Accepting that was one of the biggest challenges for Waikato farmers Gavin and Susan Weal when they installed a Lely robotic milking system in May 2013.
The cows quickly transitioned to the system, Susan says.
“They are really intelligent. They will go into the drafting gate and if it hasn’t switched to the new race, they will back out and wait until the gates change.
“They say it takes a week to train the cows and two years to train farmers, that’s probably about right.”
Gavin and Susan farm at Pokuru, south of Te Awamutu. Two years ago they downsized from milking 320 cows on 100ha and sold 44ha. They had to build a new dairy on the remaining part of the farm and investigated the costs of a robotic system versus a herringbone.
They bought three Lely robotic milking units, capable of milking up to 80 cows a day, for $250,000 each. Along with the new yard, concrete, and fencing, the system was a more than $1 million investment.
It cost $200,000-$300,000 more than a herringbone, but that will be gained back in increased production and less staff, Gavin says.
More importantly, the system has reignited their enthusiasm for farming.
“We always get asked how long the system will take to pay for itself, but sometimes in life you do things because you want to do it, not because of the money.”
Gavin has been milking cows for 40 years and the couple were ready for a change.
“We were at the transition stage of our lives and we wanted to try something different that wasn’t too taxing on us,” Susan says.
“There are a lot of farmers the same age as us, who are over staff and the hassle of it all. This system is ideal.”
They kept 170 of their older Friesian and Friesian-cross cows and production lifted from 430kg milksolids (MS) a cow to 505kg MS in the first year. The target this season is 550kg MS.
‘They say it takes a week to train the cows and two years to train farmers, that’s probably about right.’
The cows average 2.8 milkings in 24 hours. Milking up to three times a day means their udders are under less pressure and should hopefully be able to last the test of time, Gavin says.
The operation is split-calving, with both autumn and spring cows averaging 300 days in milk.
The technology is simple and user-friendly, and the back-up service has been brilliant. They confidently run the herds together, including any cows that have to be kept out of the main vat.
“We used to really stress that a cow we had treated with drycow would get into the milking herd with split calving, and used to put tape around their tails and spray paint them. Now we know the robot just won’t milk her,” Susan says.
The rule is to put the information in the computer first before you treat a cow so there is no room for human error.
The cows are fed in the dairy on their production, ranging from 2kg to 5kg meal with molasses in a 24-hour period.
The farm is a System 2, buying up to 15% of the total feed in a feed pinch. Last year, they bought 30 tonnes of palm kernel and 2t maize silage to get through a dry Waikato summer.
The cows have access to the feedpad with a feed mixture of maize, grass silage, and palm kernel. They can come on to the feedpad from 12pm if they feel like it and it is open for them to return any time of the day.
In September, the herds will go back to a grass and meal diet.
The couple’s three children are all linked to the dairy industry. Their eldest daughter Rachel works at ASB Bank as farmline relationship manager for Northland, Stuart worked on the farm for seven years after leaving school, and Rebecca is a third-year veterinary science student.
Stuart left this season to do his OE, so they employed a full-time manager, Gijsbert Heemink from Holland, who has experience working with robotic milking systems.
Gavin’s role is back to focusing on the business and he can monitor the cows more closely now than he ever could when milking.
Every milking, the cows are weighed, their activity levels and feed intake are measured and every quarter is measured for its yield, milk composition, and conductivity. If a cow stops eating, drops in production, or loses weight, she is picked up in the system immediately.
All that data makes it easier to make more informed business decisions. Investing in the robotic milking system has been the best decision they could have made and they wouldn’t change it for anything, Gavin says.
