How Big of Dairy?

[Southern]

I wonder what kind of dairy size would use a NH FR9080? Since that is a monster of a chopper. I know a 600-700 cattle dairy would be too small?

[Pierce Johnson]

1000- 2000.

There's a 1500 cow dairy near me that runs all New Hollands ill try stopping in there one day and talking to them

[newholland8870]

doesnt matter how many cows you have it matters how many acres you have, your not gonna buy a chopper based on how many cows you have

[andyd]

I Know alot of dairys around me having 2000 head and half of them own 2 tractors one for there TMR Cart and one for Spreading manure or misc. Alot of big dairys start focusing more on the milk quality and less on growing feed and more buying feed

[Southern]

Thanks, around here the dairies still grow their own food. The biggest one in know of in the neighboring county. Has around 700 cattle. And they use a small/mid size Claas. Which I showed pics of it before. I saw 2 Houle tri axle spreaders on the farm last week as well. As they was spreading.

[CRFarms]

I know one guy that has a JD 6910, 6850, 7500, and a 7850 and he helps lots of large dairies cut. We have a good many custom operators. Anither farm my brother worked on ran a JD 6850 with a 6r and he only had 300 some-odd dairy cows. But his acreage was very high, so he could sell some extra for more profit. Many guys in this area also grow their own food, but will buy more if needed.

[AGrall]

One dairy runs a Claas 900 Jaguar with about 800 and another one which is a company that comes if you hire them. No farm and they run a Claas probally over 5000 acres they do a year for people. Combining, chopping, etc.

[Southern]

Before they shut down, the local dairies. Both had 200-300 cows. They both used a pull type cutter cutting 2 rows at a time. I went to a farm action on the other side of town. He was a bigger dairy, and ran a 4 row cutter on a NH SP. Like a 2100? I think he was in the 400-500 cow range. There is still a small dairy in the next county. With around 200-300 cows. He still uses a 2 row pull cutter.

[socha4440]

At the dairy I work at, we milk about 290, and custom hire somebody to do it for us. I was out of town the week they cut it so I dont know what the custom cutter is running for a chopper.

[steelin81]

like the others said chopper size should be picked according to the acres to chop as well as the timeframe in which to do it. I would say the bigger choppers are probably geared more towards the custom guys who roll over many acres rather than the single farms.

[ManitobanFarmerKid]

I'd say atleast 2000 acres of hay/forages and maybe just under 1000 acres of silage corn. A local dairy runs about that much with an FR9060.

[Deleted]

a farm by me has 500 and uses a 3 row pull type and older case ih magnums still

[jdguy74]

I work on a 2500 cow dairy and they have two John Deere 7950's with 10 row rotary heads with eighteen trucks and three JD 8320'S on the pile.