Chris Barton - Testimonial

Chris, who manages a 100-cow Holstein herd near Preston, Lancashire with his father David and brother Matt, highlights the financial benefits:

“The Collector is making fixed cost savings of approximately £5,000 a year in labour, tractor depreciation, diesel, and sawdust. And that’s without considering the benefits of improved cow health and welfare.”

Improved Cow Health and Welfare

Before the Collector, Chris and his family scraped the passageways twice a day with a tractor and scraper, but it wasn’t as effective as they wanted. They needed a solution with minimal impact and disturbance to the cows. The Collector fit the bill perfectly with minimal building work and installation.

“The cows soon got used to the machine, which cleans the shed a lot more often than we ever could,” Chris explains.

The robot is programmed to independently navigate its route using built-in sensors, scraping the entire shed clean every two hours. This keeps the cows’ legs, tails, and udders cleaner, helping to maintain the herd’s already low SCC at 87 and Bactoscan 6. Cleaner udders also mean less prep time at milking.

“Since they’re no longer standing in slurry for most of the day, their feet are cleaner and drier, so the cubicle beds are kept cleaner. While we already had a footbath to minimise digital dermatitis, last year we saw a noticeable four-fold reduction to just three incidences.”

Advanced Features and Benefits

The Collector uses a vacuum pump to suck slurry into its tank. Once almost full, the robot drives to the dump station outside the shed, where it also charges up. During summer, Chris used the robot’s feature to programme water to be sprayed from the front, resulting in better slurry uptake and yards with better grip.

“This feature is particularly beneficial; it helps to keep the floor less slippery, enabling the cows to express their natural behaviour,” Chris adds.

“The Collector has truly transformed the shed environment. We are over the moon.”

Key Benefits

• Straightforward installation
• Cleaner shed, cleaner cows
• Time-saving
• Minimal power requirement, approximately 40p/day