Orbit Concrete Rotary Milking Parlour System | Kiwitahi Pastoral | Waikato Milking Systems

When Kiwitahi Pastoral were looking for a new rotary milking system for one of their four dairy farms in the Waikato, they began researching platform options. The company had purchased the 303-hectare, Oreipunga Road dairy farm near Cambridge in 2018, and began planning its redevelopment the following year. The aim was to replace an old 33-aside Herringbone with a modern rotary milking system, located more centrally on the property to manage the farm’s 700 cows.

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As a part of the company’s research, co-owner Jason Trower said they were focussed on the types of platform that were available on the market. “The driving factor for us was the concept of having a platform that offered a total solution for the way we wanted to operate the dairy farm” says Jason, “We shortlisted two providers and Waikato Milking Systems were one of them.”

After Jason and Duncan Enersen, the company’s Operations Manager, visited various dairy farms to compare the design and performance of the two shortlisted platform options, the decision was made to install a Waikato Milking Systems 54-point Orbit Concrete Rotary Milking System.

“There was a marked difference in the visibility across the Orbit platform deck because of the design of the bail” says Jason. With three steel legs from the bail on the platform “rather than something solid sitting on the deck” Jason says it was a bonus from a health and safety perspective. “It makes the platform more open, so you’re able to see across the deck and spot potential problems that might occur with animals getting into difficulty and address them immediately”.

In Jason’s view the Waikato Milking Systems shed they visited was “significantly cleaner” than the competitor, “which is also due to the open bail design. It just makes the deck more accessible and easier to clean, and to keep clean during milking”. These were big consideration factors as they wanted to make the milking routine as easy as possible for their staff.

Jason and Duncan were also impressed with how all of the key components of the milking system were housed under the Orbit platform, but easily accessible from the centre. “So if we ever had service or maintenance issues, it would be easier to access everything”.

One of the common weak points the company has on their other existing rotary milking systems, has been the platform track and roller systems. “So our choice of platform system for the Orbit was the Waikato Milking Systems multiroller - because of its increased durability and how the design allows you to change a roller out without having to lift the platform or jack it up” says Jason. “That got a big tick from me, a lot of thought has gone into that design aspect”.

The Orbit system was commissioned in November 2020 by their local Waikato Milking Systems dealer Qubik Te Awamutu. “From an operational perspective the platform has performed seamlessly, and we haven’t had an issue with it from the moment it started turning”.