Working to the conditions of the land is a top priority for Tom Jones and his family who enjoy running Trelay Farm on the elevated terrain of Davistow in north Cornwall.

“We’re about 1000 feet above sea level, we get high rainfall, we catch the wind and it’s very much like we’re working in the clouds. But all that rain allows us to grow a lot of grass, to grow our cows, which are outdoors from February to the end of October, early November."

“We produce what we can off the grass and just like to keep things simple.” Keeping it simple was the key when the family came to upgrade the farm’s tired 20x40-point herringbone milking system in 2021.

Tom is a third generation farmer on Trelay Farm and he works the property with his father Chris, mum Jackie and his wife Clare. They also have two part-time workers and a few relief milkers.

“We had an odds and sods kind of parlour, really basic with no ACRs. It was getting very tired, the yards weren’t big enough, it was really slowing down the cows. We were picking cows for AI and it ended up being a nine-hour day. Everyone was getting a bit fed up and it was a case of something having to change.”

The farm moved from 300 to 450 cows when an opportunity came to rent some extra land. “It was then we decided it was a good time to take a leap and look for a new parlour.”

Tom shopped around to see what the options were. “The big thing for us was efficiency, something that could reduce milking time and be easy to operate. “I’m not a fan of over complicating things and we didn’t want a system with loads of technology.”

The one piece of tech that was a must however was automatic cup removers. “We wanted a parlour that could milk with just one person if needed and so ACRs were a must.

“We would normally milk with two people but if there is someone sick or away, I needed to be sure I could do the job on my own and ACRs would cover off that worry.”

Tom said ACRs also eliminate the possibility of over milking the cows. “We had a look at a few companies but I really liked the look and finish of the Waikato Milking Systems parlour.”

Tom had high praise for George Berriman from Milkflo Dairy Systems, a dealership working with Waikato Milking Systems in the UK. “George came out to see us three times to go over the options with us and tweak the plan. He’s about two hours away from us so it was a big effort.”