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BRIALAINE
Pleasant
The latest extension to the Brialaine dairy is the final piece of a puzzle, which owners Brian and Sheryl Suisted have been working on for more than three decades.
The couple bought the original farm near Waitoa, where the dairy stands, 37 years ago and during time they’ve increased the property’s size from 37 hectares to 140ha. “Initially, the shed was a 10-aside herringbone,” says Brian. “We extended it to 16-aside, The yard at Brian and Sheryl then later to 24-aside and now to Suisted’s revamped dairy. 44-aside. “I’m pleased with how it turned out. It’s a good set-up which works well.” Contract milkers Steven and Kim Taylor and their second in charge Jarden Gorringe, both in their third season at Brialaine, agree. “If you didn’t like working in this shed you’d be hard to please,” says Steven. “It’s now double the size and we can milk 500 cows in two hours, which means more time to spend on giving attention to the cows and the pasture. And we’ve already seen the results of that in improved cow performance.”
and practical
Always innovating
Happy with the upgraded dairy – 2IC Jarden Gorringe, contract milker Steven Taylor and Brialaine farm owners Sheryl and Brian Suisted.
Graham Silvester of Silvester Electrical finally found the “right place” for the dairy radio.
Always the innovator, Brian made changes to the plans as the project progressed, taking the opportunity to make the revamped dairy the best it could be for staff, cows and milk quality. “Originally, we were going to use the existing equipment room but decided it would be better to build a new, sound-proofed one.” Today the old equipment room is an attractive, suitably furnished family and staff room where
Coast & Country Steven and Kim’s children can spend time while their parents are milking. Shanan White of Don Chapman Waikato Ltd carried out the extension to the existing dairy and is impressed at Brian’s determination not to cut corners but to do the job well. “Originally, he had intended to extend to a 40-aside herringbone but decided to go to a 44-aside, which was a good move.” The existing roof was extended, and new flashing and guttering installed, giving it a seamless, fresh new look. “Brian also took this opportunity to divert stormwater into a soakage drain, so it no longer mixes with the dairy shed effluent and ends up in the effluent pond.” Brian particularly wanted a quiet environment in the dairy so insisted the equipment room be soundproofed.
Yards extended too It was Don Chapman, of Chapman Dairy, who instigated the revamp of the yards. “We were going to keep the existing yards, which were a little off-set from the dairy. But when Don came to look at the site he suggested building a whole new, much bigger yard; and he was right, this works much better,” says Brian. Leask Engineering installed all the new pipework including for a new vet area, which the company’s design and construction manager Rom Stellingwerf says works well. “It has rails which can drop down to give easy and safe access to the cows needing attention and lights have been installed so cows can be cared for at any time.”
Herd gate a bonus Brian and Sheryl have installed a HERDFLOW Crowd Gate, which was custom-built by Reporoa Engineering to fit their yard requirements and the purchase price included installation, along with the ‘I’ Beam and the electrical components and motors. The gate is designed to move the herd smoothly from yard to shed, saving time and labour. Standard features on the HERDFLOW Crowd Gate include breech sensing, so if the gate contacts cows while pushing forward it will back off about one metre and wait until another command is made.