Business Rural Autumn 2021

The knowledge that a job was being done with only 12% efficiency was the motivation behind the founding of Onfarm Solutions and Gary Arnott’s drive to do better, much better. Gary is the Managing Director and Founder of Christchurch dairy-tech company Onfarm Solutions, based in Middleton. Onfarm Solutions specialises in automated teat spraying equipment for dairy sheds, and is rapidly becoming the industry’s leading automation system for this monotonous, but essential animal hygiene task. Usually carried out with an iodine solution, teat spraying is critical in protecting cows from contracting mastitis, a common udder disease. Trained as an electrical engineer who spent over a decade working on bakery automation systems, Gary was drawn into the dairy automation business over a conversation at a barbeque with leading dairy veterinarian Adrian Joe. “I learnt a lot from him about how inadequately teat spraying was being carried out in dairy sheds. Coming from bakery automation the contrast was quite sharp. The figures for teat spraying were quite poor, with only about 12% of the farms surveyed actually doing it properly.” It was this awareness that pushed Gary to start examining ways in which the job could be automated better, pursuing a draft concept that became the Teatwand automatic teat sprayer. It was a big move into the unknown at the time of a global recession, but dairying was only growing, particularly in Canterbury. Like much of the primary sector it was plagued by a shortage of skilled staff, meaning manual spraying was often neglected. “Of course when you add animals into any automated system it tends to tip things on their head a bit, in terms of the challenge it presents.” While there was already automated equipment on the market, it too was performing poorly, performing at only a 70% success rate, inevitably failing at the job they were installed to do. “We could see the global potential of the business quite early on given that efficiency in farm labour is a universal problem. Add that to the ongoing need to ensure animal welfare and health issues are being well managed, especially as the number of cows go up in dairy herds.” Onfarm Solutions has taken a “farmer-centric” view of its automation systems from day one. Gary, alongside the company developers, has always worked closely with farmers to learn what aspects of design and implementation need further work and improvement. Farmer feedback has helped develop a system that is easily installed and robust enough to take the bangs and knocks that inevitably accompany the logistics of working with animals. Onfarm Solutions have also worked closely with leading mastitis consultants like Dr Steve Cranefield from the outset, understanding the science of bacteria control and translating that into effective application. “From my experience, the Teatwand from Onfarm Solutions sets a standard for the industry, and is the only one I would recommend,” says Dr Cranefield. Today, Onfarm Solutions effectively manages a total of 12 staff that includes 5 R&D employees in Christchurch. The team has a deep knowledge and understanding of mechatronic and robotic systems, and has the ability to translate farmer needs into viable equipment. This is reinforced with Gary’s personal ethos, that quality is above and beyond question, with painstaking attention to detail around component construction and materials use. It has led to innovations, such as a stainless-steel sprung nozzle that can withstand the kicks and knocks cows can dish out as they exit the farm dairy. Export markets have expanded fast for Onfarm Solutions, with over 1000 systems installed in New Zealand and around the world by last year. “We have found the challenges facing New Zealand dairy farmers are the same around the world, and really worked to build a good dealer relationship in countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Canada, the EU, Israel, and Russia.” Potential also exists for advancement in China where government sponsorship of domestic dairying is pushing farm operations into bigger and bigger rotary dairy platforms and cow numbers. After intense innovation and development this year sees the release of a new spray system, aimed at Herringbone type farm dairies, of which many still exist in New Zealand and overseas. Gary sees considerable potential still lying within the New Zealand dairy market, thanks to continuing consolidation of smaller farms, herringbone dairies, and frustrated dairy farmers seeking out high quality, reliable automated systems that will help overcome labour issues on farms. “There are a lot of other automated systems out there that are just simply not performing.” Never one to stand still, Gary Arnott has also spun off another company, Onfarm Data, focusing on providing farmers with accurate and timely farm data. Onfarm Data matches farmers’ data needs with automated equipment, including soil moisture meters, flow meters and telemetry devices for communicating that data. “Farmers’ expectation about automation today has grown a lot in recent years. We are proud to be able to work alongside them, developing equipment that is all about providing solutions, making their jobs easier, and their animals healthier.” Dairy tech firm focuses on herd health.