96 | nzdairy DAIRY SERVICES » GEA Farm Technologies NZ • from page 98 GEA’s CowScout collars help farmers manage their herds via heat detection and health monitoring. service and maintenance of milking plants.” Over the past decade, there has been a significant rise in uptake of automation on the farm. The Covid environment and associated labour shortages has further fed into this over the past two years. Automation is trending upwards in conventional milking systems where inclusions such as automatic cup removers are saving a lot of time. “We are now also seeing a greater shift towards upgrading with auto wash systems for plant hygiene to ensure wash protocols are consistently met, regardless of who is milking.” GEA is also noticing an increased appetite from farmers for technology to assist with managing cows within the farm operation via heat detection and health monitoring. GEA’s CowScout collars - akin to a Fitbit for cows that tracks their eating and activity - ticks both these boxes. “When the cow is on heat, their activity increases; this can help pinpoint the optimal time for mating the cow. With animal health, cows that are unwell generally stop eating and moving. CowScout’s health alerts pick this up early and can assist in identifying cows that can be drafted out early and highlight a need to check over an animal to find out what’s wrong.” GEA identifies the key benefits of proactively managing mastitis as: Healthy cows producing more milk and betterquality milk throughout their productive lives Reduction in cost of antibiotic treatment for cases of mastitis, (with the added benefit that consumers are seeking less antibiotic use in food production) Happy staff spending less time treating mastitis and managing separate mobs of cows on the farm Increased profitability through premium milk payments and more milk in the vat through less milk being withheld when treating cows. GEA has many examples showing how they have been able to help farmers reduce the impact of mastitis. One specific example, shared by GEA, is of a Central Otago farmer milking 1100 cows who had previously treated 40 per cent of his herd for mastitis. In the spring, he more than halved his mastitis treatments in the first season of working with FIL. “The financial benefits of this are significant, let alone the flow-on positives of having happier staff and cows,” says Campbell. “When the cow is on heat, their activity increases; this can help pinpoint the optimal time for mating the cow.” Servicing from Helensville to the Cape. Westfalia and Milfos Parts and Servicing Gea.midnorth@gmail.com 021569661 Garry Wilson Proud Service Partner of gea.com • Plant & Platform Installation • Dairy Shed Maintenance • Effluent Solutions • Milking Machine Testing • Dairy Yards & Repairs • Pump Repair & Maintenance • Rubberware & Consumables Proud Service Partner of: Email: s.l.hayes@xtra.co.nz Tel: 03 789 6572 Mob: 027 277 7860 Buller / West Coast HAYES FARM SERVICES LTD gea.com
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