A prototype of a New Zealand milking system has won an award for its innovation this month and it may prove to be popular to Irish farmers once it becomes available on the market.
The prototype, called the ErgoPOD was designed and created by Waikato Milking Systems, which won the 2023 Prototype Award at Fieldays Innovation Awards.
Executive chairman of Waikato Milking Systems Jamie Mikkelson said: “We started on this journey about four years ago; we had this crazy idea that if we were going to be the most admired company globally for milking efficiency, if a single operator could milk a thousand cows in an hour, that would be a game changer.”
The final stages of development of the ErgoPOD, including on-farm trials, are expected to be completed over the next 18 months.
New Zealand award winners
Entry requirements for the prototype award included that the innovation must:
- Have application in the food and fibre sector;
- Not have been exposed widely prior to the awards;
- Not be available for sale on the market.
The criteria required for entrants to be judged on included:
- Who are your competitors and how do you differ?;
- Is it sensitive to the environment?;
- What is the unique solution – benefit to the sector?;
- Presentation of the innovation.
The 2023 prototype prize package included $10,000 cash and product design and development services to the value of $5,000.
Milking system prototype
The Ergopod prototype has demonstrated the ability for farmers to reduce their risk of injury, as a significant amount of automation is involved in running the system.
Waikato claims to halve the time required for farmers to apply milking cups and to ease the access for cows, as it removes multiple hazards for a cow entering and leaving the milking platform.
The prototype facilitates opportunities for the precise measurement and control of milk quality, and even speeds up the process of a cow exiting a rotary milking platform.
Waikato Milking Systems will have a presence at the National Ploughing Championships this year in September in Ratheniska, Co. Laois.