PARKER LAND CO
Page 82
Coast & Country
Heavy duty milking shed Parker Land Co
Farmer Andrew Parker and father Neville Parker in front of their new dairy at Atiamuri.
Environmental concerns and growth of hectares and cow numbers were the driving forces behind a new dairy shed at the Parker family farm in Atiamuri. Neville Parker started his farming life straight from school. Farming firstly in South Auckland before moving to South Waikato and the family farm at Atiamuri, south of Tokoroa in 1973. This farm was 250 acres with a 12-aside herringbone shed which during time was increased to 18-aside and then 34-aside. Time, hard work and development of the dairy industry has seen the farm increase in size when Neville’s son Andrew purchased adjoining forestry and the farm next door,
along with its 24-aside herringbone. Andrew is now driving the large development, which is converting pine forest to dairy land. They were milking their 800-plus herd in the two herringbones but the environmental issues with old outdated effluent disposal, plus the fact the concrete in the sheds was literally breaking down, meant it was time for a change.
Centre of farm This father-son combination sees experience coupled with younger more technology-savvy dairy farming. They sat down and planned where the new shed would be, what it needed to have, how it could operate, what milking equipment it would house; and when they were ready to start, who would build it. The new 74-bail rotary dairy complex sits
The Parker family’s impressive new dairy at their Atiamuri farm. almost in the centre of the 500ha farm. The Parker men have also brought the workings of the farm to the same location with a large silage pit, large concrete bunkers for supplementary feed and Palm Kernel Extract bunkers, complete with specially designed roller roofs, all within view from the dairy shed’s office. Neville says he and Andrew looked at “hundreds of sheds” and were determined to sort out what they wanted – and, more importantly, what they didn’t want. Rotorua-based construction company Tenmax Construction built the shed. Owneroperator Adam Stevens says he was part of the development from the beginning and took on the design and build. Adam particularly enjoyed having some scope and freedom in the design.
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“Neville and Andrew stipulated what was needed and their preferences relating to the working of the entire development, then let me work out how to get it done. I wanted it to look traditional, to look like the old milking sheds we grew up with.” Adam says the elevated office is one particular part of the design that works well. “From the office, you can look out over the dairy platform, see how it’s working; and you can see out over the larger worksite to the feed pad, feed bunkers and calf pens.”
Without compromise Tenmax Construction also built the concrete supplement and silage bunkers. Because milking was still being done in the two herringbones, the build was carried out without compromise.