Astronaut A4

Treat her well

It is well known that chasing after cows and letting them wait to be milked will not result in the optimum yield. The tendency therefore is to reduce the herd to a manageable size. The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system will allow you to take it one step further; your cow will be allowed to visit the robot at her own pace, stimulated by her need for concentrates. This will result in frequent milking and lower stress levels for the cow. Cows will easily last at least one more lactation.

The most reliable employee imaginable

For the owner of a large dairy farm, the ultimate dream is to hire employees who are highly motivated, well-organized and keen to work with cows. Investing in a Lely Astronaut robotic milking system will offer you the most reliable employee you can imagine. This robot employee is there to milk for you 24/7 for years to come. It is flexible and fully trained to prepare the cow for milking, to attach the teat cups, to reattach in the event this is required, to detach after milking and to carry out post dipping.

Who likes to be turned around?

The I-flow concept for quick entrance and quick exit allows cows to enter the robot straight ahead. In addition, the box itself is spacious and offers the cow complete freedom. It stimulates the cow to enter of her own free will and the way out is also straight ahead. There is simply no other milking system where the hurdle to be milked is so low. “Cows get used to the system often much sooner than their manager does” is a phrase we hear our customers say quite often. Farms with our robotic milking system are always considered to have the quietest herds.

Easier-to-manage logistics

In large herds, it is always difficult to find the cow that needs special attention. Lely’s advice is to compose groups per two robots. If a cow requires to be treated, she can either be found easily in the relatively small group or automatically separated after each milking. The result is the optimum use of your labour and building resources.

Entirely different to robotizing a parlour

When the herd is getting too big, nobody knows the individual cow, so we have to deal with the herd. Thanks to the Astronaut robotic milking system, many factors can be monitored on an individual cow basis; factors that cannot be controlled in a conventionally milked herd. Successful robotic milking is a new style of farm management whereby the decisions are transferred from the farmer to the cow. It is all about early warning signals. The T4C management program combines data and, in addition to the daily attentions, displays information for long term analysis. You can treat your cows individually again… and that results in improved cow health, shorter calving intervals and reduction of feed cost, just to mention a few.

Smarter automation

By automating the milking process on large dairy farms the system can fully utilize the genetic capacity of each individual cow for maximum profit. Dynamic processes such as milking or feeding concentrates are regulated by the management software and will optimize the margin per cow using the strength of the individual cow to make 1 + 1 = 3.

Robotic milking is financially more attractive

Getting the right return on investment is always the key factor in any management decision. The extra costs of depreciation and maintenance are easily offset by less labour costs and improved cow health.

We are here to support you

Managing a farm with ten milking robots obviously requires a different management approach. We have a dedicated in-house “large farm team” ready to support you.