John Locker is a man of great determination and fortitude.
John Locker jumped in with both feet
John Locker is a man of great determination and fortitude. Riddled with rheumatoid arthritis, he enjoys farming and in particular his cows - all 120 of them ! Twelve months ago when John's stockman left, he was faced with a difficult decision ... whether to stay in farming or sell and retire. As Highway Farm near Newcastle-under-Lyme has been in his family's possession since 1901, John was loathed to sell up, but was unable to continue with just Alex, his stepson's help. It was a case of automation or get out of farming completely.
"Young lads won't work the long hours nowadays that dad and I used to work" said John, and when he saw an advert in the farming press for a LELY ASTRONAUT, John jumped at the chance of going to view two LELY robotic milking systems working. Within a week, John had made up his mind to purchase two new LELY ASTRONAUT A3 units and plans were quickly drawn up as to what alterations were required to accommodate them.
"My father couldn't make a decision to save his life - nor would he spend a halfpenny more than was needed," reported John. "I've tried hard to make decisions that would benefit the farm, even if they have cost a lot more than a halfpenny."
"We were milking up to 150 cows prior to the two A3 LELY ASTRONAUTs being installed but have reduced this number down in the second herd, but this all changes in the summer months when the cows are grazing and have free access to both units."
Keep it simple
John operates a low input / low cost dairy system where animals are strip grazed on grass during the summer days and nights, unless the weather is bad. Then the cows are kept in at night and fed round baled silage.
Previously, during the years before a LELY ASTRONAUT, milking would often start at 4.45 each morning, but John is now able to stroll over to his new dairy office to inspect his cows' performance at 7.30 am. Life has certainly become much easier for John down on Highway Farm, and hopes that this investment will help to extend his involvement with the farm.