Brendan Kavanagh farms with his father James in Moneygarrow, Arklow in Co. Wicklow. The farming business was established over 100 years ago and it has been passed down through the generations. As recently as this time last year milking the Kavanagh's 120 British Friesian herd used to take 3 hours morning and evening, this has now been cut in half with the installation of a 16 unit Dairymaster Swiftflo Swing milking plant. The reduction in milking time has freed up both Brendan and James to concentrate on other vital jobs on the farm. Brendan installed the new plant in July last year and hasn't looked back since.

Brendan commented that since the installation of the new plant their quality of life has improved dramatically - he has even had time to get married to Fiona since installing the new parlour!

Brendan and his father James easily manage the farm and the milking by themselves since the installation of the new plant. The main reason for choosing a Dairymaster plant was the back up service and they were both very impressed with the Dairymaster Swiftflo bailing system. Dairymaster Swiftflo bailing offers unsurpassed cow control, for both training heifers and in order to prevent bullying in the parlour. Each cow has her own designated space that cannot be compromised and this was really the deal clincher for them.

The Kavanagh's went for Automatic Cluster Remover's as they see it as a great way of maintaining udder health and ensuring that the cows are not under or over milked. They also went for the diversion line which means that they can divert milk effortlessly for calf rearing at the touch of a button. Dairymaster Automatic Feeders were installed which Brendan comments "are very accurate and save a lot of time and work".

The average yield of the herd is 1300 gallons with an annual output of milk at approx 800,000 litres. Brendan envisions this increasing both through higher individual yields and through adding cows to the herd.

The plant was bought through Allen Dairy Services who are based in Ballytore, Athy, Co. Kildare. Brendan decided to go with Dairymaster when installing the new plant as "the whole system is second to none and the back up service is exceptional. Dairymaster have the best technology with simplicity behind it - it makes the farmer's job so much easier".