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About Us - Dairy Buildings for Professional Dairy Producers
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InnovationsTeam is a diverse group of experts of agriculture, building engineers and architects who cooperate in the consultation, planning and building of dairy facilities. Profitability in managing a dairy is a result of sophisticated management concepts. To meet this challenge we would like to support you. |
Worldwide dairy farmers are making efforts to realize high productivity and profitability. With our experience in the international support of dairy farmers we are able to provide this know how. For years successful concepts have been implemented with particular focus in larger herds. As a businessman you have to stay ahead of the pack and adapt to innovations quickly. To plan a dairy perfectly you have to pool the knowledge of experts as much as possible: expertise in such areas as cow comfort, labour management, building costs, and building quality all in light of environmental regulations and required permits.
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InnovationsTeam offers solutions from remodelling of existing buildings to complete concepts for newly constructed dairies. This includes development of building sites, animal housing and complementary buildings (i.e. milking parlours, cow handling facilities) and manure and feed storage. Our existing references range from dairies with 100 cows to dairies with 2500 cows. From our office located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern we are working nationwide and are authorized to present building documents in all German states. We are fluent in German, English, Russian, Polish, and Hungarian and have international projects in Estonia, France, Poland and Hungary
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Cow comfort, designing, tendering (bidding) and construction oversight
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Labour management
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Calf and heifer raising
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Milking and parlour design
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Manure management and energy concepts
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Securing/maintenance of production locations and operational concepts
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Training courses, seminars and study tours
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Complete planning of dairy and heifer facilities
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Implementation of authorization processes
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Design of remodelling of existing facilities or new buildings layouts
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Manure and silage storage and development
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Sheds, sanitary and changing facilities, residential buildings
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Project oversight and construction management
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Complete supervision of the building project in all preinvestment phases
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Open tendering
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People from everywhere are interested in our construction projects for their specific management methods |
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Visitors come from different countries, for example from Estonia and a study group with consultants and veterinarians from different American states. |
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Cow Comfort is the foundation of each design - After 15 years of persuasion cow comfort has gained acceptance.
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Only with a high standard of bedding comfort, a lot of fresh air (proper ventilation) and easy access to feed and water will cows thrive and be able to produce high milk yields. In addition to high production it is important to minimize cow injuries. All of this will lead to enhanced longevity which has a large impact on the overall profitability of the dairy. |
Progressive dairy construction should focus on the natural requirements and behaviour patterns of cows to ensure that cow and young stock comfort is maximized at all times.
The ABC’s of cow management are: A= Air, B=Bunk, C= Cow Comfort
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Cows require fresh air in the barn and constant air exchange. This leads to improved animal health and will result in increased milk production. |
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Wide cow and feed alleys guarantee unhindered access of the animals to feed and water. |
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Cows should rest more than 12 hours on comfortable bedding every day. |
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Cows like conditions in the barn similar to pasture: soft, dry and with a lot of fresh air. The softer the bedding the longer the cows resting time will be. This issue has definite priority when choosing what kind of stall and bedding should be used. Building a progressive dairy facility for the future means to produce an environment that minimizes stress and maximizes cow comfort combined with efficient labour management. Christiane Brandes has introduced “cow comfort” in Germany and this is the primary focus of every InnovationsTeam project.
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Feedbunk management has to be easy |
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Optimum water supply with tip-over waterers |
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Conditions similar to pasture: light, airy and comfortable |
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Easy access to feed drives higher production |
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Resting cows are productive cows |
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Efficient Milking increases the profitability of the whole dairy.
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Planning of the overall project is very important. Independent from the chosen milking system (i.e. double 12 herringbone or rotary parlour) all aspects of the project have to match. Coordination of the number of cows in the pens, cow traffic, holding areas, return lanes, selection and treatment areas make daily work easier and more efficient.
Marc Benninghoff, Niedersachsen |
Planning and layout of the milking parlour focuses on labour comfort to ensure quality and efficiency of the milking process. The spacious design of the milk houses simplifies ventilation and the quality of natural lighting.
Fans and radiant heaters allow for control of temperatures to the seasons of the year. Entering the parlour without steps and a movable soft floor provides more employee comfort.
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During construction there are opportunities to make cow traffic more efficient. For example, upward sloping holding areas help to point the cows uphill toward the parlour and thus increases parlour flow. An automatic crowd gate supports the milker and helps with cow flow and calmness. Holding areas have to be spacious, well-ventilated and have to provide perfect cow traffic to the parlour.
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External rotary parlour with 50 stalls |
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Double 24 side by side parlour |
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A large holding area ensures easy access for the cow to the parlour |
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External rotary parlour with 60 stalls |
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Progressive milking parlour with high worker productivity |
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Good working ergonomics increase the work efficiency at the milking |
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Double 16 herringbone with rapid exit |
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Side by side parlour with a central pit |
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Short construction period and tight construction management go easy on the budget and keep one’s nerve. |
From the first excavation until milking the first cow in the new parlour was a time frame of only 81 days. As a result we could make use of the investment pretty fast. Because the construction management by the InnovationsTeam was very intense the client is able to focus on operating the dairy and doesn’t need to waste valuable time in construction oversight.
Uwe zum Felde, Ahlerstedt/Niedersachsen |
The InnovationsTeam oversees that the contract time for completion is matching the actual construction time. The contract specialists (i.e. concrete, electrical, plumbing, etc.) will overlap during the construction process. That means that a thorough and organized schedule of all parties involved in construction helps to minimize the construction period. Weekly meetings organized by the InnovationsTeam with all companies involved in the project serve the needs of coordination and control. |
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Light and neatly arranged: a progressive workplace |
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Milk house with external rotary with 50 stalls |
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It needed only 4 months to move the cows in the new barn |
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Efficient companies are assembling the sheds |
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Price transparency and cost control result from tendering the trades. |
I can highly recommend my colleagues to take the chance of tendering nationwide. This is the easiest way to save money when building a dairy. Tendering helps me to compare the proposals of the companies. The participation of more companies stimulates the competition and remains still fair. This is the only way to build an affordable but still valuable dairy.
Nikolaus Flämig, Sadisdorf/Sachsen |
is about 35 meters wide and 168 meters long. The gable is 14 meters high and was constructed as structural steelwork with a steel trapezoidal roof. The ventilation of the barn is accomplished by 5 meter high eaves and a 6ocm wide chimney. Ventilation is controlled by fully automated, climate controlled curtains. In 6 groups there is space for 700 cows. The stalls are deep bedded with chopped straw and the open stall dividers offer a exceptional cow comfort. Two alley scrapers ensure that the wide cow alleys are clean on a regular and timely schedule throughout the day.
is constructed with structural steelwork, sandwich panels and twin-webbed plates in addition to existing buildings.
The parlour is a double 16 herringbone with rapid exit and rovolving gate.
The automatic crowd gate provides continuous filling of the parlour from the holding area (320m²). A characteristic here is the combination of existing buildings with new buildings to create the holding area, tank room, utility room and a special needs area.
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offers possibilities to select individual or groups of cows, walk them through foot baths and direct them to chutes for single treatments.
| The Liquid Manure Storage |
was expanded to over 4500m³ storage capacities. With net construction costs of 2.744 €/stall (building costs 2004) the realization of a fully functional facility (barn, milk house, manure storage, bunker silo, holding area, special needs area, storage sheds, land development and costs related to the permitting process was possible.
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Efficient companies are assembling the sheds |
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Assembling the framework of the sheds |
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700 stalls for 1.080 € per stall in the barn plus 240 € for manure storage |
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170m long new barn, next to existing buildings |
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Enormous cost saving was possible by commissioning a consulting engineers office. |
The money we saved was six times higher than the fee for the design office and that means it worked very cost effectively for us. The tendering and the tight building supervision have convinced us that investment in the InnovationsTeam was a wise business decision.
Familie Koller und Wierl GbR, Berbling/Bayern |
The basics for economical building will be determinate during structural design and planning (preliminary planning 1-3 HOAI fee order). Maximizing cow comfort and understanding herd management concepts should be of utmost importance in the planning process. At first sight InnovationsTeam barns appear to be similar but in detail they are planned individually. The management philosophy is different on every dairy and this leads to the need for specific design solutions. After planning the design and receiving the building permit the tendering process can then be prepared. Competition should be the rule (§ 2 HOAI). All necessary works depending upon single trade will be listed exactly in bills of quantities. Additional drafts like ground plan, sectional view and plan view help the tenderer with the calculation. This procedure provides the general basis for the actual bidding of the needed works. The high effort when providing and filling out the bills of quantities is worthwhile because the filled out bills of quantities from the tenderer will be part of the building contract after award of contract.
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They are obligatory and will help later on to avoid issues with additional charges. Prices and qualities are determined in contracts before commencement of construction. The Innovations Team works very intensively with the tool of tendering. This big and sometimes uncomfortable efforts pay off most of the time. The bills of quantities are uniform, there is a fair competition, many companies are involved and the best ones are receiving the award of contract. This gives the building owner not only transparency about the processes of the design office but also information about usual prices and conditions at the market. Contracts bind the offered works and qualities and help to avoid a bad job as well as subsequent cost increases during the construction process. It is recommended to use this tool of cost and performance control.
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New barn for 120 cows in South Germany |
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Elmar Zemelka, InnovationsTeam is overseeing the site |
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Barn in Hungary with fans and misters |
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Centred feed bank with a 4-row barn |
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A dairy facility for 600 cows in development |
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Barn with wooden roof structure |
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KONTAKTFORMULAR IMPRESSUM 