Lely
George and Andrew Leggott - Lely Astronaut A2 and Lely Discovery - UK
George and Andrew Leggott of Great Smeaton, Northallerton
Not many farmers would be celebrating a birthday by putting in a milking robot with some of the concerns facing dairy farmers at the moment. But George and Andrew Leggott have just marked a 20th anniversary by purchasing another Lely Astronaut milking robot. They currently already have 3 Lely Astronaut A2 robots installed at White House Farm, at Great Smeaton near Northallerton. The recent purchase was done 20 years to the month since George took over the farm from his father, to farm it on his own with 60 cows. George started with a 5:10 parlour and the 60 cows he took over he registered as pedigree under the name “Cocklewood Holstei
The herd now stands at 200 milking cows plus followers. They currently have an expansion plan to be milking 250 within the year and have all the heifers in the system to grow the numbers to achieve this. Milk is sold to Arla and the current performance is 10,000 litres actually sold per cow per year. They currently have an average cell count of 140 and bactoscan of 20. The last milk test was cells of 120 and bactoscan of just 6! The calving index is 400 and “dropping”. They have started using the Genus RMS system and have found it very useful to them. George says: “It focuses the mind more, and Andrew has put his heart and soul into getting cows in calf, which is paying off” .
Having used Lely Astronauts for 2 years, milking on average 180 cows they have seen several changes and reported better results. George states: “We now have time to look after the cows properly”. Every 3 months they meet with their vet and feed consultant. “Mastitis has definitely dropped” states George. Cows are dried off with teat sealant and antibiotics as a routine, but milking with the free access Lely robot system is ensuring that the cows are getting milked more frequently. Andrew says: “The system enables mastitis to be seen sooner, and it has the tools to help with control when used correctly”.
The introduction this month of a 4th robot is key to an expansion plan which has seen a few changes in the last year. The aim is to have 250 cows milking, and have a level supply of milk from all 4 robots. Each of the 3 robots they have working now is running at 2,000 litres per robot box, and the aim is to have 4 robots each producing 2,000 litres per day. George thinks “Robots give a much more consistent lactation and are very good for keeping a level supply of milk” The expansion has meant that “zero” grazing, or the cutting and carting of grass to the cows each day, is to be phased out this summer, and a mixer wagon has been bought to feed the cows a PMR (Partly Mixed Ration) every day of the year. Feed is currently being supplied by BOCM and consists of purchased by-products and different silages grown on the farm. The cows are currently giving an average of 34 to 35 litres per day, and they tend to only breed for better legs and feet. Teat placement is also a factor they look at when selecting bulls now, when once they didn’t take as much notice.
A new shed was erected two years ago to house two of the robots, and this was of the latest design. It has an automated ventilation curtain down the southern side and the cows lie in cubicles with mattresses which have slatted passages to keep the building cleaner. The building was designed in conjunction with Tim Gibson, who not only supplies and services the Lely robot system, but also supplied the concrete slats, cubicles, mattresses and the Lely Discovery mobile barn cleaner! This is another automated device, which runs around on its own and cleans the slats to even further ensure the cows are housed in a clean and dry environment. The Discovery runs on pre-set routes around the shed and parks itself up against its own charging station. At set times of the day the machine moves off and scrapes along the passages. Cows get used to the system quickly and move out of the way, or if laid down they do not take much notice. Andrew has nicknamed their unit “Minnie Me” as it makes a beep as it moves along to alert the cows it is coming.
All of this automation and changes has enables George to take a lesser active role on the farm day to day, leaving son Andrew with their student Simon Armstrong to manage things day to day. Simon currently attends Askham Bryan College at Bedale one day a week, and George is also a Farmer Director for the Arla Milk Partnership and is one of 3 farmers representing the North East. George says that “I and Simon count as one man between us!” And he feels that “Life working with cows is more pleasurable working with robots than it was working in a parlour covered in muck all the time!”
When asked to make a final comment, George added:
“We wouldn’t have bought another robot if we weren’t happy with them!”
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Not many farmers would be celebrating a birthday by putting in a milking robot with some of the concerns facing dairy farmers at the moment. But George and Andrew Leggott have just marked a 20th anniversary by purchasing another Lely Astronaut milking robot. They currently already have 3 Lely Astronaut A2 robots installed at White House Farm, at Great Smeaton near Northallerton. The recent purchase was done 20 years to the month since George took over the farm from his father, to farm it on his own with 60 cows. George started with a 5:10 parlour and the 60 cows he took over he registered as pedigree under the name “Cocklewood Holsteins” The herd now stands at 200 milking cows plus followers. They currently have an expansion plan to be milking 250 within the year and have all the heifers in the system to grow the numbers to achieve this. Milk is sold to Arla and the current performance is 10,000 litres actually sold per cow per year. They currently have an average cell count of 140 and bactoscan of 20. The last milk test was cells of 120 and bactoscan of just 6! The calving index is 400 and “dropping”. They have started using the Genus RMS system and have found it very useful to them. George says: “It focuses the mind more, and Andrew has put his heart and soul into getting cows in calf, which is paying off” . Having used Lely Astronauts for 2 years, milking on average 180 cows they have seen several changes and reported better results. George states: “We now have time to look after the cows properly”. Every 3 months they meet with their vet and feed consultant. “Mastitis has definitely dropped” states George. Cows are dried off with teat sealant and antibiotics as a routine, but milking with the free access Lely robot system is ensuring that the cows are getting milked more frequently. Andrew says: “The system enables mastitis to be seen sooner, and it has the tools to help with control when used correctly”. The introduction this month of a 4th robot is key to an expansion plan which has seen a few changes in the last year. The aim is to have 250 cows milking, and have a level supply of milk from all 4 robots. Each of the 3 robots they have working now is running at 2,000 litres per robot box, and the aim is to have 4 robots each producing 2,000 litres per day. George thinks “Robots give a much more consistent lactation and are very good for keeping a level supply of milk” The expansion has meant that “zero” grazing, or the cutting and carting of grass to the cows each day, is to be phased out this summer, and a mixer wagon has been bought to feed the cows a PMR (Partly Mixed Ration) every day of the year. Feed is currently being supplied by BOCM and consists of purchased by-products and different silages grown on the farm. The cows are currently giving an average of 34 to 35 litres per day, and they tend to only breed for better legs and feet. Teat placement is also a factor they look at when selecting bulls now, when once they didn’t take as much notice. A new shed was erected two years ago to house two of the robots, and this was of the latest design. It has an automated ventilation curtain down the southern side and the cows lie in cubicles with mattresses which have slatted passages to keep the building cleaner. The building was designed in conjunction with Tim Gibson, who not only supplies and services the Lely robot system, but also supplied the concrete slats, cubicles, mattresses and the Lely Discovery mobile barn cleaner! This is another automated device, which runs around on its own and cleans the slats to even further ensure the cows are housed in a clean and dry environment. The Discovery runs on pre-set routes around the shed and parks itself up against its own charging station. At set times of the day the machine moves off and scrapes along the passages. Cows get used to the system quickly and move out of the way, or if laid down they do not take much notice. Andrew has nicknamed their unit “Minnie Me” as it makes a beep as it moves along to alert the cows it is coming. All of this automation and changes has enables George to take a lesser active role on the farm day to day, leaving son Andrew with their student Simon Armstrong to manage things day to day. Simon currently attends Askham Bryan College at Bedale one day a week, and George is also a Farmer Director for the Arla Milk Partnership and is one of 3 farmers representing the North East. George says that “I and Simon count as one man between us!” And he feels that “Life working with cows is more pleasurable working with robots than it was working in a parlour covered in muck all the time!” When asked to make a final comment, George added: “We wouldn’t have bought another robot if we weren’t happy with them!”
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English