Author: National Ploughing Association

DeLaval has announced the largest robot batch milking farm is working well at Lønholm Agro near Kolding, Denmark. The 830 strong pedigree Jersey herd is being milked by 24 VMS™ V310 robots in a unique batch milking system which will enable owner Klaus Jakobsen to grow the herd to 1400 cows in the near future.

“We started milking in May this year and the cows adapted very quickly. Batch milking is the right system for our 700 hectare farm because we needed to reduce our dependence on skilled labour and have a milking method that could be scaled up easily and quickly,” he says. 

DeLaval launched the concept of batch milking in 2021 and there are now 150 VMS robots installed globally, with herd sizes ranging in size from 250 to 2000 cows. Batch milking requires only one unskilled staff member to milk a herd of up to 2000 which makes it attractive to markets where recruitment is difficult and skilled wages are high.

Commenting on the success of batch milking, DeLaval’s Jonas Hällman, Executive Vice President, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) says:

“The VMS batch setup is flexible and can easily be scaled up for a wide variety of farms, including very large ones. In addition, automatic milking requires little manual work, which can reduce labour dependencies and related costs.”

Batch milking has provided Mr Jacobsen with a system that can be managed from anywhere in the world. Using just a mobile device he can monitor the productivity and health of every cow using data sent by the robots.

“I can see milk yield, when and why it has fluctuated, monitor pregnancy using the robot’s progesterone testing module, and also use cameras to observe the cows being at rest and during milking,” he says.

DeLaval suggests that whilst herd sizes are growing worldwide as farms consolidate, batch milking offers a solution to managing growing herds with less dependence on labour and the benefit of more data to improve productivity.

BOOSTED by the success of its entry level 7.5m Farmline Trailing Shoe, slurry equipment specialist SlurryKat has launched wider models up to 10.5m ahead of the National Ploughing Championships in County Laois.
And, staying with all the core SlurryKat manufacturing principles, these new models are also built to be strong with the best steel, yet staying lightweight to reduce soil compaction.
Garth Cairns, SlurryKat Innovator and CEO, said: “We launched the 7.5m Farmline Trailing Shoe in 2018 and it has been a huge success.
“However, as slurry tankers have become larger and more grants have become available to help farmers purchase specialist equipment, we have experienced huge demand for wider models.”
The new wider models, 9m and 10.5m, incorporate many of the features of the previous models, including the lightweight design, but also some new upgrades.
Lightest trailing shoe on the market
Garth added: “These are the lightest trailing shoes on the market. While the 7.5m model weighed in at 490kgs, the new 9m model is 600kgs and the 10.5m model is 636kgs. Both the 9m and the 10.5m models exhibit unique inverted booms in the transport position.
“The extra width for the new models was achieved by adding a novel flip-over end section on the sidearms, which is operated by a hydraulic cylinder. This is easy and straightforward for the operator to use.
“The transport height, which is the lowest on the market, on the new wider models stays the same as with the 7.5m model. Also, they now have flip-up shoes on the beam with hydraulic cylinder as standard, which was not a feature on the 7.5m model.

Easier Headland Turns

“With flip-up shoes on the central and outer sections, this makes it easier for the operator to make headland turns. Also, the machine does not need to be folded up to reverse, all the operator has to do is flip up the shoes, carry out the manoeuvre, then drop the shoes and work away,” he said.
The new Farmline models use the SlurryKat ventilated macerator distributor head with a V36 head on the 9m model and a V42 head on the 10.5m version.This unique system delivers equal slurry distribution from every shoe along the boom which competitor products can’t deliver.
Other upgrades include a crash protection system on the boom as standard, using a shear bolt rather than a spring release system which is troublesome when the machine ages.
Spacing of the shoes on the new models is the SlurryKat standard 250mm, which is proven to be the optimum width for the uptake of the nutrients in the slurry by the crop.
All models are fully galvanised and fitted with new Italian manufactured UV resistant flexible hoses which gives longevity to the machines.
Reduce Soil Compaction
SlurryKat says its main focus with the new Farmline Trailing Shoes was to keep the machines lightweight, which is an advantage working in all soil conditions.
These new Farmline Trailing Shoes work in conjunction with SlurryKat’s highly successful Premium Plus™ range, which is also undergoing some updates. The new Farmline models are not replacing any of the Premium Plus™ range but are an addition to the range offered.

You can visit SlurryKat and talk to the product experts at the National Ploughing Championships, 19 – 21 Sept, Ratheniska, Co Laois, Block 1 / Stand 199.

www.SlurryKat.com/ploughing