Our Services

We Offer a Range of Services to Meet Your Needs

Milking Parlours

Rotary

Rotary milking sheds are now universally regarded as the shed of choice for larger herds of 300 to 2,000 cows.

Rotary milking sheds can be as small as 20 bail units and as big as 80 bails units.

Rotary milking is considered to be the most effective use of milker time and optimises the number of cows that can be milked by individual milkers.

Rotary sheds easily integrate with most identification systems and more effectively integrate with new technology than herringbone dairy sheds.

With many years experience, using a wide range of Chapman Dairy ™ designs, we really know rotary dairy sheds. We understand how to optimise individual sites, and we offer you a customised solution to suit your individual circumstances.

Herringbone

Historically the first choice of New Zealand farmers, herringbone milking sheds are now predominantly the domain of smaller herds of up to 500 cows.

Herringbone milking sheds range in size from 10 a-side to 50 a-side units. They have the advantage of being easily extended if herd size increases in the future, but larger herringbones do require a higher labour input than rotaries in order to effectively carry out the milking process.

Rural Building Solutions has a wide range of Chapman Dairy ™ designs that can be customised to suit your individual circumstances.

Milking Parlours

Feed Pad & Feed Bins

More and more of our clients are recognising the benefits of making feed pads part of their farm dairy.
These concrete pads mean less pasture pugging, and give the farmer greater control.
Feeding out is faster, requires fewer staff, and results in 20% less waste - eaten not trodden.

There is great control of feed and supplements, and also run off is controlled.
The design of the feed pad should allow all cows to easily access feed bins, and feed bin placement should take account of machinery movement, feed delivery and feed pad cleaning.
As structural concrete specialists, we have designed our own feed bin moulds.
This not only has savings benefits, and certainty around delivery, but means you have complete control over feed bin placement.
Our experience in the design and construction of farm building and facilities allows us to tailor a feed pad solution to fit your exact requirements.

Silage Bunkers

We construct high quality concrete bunkers for maize, crop and grass silage

The juices that leach out from silage can be very aggressive on concrete, resulting in corrosion and damage to the concrete surface. Our designed silage bunkers counteract this and are built to be tough and long lasting.

Our construction method incorporates a heavy-duty reinforced concrete floor with concrete tilt panel walls, either 1.8m or 2.4m high.

We lean the walls out slightly at the top so that even when the silage shrinks in the stack, it maintains contact with the walls.

It's important to minimise the air gap that could otherwise form here, which would result in spoiled silage.

Effluent Systems

Managing effluent correctly has become a big challenge for dairy farmers.

We turn this challenge into benefits - minimal environmental impact and zero-cost fertiliser.

Our systems are designed to:

Minimise the amount of effluent
Capture it effectively
Treat it prior to discharging back onto the land

Effluent system options we can design and construct for you include:

Sand wedges and traps - custom made to a size that meets your needs
Weeping walls - producing dry solids that can then be safely spread onto the land
Slope screen and rotating drum separators

Talk to Nigel about how to pro-actively manage farm effluent, on 0274 270 557.

Maintenance Checks

Once the cows have dried off, it's a great time to get onto those maintenance jobs.
Sometimes though, it can be a case of 'Where do I start?'
That's where our maintenance checks can help.
We come and do a detailed review of your shed and yard area - it takes about 2 hours.
This results in a clear concise prioritised list for you.
We also provide recommendations where longer term maintenance may be needed.
Call Nigel on 0274 270 557 to book a maintenance check.

Sheep/Goat Milking Parlours

The sheep and goat dairy industry is rapidly growing in the South Island, from Winton to Kaikoura. Already well established in parts of the North Island, such as Waikato, we are now getting demand for goat and sheep dairy sheds in Canterbury and further afield.
Locally there is a strong presence in Kirwee and Lincoln, with entities such as Sheep Milk New Zealand promoting the many benefits of sheep milk. For farmers the options are many - incorporating sheep or goat milking into an established dairy farm, making a switch, or a new enterprise.
For RBS, moving into building sheep dairy sheds is a natural progression, and great utilisation of our existing skills and partnerships.
If you're considering dairy sheep or goats, contact us to draw on the established base of NZ experience in this industry.
We can work through your sheep dairy shed design and build today.

Existing Shed Upgrades

We understand that a new shed build is not always your goal, so maximising the life and efficiency of your existing shed is also part of the services we offer.

Significant gains in efficiency and cow/worker comfort can be made with a well placed extension or upgrade.

Our experience with upgrading existing sheds, and know-how in minimising compromise, mean your shed will work harder for you.

Yard Extensions & Replacements

In the dairy industry, circumstances change often.
An aspect of this is the need to expand farm facilities, such as yard or shed extensions.

We have experience extending both RBS built sheds, yards and lanes, and owners existing facilities.

We know this sort of change is potentially disruptive to our clients, so our proven ability to stick to agreed deadlines is a big plus.

We also maximise the opportunity the change brings, by considering any other aspects that could be incorporated / improved at the same time.