Little Sleep + Hard Work: the milking parlor renovation

Oct 17

Happy Friday! Whew, what a week! On Tuesday, we put in a 21 hour day and renovated our milking parlor (again). If you have been with us a while, you'll remember that we built a Swing 20 New Zealand style milking parlor in 2021. That parlor replaced our original 6 stanchion parlor that we started with in 2017.

In March 2024, we pulled out the Swing 20 and installed 10 custom side opener milking stalls. Watch it here. These side openers were amazing - we were very happy with that parlor. We knew this wouldn't be our forever parlor. And, as raw milk demand has grown and our milking herd has gradually increased, it was making milking times very long. It's a long time for the cows to wait and for our team to milk twice a day.

Earlier this year, we decided it was time to research what we would build next, and landed on a double 10 herringbone parlor. It was a huge undertaking and we have a fantastic team to pull it off! After months of planning and fabrication, we woke up and milked at 4 am on Tuesday, and by 8:30 AM, all of the side openers had been unbolted and cleared out of the parlor. It took a full day and the welders didn't stop until midnight! Everyone gave it their all and we're all tired and happy with the results. The first milking was Wednesday morning, and if you know cows, they. do. not. like. change. Thankfully most of the cows have adjusted well to the new parlor and it's been smoother than training them last March!

I share more photos below, and I will have a video to share next week of the process! If you follow us on Instagram, you can see the action in the highlight “New Parlor 2025."

Even on the long, exhausting days, Ben and I pinch ourselves that we get to be dairy farmers and do this together with our boys and our awesome team. We're grateful to provide fresh, wholesome raw milk to you and your family! Thank you for being here!