In what is sure to be a huge attraction at the Ploughing, Lely will once again host a live robotic milking exhibition from 20th – 22nd of September. A herd of 40 cows will make the short journey from Tim Mannion’s farm in Killyon, Birr, Co. Offaly to a purpose built dairy unit on site, where they will be milked at their leisure during the show as they are on the home farm.
Speaking about the event, Tim Mannion said “We started milking with 2 Lely Astronaut A4 milking robots in May 2014 and now over 2 years on; it’s been a huge success. We are very proud to be associated with the Lely live robotic milking demonstration in 2016. It’s great that people will have the opportunity of seeing our cows in action and they will experience at first-hand how efficient the system is and how well the cows are cared for. They are in a completely stress free environment and have the freedom of choice to be milked at any time of the day or night. Their overall health, condition and temperament is noticeably better. The Lely system and its excellent management tools have really freed up invaluable time on our farm to look after the welfare of our cows and for grassland management. Our milk output has doubled and we are now producing milk on a consistent basis 12 months of the year.”
Niall Mc Gauran from Lely Center Mullingar who provides 24/7 back up in the local area, as well as advice in areas from barn design, layout, grazing and installation along with startup. Niall noted that the system fits neatly in to most existing sheds with minimal building work required.
Lely’s Tomás Cooney commented “The live milking demo will will provide farmers with the perfect opportunity of experiencing the efficiencies and labour savings that automation can bring. The cows will be fed zero grazed grass this year as they are on the home farm. We will also have a Lely Juno Feed pusher in action which will push the grass in regularly in front of the cows. There will be loads for the viewing public to see including live interviews with some of our customers on the stand each day at 11, 2, and 4pm. Who better is there to share their knowledge than those farmers who are using the system on a daily basis. Different topics from grazing and cow health, to labour saving will be discussed.” he ends.
Lely introduced their first robotic milking machine in 1992 and today has over 24,000 working worldwide milking over a 1.2 million cows daily. With the long and demanding hours that milking takes the Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system frees up invaluable time for dairy farmers and their families allowing them to concentrate on other farm duties. The system is so flexible that many customers can simply check their smart phone when at the show and know exactly what is happening at home.