Innovative Dairy Attracts International Visitors

Windmills and a Rotary Dairy Parlor Set Farm Apart

Maegan Crandall
Central New York Correspondent

COHOCTON, N.Y. — Contrary to what you may have heard, not all happy cows live in California. In fact, there are 860 very happy cows living large at the Lent Hill Dairy Farm.

Why are these cows so happy?

Maybe it has something to do with location.

Lent Hill Dairy Farm is situated on 1,850 acres of rolling hills, overlooking the countryside below. It not only boasts prime farmland for feed-crops and is free from development and urban pressure, but it is also a particularly unique location for accessing alternative energy sources such as wind power and natural gas.

“How neat it is to take a natural resource from below ground, one from above ground, and be able to grow alfalfa and corn. I don’t think that happens in the same place very often. It’s the perfect place for a dairy farm,” said Paul Wolcott, general manager of Lent Hill Dairy Farm.

Perhaps it is the comfortable living space.

The cows enjoy a lofty new four-row barn that offers plenty of space, skylights for ample sunshine, curtains and fans to allow in plenty of fresh air, fresh sand-beds that are changed daily, and rubber mats to ease the pressure of bare concrete.

While location and living space have attributed to healthy and happy cows — and success at Lent Hill Dairy Farm — Wolcott believes his new 50 cow rotating parlor is a major factor.

“They fight to get on there,” said Wolcott.

Indeed, since Lent Hill Dairy Farm began using the parlor, milk production has gone up 10 pounds per cow per day.

Before the cows reach the parlor they are herded into a rubber-lined holding area — capable of holding 300 cows — and wait their turn.

Once the cows are loaded onto the parlor, it takes only four people to efficiently run the process. The first and second person disinfects, clean, and preps the cows, the third person attaches the milking unit to the cow, and the fourth person post-dips and removes each cow through a single-lane exit.

In this process, the cows are moving instead of the people, and according to Wolcott, the efficiency of cows per man per hour has doubled from what it was before using the parlor.

“It’s all about finding ways for one person to accomplish more,” said Wolcott.

Additionally, each cow is also fitted with a small computerized ankle bracelet that records who she is, the amount of milk she produces, the conductivity of the milk, and the level of activity she exhibits each day. With this critical information, the process is even more streamlined and efficient.

The parlor is capable of milking 350 cows an hour, or 2000 cows three times per day. Currently Wolcott milks his cows two times per day but is hoping to move up to three times in the future.

The Lent Hill Farm has a long history of growth and adaptation beginning in 1850 when the farm was purchased. In 1955, Wolcott’s father Charles started building the dairy business with only 23 cows. By 1995, the herd had grown to 250 cows. At this point, Wolcott — now in charge of the farm —wanted to improve the milking efficiency and began searching for alternative methods to replace the 10 parallel herringbone parlor.

This is when Wolcott first glimpsed a 28 stall rotary parlor in action.

“I was never the same after seeing that,” said Wolcott.

Unfortunately within 24 hours after signing the commitment papers to start the new Delaval parlor, Wolcott’s father Charles passed away from leukemia.
Wolcott began milking with the parlor in September of 2007 and has enjoyed continued success ever since.

Because of increased efficiency at the farm, the herd has been increasing at 10 to 15 percent growth per year, with all internal herd growth. Wolcott expects within six to eight years that the herd will continue to grow and reach 1500 to 1800 cows.

Wolcott believes the rotating parlor has been important for his own dairy success and will become more commonly used with large dairy operations.

“I believe it’s the wave of the future,” said Wolcott.

Indeed, this level of success has drawn interested people from all over the world. Within a seven-month period, the Lent Hill Dairy Farm has hosted 10 international tours from Lithuania, Latvia, Ireland, Russia, Germany, and Canada.

In addition to producing a growing dairy business, the Lent Hill Dairy Farm also takes advantage of its unique geographic location for additional income.

There are 50 windmills in Cohocton — 13 of which are located on Wolcott’s property, which he leases to UPC Energy.

The rolling hills surrounding the Lent Hill Dairy Farm are dotted with some of the largest windmills in the country - standing 420 feet tall from the tip of the blade to the ground.

Each windmill is capable of producing 2.5 megawatts of electricity. Combined, they are enough electricity to power 50,000 homes.

“I think it’s obvious to most people that we need to do something about energy in this country and it seems like it’s better than sending our money to the Middle East for oil,” said Wolcott.

Additionally, there are also numerous benefits to the community through a host agreement.

However, there still remains a minority of people who are against the wind farm. Wolcott believes even with sound science and facts to back up the process, it remains an emotional issue with some.

Depending on the size of the windmill and how much wind blows, Wolcott points out that a small dairy operation might be able to lease its land to a wind farm and retire on the profits. However, it isn’t quite the same for a large operation.

“It’s an additional source of income, but it won’t save our farm if we don’t do a good job with the dairy,” said Wolcott.