Kerry dairy farmer halves milking time after parlour upgrade
John Doran, who milks 80 cows in Co. Kerry, Ireland, now spends about an hour in his new parlour, down from up to two hours. His herd produced 605kg of milk solids per cow in 2025.
On a farm above the Shannon Estuary, just outside Asdee in Co. Kerry in south-west Ireland, dairy farmer John Doran milks 80 cows. A recent investment in a new milking parlour has cut the time spent milking by more than half, while herd performance and milk quality remain strong.
The herd is mainly pedigree Holsteins with a small share of British Friesian genetics. In 2025 it produced 605kg of milk solids per cow, earning Doran awards from the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) Kerry club for fat percentage and for milk price paid in cent per litre. His projected output for 2026 is slightly lower at 595kg, with a poor spring and a drought partly to blame. In 2024 the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) named him among its top 100 dairy breeders.
Breeding
The herd's economic breeding index (EBI) is €171, compared with €199 for the top 10%. Its milk sub-index is €42 and its fertility sub-index €74. Doran says this was achieved without sexed semen: he tried it twice without the results he wanted, so he uses conventional genomic semen and picks replacement heifers from the best cows. Because his land is fragmented, he bought a zero grazer in 2013 and has buffer fed year-round since.
The new parlour
A 14-unit swing-over Dairymaster parlour was installed in January, four units more than the previous one, and fitted into the existing shed built in the late 1970s. It includes auto-wash, cluster-flush, automatic cluster removers and a variable-speed milk pump. Doran is now finished milking within an hour; previously it took up to two hours or more.
The herd's somatic cell count (SCC) stays below 100,000 cells/ml, averaging 72,000 in March and falling to 52,000 in May. Doran credits strategic culling, teat-sealing heifers and an adequate dry period. Cluster-flush means clusters need not be dipped in peracetic acid, the automatic removers prevent over-milking, and shorter milking time means cows spend less time in the yard.
Future plans
The five-bay and six-bay sheds sit above slatted tanks, giving enough space even before new regulations due in 2028. Doran is now considering solar panels because of rising electricity bills, along with heat detection monitors and a feed-to-yield system.
