Rotary Dairy vs Herringbone Dairy: What’s the Difference?

What is a Herringbone Dairy? 

A Herringbone Dairy is a type of dairy farm that is characterized by its V-shaped shed layout. The Herringbone dairy design is  named after the herringbone pattern that is created by the layout. 

The dairy shed is divided into two separate sections, with one side being used for milking and the other side used for housing the cows. The cows can walk directly from their stalls into the milking area, which makes the milking process much more efficient. 

This type of dairy farm setup is very popular in Europe and New Zealand, but it is also becoming increasingly common in the United States. 

One advantage of the Herringbone Dairy model which makes it so popular, is that it allows for easier cow movement and also provides better ventilation for the cows. As a result, Herringbone Dairies are less likely to experience problems with heat stress – but they can be expensive to build and maintain.

Rotary Dairy vs Herringbone Dairy- How are they different?

It is important to choose a dairy shed design that can withstand the demands of your dairy farm operation and  both types of dairies, rotary and herringbone, have their own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, rotary dairies are generally considered to be more efficient than herringbone dairies but they do come with the disadvantage of requiring a higher initial investment. It is important to remember that all decisions like this have an opportunity cost – so while herringbone dairys aren’t as expensive, this benefit may be outweighed by its operational inefficiencies that may mean the design is more expensive to run in the long-term. 

Arguably the most significant difference between the two dairy layout designs is the different methods they use to milk the cows. Rotary dairies use a rotating platform to milk cows, while herringbone dairies use a linear system. The advantage of the rotary dairy milking system is that it can milk more cows in a shorter amount of time in comparison to a herringbone dairy. This is why the rotary design is a popular choice for large-scale dairy farms.

The herringbone milking systems also has it is advantages though, particularly when it comes to safety and cow comfort. For example, herringbone dairys are regarded as less likely to injure or stress cows.  

So, in summary, rotary dairy sheds are efficient and cost-effective over the long-term  particulary for large dairy operations, while herringbone dairy sheds are safe with a relatively low set up cost.