Northern Ireland talk - Robotics in Livestock Production

The guest speaker at a recent IAgrE Nothern Ireland Branch meeting  was Mr. Jacob Irwin from Lely Center Eglish, Dungannon, Co.Tyrone, who are well known locally for sales and service of the Lely Astronaut robotic milking equipment, and associated precision machinery for farm feeding and cleaning work.  

Following his graduation, in Agriculture and Business Studies, at Harper Adams University he went to work at a large beef farm in Australia and a further year in New Zealand before coming home to join the family business.

His present emphasis is on sales and technical team support for the Lely range of specialist automatic milking and feeding equipment throughout Northern Ireland and Co.Donegal. 

Lely products
Lely is a well known internationally respected brand of precision farm equipment based in the Netherlands. Most recently its emphasis is on robotic milking systems and other precision equipment for dairy production. These include precision forage diet preparation and feeding equipment,automated floor cleaning and manure nutrient processing. There is also a self propelled robotic zero grazer which can travel to and from the fields unaided but it is not yet permitted to travel on public roads!

Robotic milking
Robotic milking is a technical revolution in dairy farming now being more widely adopted to save labour,  give farmers more “quality time off with their families “, allow more efficient use of the equipment , permit cow- friendly husbandry options to improve their performance and health. The Lely Astronaut A5 is a popular example  of which around 39,000 units are now in use globally since its introduction in 2018. Its most recent version is the A5 with its advanced , and continuously developing , technical features. They are designed to be both cow and user friendly as well as being capable of monitoring performance and early health related symptoms.
Mr Irwin described how these features have evolved and the 24 / 7 service team support for the farmer customers. Around 20 % of Northern Ireland dairy farms are now using robotic milking. The Lely Astronaut robots have steadily evolved to become more farmer and cow friendly.  Performance  of 170 milkings /day /machine is now typical.

Key technical features on the latest Lely Astronaut A5 versions now include:-

• Precision cluster placement using laser focus and camera positioning. 
  Data collection of milk flow, yield and early detection of any irregularities. The somatic cell count sensor measures the number of white blood cells , per litre of milk, and is a reliable indicator of mammary gland herd health. A high reading can detect early signs of sub-clinical mastitis and reduced milk yield.
  Cow friendly pre-cleaning with dry rotary brushing to remove dry manure residue and other contaminants from the teats and base of the udder. This routine physical contact tends to stimulate milk production. 
  Automatic disinfection follows to minimize cross-contamination risks.
  Free entry traffic system for  each cow to decide  when to enter for milking..
  A  hybrid arm system carrying the cluster moves quickly and accurately. .Its air-cushioned electrical system minimizes shock loads such as the effect of cow kicks.  
  Gentle separation of separated milk such as for colostrum retention.
  The milk flow sensors can trigger the pulling off of individual teat cups.
  An automatic self cleaning milk filtration system.
  Ear-tag identity recognition for individual cows and separate data recording for performance comparisons within the herd. The system also links overall behavioural patterns and can guide individual separation for cows such those as on heat.

Lely continue to evolve and refine their information and analysis program systems to link with other existing or future on-farm management systems.

24 / 7 service 
There are 3 service areas with their own specialist crews. Farmers can phone their own area for advice and, if necessary, request a technician visit. Customers tend to develop a working relationship with the service contact and 2- way exchange of information inspires confidence in  the product. . The local team currently involves 23 engineers, a service manager, 3 product specialists and 19 others at various stages of formal product competence training and experience.

Cow personality
Farmers are aware that cows are intelligent animals and often demonstrate their own preferences. This can be breed or experience based and an experienced stock person can link this to content robot-milked cows producing more milk. Herd management systems  in Northern Ireland range from several hundred cows continuously housed during lactation to one example of 270 cows free to walk out to graze grass swards up to 2 km away from the main yard. 

Machine costs 
Most robot units are farmer owned with a current new purchase price of £150k to £160k. A new compressor unit costs around £19 k. As a Central  unit can run up to 2 robots there is a financial advantage in acquiring 2 robots at the same time where herd size is sufficient

The Lely Vector diet feeder system
This is based on 24/7 little-and-often dispensing of fresh forage diets to  encourage higher feed intake and a stable rumen pH, It should support good health, fertility and production. It is based on the  “kitchen“ system where forage and other ingredients  are placed in a building within reach of an automatic overhead traveling grab crane. It holds the recipe for the diet and picks up the quantities required of each ingredient . It deposits them for mixing within the electrically powered 800 kg diet feeder mixer which then travels automatically, using ultrasound inductive sensor guidance, around the yard and  along the feed deposit areas. A rotating skirt ensures that the feed is placed where all the cattle can reach their feed easily. Magnets are  included in the discharge chute to capture any stray sharp metal objects that could otherwise be harmful if ingested by the livestock. The feeder also travels to scan and tidy the feed height calculating when to return and how the load should be distributed. The distribution and feed uptake data is electronically retained for feed management scrutiny and analysis. There are 23 Vector units currently in  service on Northern Ireland farms. 
 
Thanks
IAgrE Branch chairman Peter Verhoeven thanked Jacob for such an informative , interactive presentation. Dairy farming technology continues to advance and we wish Jacob and his colleagues every success in their continuing involvement with it.

Further details of the Lely products and the associated service facilities   can be viewed here

Photos from l-r clockwise

Peter Verhoeven and Jacob Irwin
Jacob explains Lely Vector feeding performance data
Astronaut A% Key features
14 robots for 750 cows