21 – 100 cows
A professional dairy with structured employee shifts, formal records, and a production-focused barn layout. This is the sweet spot for ROI on milking automation. Plan a 5-year expansion buffer when sizing infrastructure.
Climate adjustments
Switch climate to see how the design changes.
Tropical. Hot and humid year-round (mean > 25 °C). Heat-stress dominates every design decision.
Sample farm layout
Schematic top-down view. Final designs are tailored to your land and climate.
What changes in tropical climate
Housing
Open-sided barn, ridge vent, no insulation. Maximise air movement and shade.
Ventilation
Tunnel ventilation with evaporative cooling pads above 200 cows; soakers + fans over feed alley everywhere.
Bedding
Rubber mats with light straw bedding (sand stores too much heat).
Water
Recirculating troughs; 0.4 m of trough perimeter per 10 cows; insulation against direct sun.
Waste handling
Daily flush systems; aerobic lagoon with high evaporation losses; biogas digestion viable year-round.
Also consider
- •Trees / shade strips along cow paths from pasture
- •Lighter-coloured roofs to cut radiative load
- •Heat-tolerant breeds (Gir, Sahiwal, crossbred) considered alongside Holstein
Housing systems
- •Free-stall barn, 2 or 4-row layout (9 m² per cow)
- •Cross-ventilation with ridge vent or tunnel fans
- •Sand or mattress cubicles
- •Designated fresh, dry, and hospital pens
Feeding arrangements
- •Center feed alley TMR delivered twice daily
- •Headlock feed barrier 75 cm per cow
- •On-farm feed storage: silage bunkers + commodity shed
Water systems
- •1 waterer per 15 cows
- •Recirculating supply with float valves
- •Plate-cooler heat recovery for warm wash water
Waste management
- •Automatic alley scrapers
- •6+ month covered slurry lagoon
- •Nutrient management plan filed with regulator
- •Optional sand separator if using sand bedding
Farm management
- •Herringbone 2 × 8 or parallel 2 × 10 parlor
- •Bulk tank with full-time cooling + agitation
- •ID + activity collars feeding into the platform
- •Quarterly nutrient + financial reviews
Want this tailored to your land?
Try our AI preliminary design — instant — or request a full consultation.