Tickety Moo Jerseys line up for robotic milking
Brian Donaldson • Published 16 Feb 2012 13:00
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Fermanagh has it's first robotic milking system in operation and many of us can sample the results of it's work in the creamy textured Tickety Moo Ice-Cream.
The DeLaval Voluntary Milking System as it is known, has been operating at John and Marcus Grey's farm at Oghill, Killadeas, where the famous ice-cream is made, for the last three months and the success of the operation was shared with farmers at an open day last week.
Up to 500 farmers, some of whom had travelled from the north coast of Northern Ireland, watched the 120-cow herd of Jerseys walk freely through the two robotic units, some of the cows getting milked up to five times daily at an open day hosted by Greys and DeLaval.
Farmers watched fascinated with the movements of the DeLaval unique robotic arm which controls a range of tasks including hygienic control, washing, directing the milking clusters onto the teats and keeping the milking stall clean. Yet the whole operation for each cow only takes minutes. The robotic arm is unique to the DeLaval milking system flexible to work at 45 degree angles and containing lasers to guide the cups onto the teats. Each teat is first individually cleaned with warm water and air, stimulated, pre-milked and dried before milking takes place. After each milking, the teats are disinfected.
A touchscreen panel on each milk shows records the cow being milked, her expected yield for each quarter and flow capacity. As the cow is milked, she is sprinkle fed with meal to keep her quiet during the operation which literally only takes a matter of minutes.
"It's definitely a big step forward from ordinary parlour systems and the cows look very relaxed," one farmer told me.
The award winning Jerseys have taken to the new system extremely well, according to Marcus.
In his office, which looks out over the cow stalls, Marcus said, "Jerseys are inquisitive animals and this system probably suits the breed. But the success really depends how you set up your cattle house. This system is set up in a farmer friendly way and it must be set up in a way that is easy to use."
"It was surprisingly easy to train our cows - only two days on average," he says.
On average, each cow is milked 3.3 times daily and the computer controlled robotic system restricts the length of time between milking for each animal, depending on the stage of her lactation and her yield.
In the past Marcus said he would normally have got up at 6am to organise the cows in the collecting yard and to prepare for milking. With washing, milking, feeding and dusting down the cow stalls, the twice daily task would have taken many hours.
Now his working day has changed completely. He can afford a lie-in to around 7.15 am, check the computer read out, whether its on the main console in the dairy office, on his laptop in the kitchen or even on his smartphone, to see what's happening with the robotic milkers and get on with his business of farming.
"It leave me very flexible with my time and more time to spend on herd management," he says.
The computer records every individual cow's performance each day, with its herd details and yields at each milking as well as storing lots of vital information relating to the cow's health, reproductive history and her stage in her lactation.
"We are very pleased with the system and have got a yield increase, even from week two of the new operation," Marcus said. In fact based on the information of the first three months, he estimates each cow will yield an additional 1,000 litres of milk per lactation. Average yield for a 305-day lactation had been 6,300 litres but that is now expected to rise to 7,300 litres.
The Jerseys produce a high butterfat percentage of 5.8% and 4.1 per cent protein and is ideal for the manufacture of the creamy Tickety Moo ice cream which is sold across Ireland. Around 20% of the herd's milk goes to the manufacture of ice-cream which is sold by BD Foods of Glaslough of Co. Monaghan to outlets across the country while the remainder of the milk is supplied to Glanbia plants at Magheralin and Virginia. They are suppliers of milk for Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur.
The robotic milker feeds each cow according to milk given and despite a meal bill, there is great potential for bigger incomes from a bigger milk supply.
However apart from bigger yields and less labour costs, Marcus likes the improved cow welfare factor.
"Our cows are no longer standing in the yard for two hours waiting to be milked and milk yield has improved by three litres per cow per day," he says also pointing to the two DeLaval cow brushes which the cows enjoy in their open plan, highly ventilated accommodation. where even a robotic scraper keeps the passage ways clean!
Apart from employing one less man, Marcus has also stopped using the mixer wagon which was a task that took twice a day. Now the meal is fed via two augers to cows in the VMS system and grass silage is fed every other day with a silage grab.
Marcus is now looking forward to the grazing season when the cows will be outdoors and will come back into the shed for milking, voluntarily. They will have further to walk but good roadways and plenty of space will ensure the system works just as well in summer as in winter.
Technicians from DeLaval as well as local agents, Albert Jones, of Ederney, who supplied the equipment spoke to farmers as they toured the farm which had been well set up for visitors previously as they open the farm to the public for their Tickety Moo Ice-Cream. They explained how each robotic milking system was geared up to milk around 60 cows each day and around 180 milkings. On an average day, each machine is idle for only a couple of hours, accumulated from the few minutes here and there as cows make their way towards the machine. There is very little time wasted. Even when the milk tanker arrives to collect the milk, the robotic system engages in a washing process.
The farm will be open to the public from Easter to September when visitors will have an opportunity to see the revolutionary new system operating.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Feb 12
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