Milking parlours and dairy management systems, designed to make life easier for farmers and their cows, will be part of the product offering from Waikato Milking Systems at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.
The company’s European sales manager Gillian Fullerton-Smith said she is looking forward to showing farmers how the Waikato brand can help them grow the value of their dairy.
She said being part of the 88th Ploughing Championships is a great opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces in the dairy industry as well as speak to new customers over the three-day event, from September 17-19 at County Carlow in Ireland.
Gillian will also be a key note speaker at the NZTE/Enterprise Ireland discussion on improving farm productivity, at the show event on September 19.
Along with milking parlours and dairy management systems, Waikato Milking Systems will also showcase its full range of milking automation products including cutting-edge udder health detection technology.
The company will also demonstrate how its Electronic Milk Meters and accurate feed to yield technology can help lift dairy farm production.
Collectively, the products offer a simple and robust system to meet all farmers’ requirements, Gillian says.
With the abolition of European milk quota regulations, farmers in Ireland have been exploring the possibility of herd and milking system expansion.
Gillian says more Irish farmers are turning to rotary platforms to manage large herds.
Waikato Milking Systems rotary parlours are world-renowned for enabling one person to manage the milking requirements of large herds.
The company’s Centrus Composite Rotary Platform and its Orbit Concrete Rotary Platforms are versatile milking options which can be tailored to any size.
In the past few years customers in Ireland have installed 40-bail rotary platforms, up to 70-bail, for example.
Gillian says adding the company’s NaviGate Dairy Management System and its Milking Automation products to a milking parlour can really help a farmer improve throughput and productivity.
NaviGate acts as an extra pair of hands in the parlour. It can monitor the milking performance of each cow, its weight, heat cycle and health. It will also automatically sort the cows when they exit the parlour.
The data helps farmers make decisions to improve the overall productivity and profitability of the herd and farm.
Waikato Milking Systems, Milking Automation options help control, monitor and customise a dairy’s operation.
Management and automation technology can be fitted to rotary or in-line milking parlours, at a level defined by the farmer.
Gillian said the plug ‘n’ play feature of both platform types allows further technology upgrades later on or when the budget allows.
In-line parlours remain an efficient and economical solution for smaller commercial herds in Ireland.
They require a smaller building footprint than a rotary platform and still a favoured system for many family operations.
Waikato Milking Systems offers three in-line systems, including the Supa4 Mid-Line System, Loopline Mid-Line System and the Low-Line System.
“It’s about helping farmers find the total solution, helping them grow the value of dairy, using local people with local dealers in the Ireland,” Gillian says.
To view examples of our milking parlours, visit the Waikato Milking Systems Facebook page or YouTube channel.
Waikato Milking Systems will be at the National Ploughing Championships, Ballintrane, Fenagh, County Carlow, from September 17-19, site Block No.2, Row No.1, Stand No.2.