John Lanigan is a milk producer from Leigh, Two-Mile-Borris in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. His cows are milked with two Lely Astronaut robots, which gives John the chance to do all the other farm jobs and not to have to worry about milking.
John wasn’t happy with the ratchet scrapers in his existing cubicle shed and he wanted to improve overall hygiene in the housing and milking area, so in early 2021 he invested in a Lely Discovery Collector.
“The reason I went for the Collector was its ability to hoover up slurry when it is driving over the long solid passageway and then drop the slurry as it goes over slatted tanks,” said John.
“The Collector is able to scrape the feed passages and passageways between cubicles.
“What is even better is that it will also be able to cover the passageways in the new cubicle shed that I am planning to build, parallel to the existing shed.
“I am delighted to have the ratchet scrapers up now, as it means the cows don’t have to walk over the scrapers, the metal ratchet and the bolts – it was causing problems with my cows’ feet.”
“In addition, I now have better cubicle occupancy in the two cubicles at the end of both passages as the scraper is no longer hindering cow movement in and out of these cubicles,” John continued.
“What has really impressed me is how quickly the cows got used to the robot and how clean it leaves the shed.
“There are no large heaps of manure left at the end of the passageways, like I had with the ratchet scraper and also it does the crossovers, the slatted standing area in-front of the robots, and even the passageway that goes out towards the grazeway drafting gates.
“With the cubicles and passageways now much cleaner it should help to significantly reduce lameness issues in the herd and should even improve mastitis issues.
“I had a bit of work to do to prepare for the Collector install. This involved putting down several bump-stops around the shed to help guide the Collector and a charging point.
“Overall, I am delighted with the investment and I am looking forward to all the benefits it is going to bring to my business,” John concluded.
Learn more about the Lely Discovery Collector
Click here to watch the Lely Discovery Collector Robotic Yard Scraper Webinar on YouTube.
