On day one of the 2022 National Ploughing Championships, Agriland got a feel for what the initial stages of making a move to robotic milking for a farmer looks like.
Taking us through this process was farmyard design and project coordinator with Lely Mullingar, William Conlon.
Speaking to Agriland at the National Ploughing Championships yesterday, (Tuesday September 20), Conlon said: “I’d be one of the earlier call outs to a farm that is thinking about moving to a robotic-milking system.
“My job is to walk the farm and the yard and get a feel for the system they are operating and then see how a robotic system could fit into it.
“From there I would give them a couple of ideas of the building work required to get such a system up and running on the farm and the type of money needed to facilitate this move.
“I’d also be looking to see the potential for future growth of the farm as well.
“We have seen farmers put in one robot and move to two and three so leaving that opportunity for future growth is also a big part,” Conlon added.
“It’s all about getting a plan in place that works for the farmer and the cow.
“Cow flow in a robotic milking system is crucial, more so than in a conventional milking parlour system.
“You have cows moving 24 hours a day, everyday, so you need to set up a farmyard where a farmer can still feed cows, that the milk lorry can come in, and in a way that slurry can be taken away without impacting the movement of cows throughout the yard,” Conlon explained.
He added: “So, when it comes to designing a yard towards looking to put in a robot system, those would be the couple of key features I’d be looking at.”