56 | nzdairy Robotic system ticks all the boxes Russell Fredric DAIRY PEOPLE » Ian & Carmen Comins A 100 cow dairy farm is something of a rarity these days, but a farm of this size with a robotic milking system even more so. For Waikato couple Ian and Carmen Comins it not only makes practical sense, it is proving a good investment which has made life better for both them and their cows. Their herd is split-calved and milked twice-a-day year round on their 30 hectare Kihikihi property. Ian runs a rural contracting business, but helps Carmen in the morning before leaving for his day job. He explains that split-calving and the winter milk premium paid by Open Country helps to meet the $500,000 cost of the investment in the system which includes two milking robots as well as the cost of enlarging and recon guring the existing shed. “We’ve got a big outlay in machinery in that cow shed to keep it milking and we get pretty mild winters here so you grow more grass in the winter than you do in the summer, ” Ian says. After seeing the robotic system at the Mystery Creek eldays, Ian felt it would be well suited to their small farm system and since being installed four years ago this has proven true. While the system does not eliminate all the shed work, milking the cows is totally automated and Ian has more time freed up for his contracting business. It has also eliminated early starts. “You don’t have to get out of bed at ve o’clock. Even though we were running a little herd it was still taking us two to two-and-a-half hours to milk twice a day.” The robotic milking system is proving a good investment for Ian and Carmen Comins. The cows have a transponder on a collar around their neck, which tells the gate system and robot when they are ready to be milked. “The cows have got so quiet with it. They are more like pets, even though we aren’t around them as much.” Phone: 07 872 6444 Fax: 07 872 6446 Email: info@gfa.co.nz Website: www.gfa.co.nz Working together to achieve your goals. The cows have a transponder on a collar around their neck, which tells the gate system and robot when they are ready to be milked. The robots also control supplementary feed; cows are fed between three to ve kilograms of meal during milking, depending on their daily production, plus grass and silage made on farm. After milking, the cows are automatically drafted through one of three races to fresh grazing, or otherwise drafted through a fourth gate if they have any health issues such as mastitis or lameness. Ian attributes increasing production to smaller, but more frequent milkings as well as better pasture management. “You are more in touch with what the pasture situation is. You become more of a pasture manager than a herd manager. You’ve got to control the feed because if you’re giving them too much grass they won’t come back to be milked, but if there’s not enough grass they’re all back at the shed too early.” He expects this season’s production to hit 43,000kgMS against the previous best production of 38,000kgMS. While there were another four or ve cows in the herd this season, there has been no surplus of grass. It has been interesting to see the change in their behaviour and routine, Ian says. “The cows have got so quiet with it. They are more like pets, even though we aren’t around them as much.” “It’s amazing to watch them being their own boss. They are just so happy and docile.”
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