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northeastern Ohio | My cousin built a 200 cow setup in 2007 for around $900k.
I'm still milking in the 120 cow barn with double six parlor we built in 1987 for around $100k. Our equipment dealer told us to go with a middle price range model parlor because we would probably expand after 20 years. It's still going after 27 years, but we did put a bigger tank (1500 to 2000 gallon) in 1996, new vacuum pumps in 1998, redid the freestalls in 2010 and miscellaneous other repairs.
Make sure to go to as many farms as you can to see what features you like and which you don't. There are only so many hours in a day, so make sure to plan a schedule that enables you to get all the work done. That schedule will dictate the size of parlor you need. We used to milk 120 cows in a tie stall barn with 5 milking units and it took about 8 hours a day. Very cheap setup, but we didn't have time for the rest of the farming (hay, silage, crops, ect). The more milking units and automation you buy, the more time you have for the rest of the farm. This can pay off with higher quality forages, which will help your cows produce more. If you are going to buy all your feed, then a smaller parlor would work, but you still need time to feed, breed and work with the cows. Just a few random thoughts. Good luck.
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Freestall parlor cost
