# The Rotolactor

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 26, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442 "2012-07-26T12:34:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442/1 "2012-07-26T12:34:28Z")

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I remember visiting the Rotolactor in action when I was a kid in the 1960s. There was a glassed-in booth where you could look down on the merry-go-round of milked cows, and there was a machine there where you could get chocolate milk. The Rotolactor I recall had fewer stalls than the ones in these photos.  
I’ve seen the grave of Elsie/You’ll Do Lobelia, before it was moved.

[http://blog.modernmechanix.com/rotolactor-milks-50-cows-in-12-minutes/](http://blog.modernmechanix.com/rotolactor-milks-50-cows-in-12-minutes/)

[http://walkergordononline.com/history.asp](http://walkergordononline.com/history.asp)

> **[The Rotolactor - Farm Collector](https://www.farmcollector.com/equipment/the-rotolactor/)**
>
> The Rotolactor, introduced by Walker-Gordon Farms and the Borden Company, took milking efficiency to a new level.

To my surprise, my internet search turned up a copycat in New South Wales, Australia, which apparently was copied from the one in New Jersey, and still exists!

[http://www.camdenparkhouse.com.au/rotolactor.htm](http://www.camdenparkhouse.com.au/rotolactor.htm)

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**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442/2 "2012-07-26T13:21:59Z")

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Thank you for sharing these! Since I work for an ag school and we recently installed a state-of-the-art milking parlor (which does NOT rotate!), I find these absolutely fascinating.

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442/3 "2012-07-26T18:52:21Z")

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But won’t the cows get dizzy? And don’t they get tired of eating chocolate to make all that chocolate milk every day??

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rotolactor/629442/4 "2012-07-26T22:41:49Z")

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> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> To my surprise, my internet search turned up a copycat in New South Wales, Australia, which apparently was copied from the one in New Jersey, and still exists!
> 
> [http://www.camdenparkhouse.com.au/rotolactor.htm](http://www.camdenparkhouse.com.au/rotolactor.htm)

I remember as a child being dragged off to see it. I would have been about 6 or 7, I suppose. I recall that it was a stinking hot day, probably during the January school holidays some time.