Robots provide next level reliability

 

The two Lely Astronaut A3 milking robots at Ryan Park, Bodmin, have surpassed the Harvey family’s expectations by milking the 140 cow herd for 18 years.

“18 years ago, if they’d said how reliable they’d be, I wouldn’t have believed them,” says Fred Harvey, who runs the farm with son Jack, 21. “Generally speaking, I don’t have a fault with them . . . Some parts are still the same as when they were put in: probably the arm rollers and bearings on the arms are the same.”

Fred says the fact “our robots are the best,” coupled with ongoing servicing has been key to their longevity.

“We went to the Complete contract at the very start. It’s parts and labour for what ever you need and you pay a monthly fee. One of the reasons they’ve lasted so long is we’ve serviced them so regularly. And they’re a very robust robot,” Fred explains.

Modernisation 

In 2006, the robots proved the perfect way to modernise the business without the need for the additional buildings that would have been required to replace the six abreast with a new parlour. With “very little floor space,” additional infrastructure or labour, the A3s enabled the Harveys to move to three times a day milking, thus increasing milk yields over night. 

Flexibility in the working day was also a huge plus, with Fred also able to spend more time with Jack, who was just three years old at the time. However, Fred says the uplift in technology and particularly, quarter milking has proved the most stand out benefit of robotic milking.

“What sold me on the robot was the removal on the quarter. That supersedes everything I said. You can’t do that in a parlour,” he explains.

Individual quarter milking avoids over-milking and helps udder health. At the same time, conductivity monitors flag up any mastitis issues at quarter level, earlier than can be seen by the naked eye. This means cows can be monitored and treated early if required, improving treatment success and preventing issues from escalating.  

Fred believes the voluntary milking system and improved cow environment also helps cow health. “As cows are happier and healthier, they can fight off the lower level infections,” he says. 

Cow environment

With an ethos of “always trying to improve everything,” in 2018, a new cubicle shed was erected to replace the farm’s dated cow kennels. As the location of the new building restricted access to the grazing platform  - and because the Harveys believe cows always preferred to be in - the decision was also made to house cattle all year round.

Cows are now housed on sand on mattresses, whilst lighting, ventilation and water access have also since been improved. Fred believes providing a good cow environment is essential to promote cow health and robot visits.

The positioning of the new building means cows now have to walk further to get to the robots, which are housed outside the shed. “If our robots were in the shed, it would be better, but it’s not the be-all-and-end-all. We get three milkings a day,” Fred says.

Feed intakes 

That said, plans are in place to move the robots to the end of the shed, subject to securing a bank loan. This, together with better quality forage this year, should support a target 300-400 litre a cow a year uplift in production. The farm’s “brilliant” Lely Juno automatic feed pusher also helps promote dry matter intakes.

This has put an end to pushing up with a tractor which used to take an hour a day, including one at 9pm. Fred says it’s undoubtedly saved time, but the benefits extend far beyond that.

“It isn’t the time it saves, it’s the fact it’s running and promoting feed intakes,” he says. “Pushing up the (zero grazed) grass is quite a lot of effort and it just gets on with it.” Jack adds: “The Juno goes 12 times a day. He doesn’t care what the weather is."

BOX: Farm Facts

• Family partnership. Fred Harvey and son, Jack, 21 do the day-to-day work.
• 101ha (250 acres) total farmed (mixed of owned and rented).
• 140 cows in herd.
• Milked through two Lely A3 robots.
• 10,000 litres a cow a year at 4.01% fat and 3.35% protein.
• Targeting 3,000 litres a cow a year milk from forage.
• Average 3 milking visits per cow per day.
• Supplying Saputo.
• Grow grass, maize and wholecrop wheat.
• Zero graze grass through the summer, topped up with silage as needed.
• Best females served to sexed semen with Hereford, Limousin or British Blue AI used on the bottom. Hereford stock bull used as sweeper.
• Beef sold at under 42 days through market.
• 153,000 cells/ml bulk somatic cell count and 30 bactoscan.
• 4-5 cases of mastitis in the herd per year.