When Saskatchewan dairy farmers Arjen and Anneke Kielstra of Kielstra Holsteins Inc were building a new milking parlour to accommodate their expanding dairy herd, they knew they had to introduce some form of automation into the milking process.

“We were going from a small 6/6 herringbone parlour milking around 130 cows to a double 12 parallel parlour milking around 330 cows. I knew it would take a lot of time to dip the cows manually and wash the liners, so I started looking into automation ideas,” says Arjen. “With ADF I thought the automatic dipping and burst rinse would save us time as it’s one less thing you have to do.”

So in May 2019 when they were building their brand new parlour, Arjen decided to install the automatic dipping & flushing system from ADF Milking.

“ADF has given us piece of mind – it dips and flushes on time, every time. I know that with the burst rinse it means there is no risk of cross contamination, suppressing mastitis from being passed from one cow to the next.”

Arjen says that with ADF they have saved roughly 15-20 minutes per milking, and the automation means that staff can be used more efficiently. “We’ve certainly saved money in labour costs as everything is done automatically, allowing some of our staff to be working in other areas of the farm during milking.”

Teat condition has also improved. “With the automatic dip from ADF we have definitely seen an improvement in teat condition,” explains Arjen.

The staff at Kielstra Holsteins Inc enjoy working with the ADF System. “The staff like the ADF – it helps them to do their job well. They don’t have to run up and down with the teat cup or sprayer. It’s one less thing they have to do.”

The cows also like the ADF System. “Our cows were already fairly calm, but they do like consistency. And with the ADF everything is done at the same time every time, meaning that they enjoy coming into the parlour.”

Arjen finds the ADF System reliable and easy to maintain. “In over 4 years I’ve never had a problem with it,” he says. “It’s a reliable system that helps to keep consistency no matter who is milking.”

“I would definitely recommend ADF to anyone – and tell them to put it in right now! I would do it all over again. It has worked as well as I thought it would and that’s the best recommendation I can give!”