Q'. J  ROOM “ gr
l end of barn open to south or sautheastl | ._____ _ can mck a
. lhl IMILK ·· water heater
milk cooler r {Room  .ll S
L-J _ _ =_ wash vars _
  ¤.~ 2;; l
l`;. ‘-   Y, H
' t Fig. S.- Four—cow-abreast, level-type, walk-through milking parlor, milk roam, feed rcomr
pole barn, and silo arranged for efficiency in handling, feeding and milking cows. Bw U
shown for l5-to·20—cow herd. See Kentucky plan, Ky. ll. 723-l8. Milking area ond l“‘ll‘ v
room on the same level. Farmers were observed using 88 to l09 square feet per CGW ‘“
the resting area.
l

  [ i 
l 1
l l l
  Actual time and walking per cow  
W_p§r year—§5d hours and 2.% nlilcs. i  
.   - ~ ·   · .... t · , · E
ich ···’ Lnfitfftfiig §'§F"2YI$$“€§§. QE.? .
· could be 54 hours and 10 miles. l
1`HS Cost per cow on a 20-cow-herd l
l basis   $358. (See Table on {
`- El . .
QS _ HAY AND BEDDING (Cgngslt local health authorities be-   {
uld ($'°'€d O" 9"°U"d l fore starting construction.) ll!
{510] _ MANGER-S,|Gge Gnd my   il-EGVALZEDG ETALL AREA  
‘ , . I . _ . . ·. OO E ee ox ‘
t 16 3 ,. :R_OUGHAGE FEEDING AND Resrlrve AREA|_`_ reed ohms ;i;
that 3 g for 1510 20cows · 5    - in/feed bin Canuck  
 ":"“     `   ·-=·.·=··· · hvur i'
3 ‘ -»'in out FEED  . ' -‘ WGS l.
. ' , T- V [ , OM rw ' water heater i
  s s ---- ——-¤·' ‘ ‘¤l L  lg?   I y
; i * qrer trough 'I__ if MILKING LJ l pl
3 3 [ W ·Z-—_.’ Ig AREA  rnitx /_·"7T VI
 - ——-—— ~ .Hot¤·~c PEN »_ I  »  H new -_;-; Cl
QH- i concrete \.i »: [···j _  
{ . L l   in/_ · ___' milk cooler  I
with l Ou _? · _ _ _ -- _-T       _ A,   . gui- Ymilker pumpcnd m¤l¤f l 
I V (end olbcirnooenlosouthor southeast) "     ' .     I
16* ei.evArar> STALL AREA iii
l
l
Fig. 6.- F0ur—cow-tandem, elevuted stall-type, wulk-through milking purlor, milk room, `l‘
l feed room, pole burn, und silo urrunged for efficiency in handling, feeding and milking  
E   cows. Burn shown for l5-to-20-cow herd. See Kentucky plun, Ky. ll.723-2l. Cows ure '
` in elevated stull urea. Milking urea und milk room ure on some level. Furmers were ~l
gments, observed using 88 to lO9 squure feet per cow in the resting ureu. I
> V l
irhgiiis  
ZOYQQQX Walk—through milking parlors are of two types: tandem, in K
mmm} WlllCl] two O1` I1"lO1`€ COVVS Stkllld ll] tl. ll1]€, l]€k`t(l to tdll, tllld 9.l)l`€tlSt,
’“$“““' in which cows stand side by side, as in a stanchion barn   Fig. 5·
I and 6). Dairymen using abreast—type milking parlors walk slight-
ly less, and use about 10 hours less labor per cow yearly than
` ClEl.ll`y1ll€1l lISlHg lZ$11`lCl€lll··ty]_)€ lnllklllg ]_)2I1`lO1`S. Tll€ 3HlOll1]t `Of tlll]€
l usually required for dairy chores in these walk-through arrange-  
0,, door ments is only about two-thirds the time required in usual type
l StElllCl]lO1`l l)€l1'I`lS.
Both walk—through arrangements allow assembly—line pro-
cedures in milking, and thereby encourage well-adjusted milking
ed bin · m tl d _ ' _ _
G IO S Hlld p1`Op€l` Yl`lHCll1I]€ St1`1]_)p1I`lg. Cows COIDC to tll€ WO1`l( g
area, are milked, and then return to the barn bv walkin throu li l l
. (1 . ' _ l
lcter Q 21 OOl` lll f1`O1`lt of €Ll.Cll COW. Tl]llS, COWS COIHG to tll€ \VOl`l(G‘l` ll]- , V
rs · stead of the worker having to go from cow to cow in stanchions. r
· . . l
With cows walking forward through the door in front of each .
d wom mllkmg 31621, there is little Or no l'1Sl( of llzlvlllg 21 lT11ll<,,_   ,..;.   1 [i
th- ` '   »   ’*`· * L   °  -   i i
.._. - . ,   `   , 1
al.- `, I , - r I ~»· v ' <’” .,,.,    
} ‘ .¥— " 1 J { . r [
·   ;A;»    ggii    _ 1   _ ` . _   ° di
1[ V   [ [ ug: .   in I  7:;- A [_ {_  -:_ ,,4,,;:,,   ·· - {    
- A‘‘V ··     1         ? ·
    ·   =.V       °‘:.     »’‘~   1 i·»
  F E, ·  V,;       ‘ .   il?   .— i"
if 1 .; 1   ; 1 ·   ;-‘       ’     1   < I
i " 1   V ig 1 `     :‘v 1   .· · :‘;A         :i· g 1 1 .
 »   i   i ` _   '-:A         —” : 1 i       1
-     `   ‘  Q-‘.--~ -··-·V   '<:·.·;..      i  
""`   s ai   1 i ¢~· ¤ £"*' "   `° W `»'`` `A   ‘   1  
‘   -   ’ 1 [ ’  .       .   '
 A   g 1 1 it »  :=A,  — .1 ‘v/· >_2‘*¤ii,    3i 1  
  V\_i..,.=.\,,,  6 » 11*     ~ A»’``       1' .    
  i ..1  ‘°:’   1 e ff`.}     ¥   . ‘ x? 1,
    *9     ‘`=.:§      `·/'’ *   _   , 1 ~   [
.       _   vV=.     .,,___..   VV_5   zvl I ;_k    =V_;;         .
    1      1   1
      ;.            <,$          v~»-       1
Fig. lO.—A well-arranged, easily cleaned, and well-lighted milk room of sufficient size, i[
located adjacent to the milking parlor or stunchion barn, provides an opportunity for clean "
and efficient handling of milk.
_ 111ent methods and lowest labor methods occur for the same ar- 1
e 111 mn
. gement.
t . . .
ren D€t31lS of CO1]St1`LlCt1OI] costs, at   p1'1C€S k11'€ to be fOl1l1Cl OI1 [
w . . .
ml pages 33, 34, 53, 54, and 55 of Kentucky Bulletin 589. This 111- Q
asl formation may be helpful to a farmer 11] making decisions,
er . . .
Pt w11etl1e1· 11e plans to construct a dairy building or remodel one. 1
Jes - ,
i BEDDING
951 . ~ .
Bedding tor dairy cows averages about 900 pounds of straw [
Z per cow annually for stanc11ion barns, and about 1,590 pounds
1 . . . . 1
S'° P6? COW for herds kept in loose housing barns. Cows 111 St2lI1Cl11OH 1 [
EES b&1`HS use an average of 5 pounds of straw daily for bedding, E
* 1 · . . .
[ w111le herds 111 loose-housing barns use 9 pounds of straw daily.
1448     p&1`lO1'S HTG LlS€(l, loose l1OLlSlI1g of tl”1€ COVVS 1138 L1 pilft
to play in im rovin the eificienc of labor used in dair in ; but
1448 — Y Y
g ~ more space to bed each cow, reater freedom of movement of
[
[
15 [

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