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Robotic Milking One Year Away
It's predicted that automatic robotic milking, already in use on about 35 farms in Europe, will be on the market next year in the U.S. and Canada.
At present, only two companies - Lely and AMS Liberty - are selling robotic systems to farmers. Lely says it has sold 25 on-farm systems, and Liberty about 10. Firms w
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Robotic Milking One Year Away DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 19-2-27 It's predicted that automatic robotic milking, already in use on about 35 farms in Europe, will be on the market next year in the U.S. and Canada.
At present, only two companies - Lely and AMS Liberty - are selling robotic systems to farmers. Lely says it has sold 25 on-farm systems, and Liberty about 10. Firms with systems in research and development include Duvelsdorf, Silsoe and Gascoine Melotte.
Lely stole the recent RAI show in Amsterdam with an elaborate display of its Astronaut automatic milking system: Especially impressive was Lely's unique system for automatically attaching and detaching teat cups. Cups drop off as each quarter is milked out.
With the Liberty system, each cow is fitted with a transponder around her neck. Upon entering the milking station, she receives a handful of feed as a bribe. Body length and teat size are pre-programmed for each cow.
If the teat cups fail to connect after five tries, or if there's the slightest evidence of mastitis, the cow is released to a holding pen to be checked out. When the teat cup cluster connects properly, the teats are washed inside the cup for 6 sec., and the "first milk" drawn off for another 15 sec. This "first milk" and the wash water, are flushed automatically into a dump tank. Milking then commences and the flow is recorded.
"Once a system is installed and the owner is satisfied with its operation, it should be possible to switch from twice a day milking to 3 or 4 times per day. This could lead to a 15 to 20% increase in milk yield, achieved because cows are more content, and because they can be milked out on demand," the manufacturer points out.
Retail cost of a robotic system to handle 75 to 100 cows is expected to be about $200,000.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lely Astronaut Milkrobot System, Lely Industries, Weverskade 10, 3155 PD, Massland, Holland (ph 0189912Ç4 4):
FARM SHOW Followupi, AMS Liberty Milking System, Dr. A.F. Philipsweg 53, Postbus 138, 9400 Assen, Holland (ph 0310592041441).
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