Dairy - Stokman Farm, Holland
Staff
The biggest burden on labour of any dairy farm is tied up in the routine (2 or 3 times per day) of milking cows. A single milking session can take 2-3 hours (4-9 hours daily). Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a real hazard for all staff involved. The milking routine also impacts on the free-time and social life of staff, also making it difficult to retain/employ the high quality staff needed to run a successful dairy unit.
With the introduction of two Lely Robotic milking machines 11 years ago (which have now been replaced by four new Lely Milking machines in the new dairy facility), the whole milking operation is fully automated, leaving staff more time to monitor the cows and freeing them from this time-consuming task.
This reduction in time spent waiting to be milked and being milked, benefits the cows and allows them more time to socialise, eat and rest. Cows require 10-12 hours of lying/resting time which can take preference over feeding if time is restricted. High lactation dairy cows must be able to eat whenever they require as this provides nutrition for optimal cow health/welfare and productivity, improving farm economics. Therefore performance and farm economics may be improved if the dairy cow has this extra time to feed. The whole ethos of robotic milking also readily feeds into the concept of a “Free Choice” system for the cows, as they can decide when they want to be milked, feed and rest.
The introduction of automatic milking machines has improved employee welfare, provided cows with ‘free choice’ and improved behavioural conditions, while also increasing yield.