The Aussie way into robotic milking

The Rushtons: Retrofitting with what they already had

When the Rushton family at Benlock Jerseys in Fairy Dell, Northern Victoria decided it was time to modernise, the 25-year-old herringbone dairy at the heart of their operation had reached its crossroads. 

Repairing it would mean significant investment for diminishing returns, and still leave the family dependent on two people, twice a day, every day of the year.

"Even with those repairs, we'd still be left with an old system that required two people to run it, twice a day, every day of the year," says Andrew Rushton, who now manages the day-to-day operation alongside his wife Jess.

For his father Bryan, the longer view was just as pressing. Labour was becoming harder and harder to find, and the family needed a system that could sustain itself into the next generation without the relentless physical demands of conventional milking.

The decision was made to go robotic after visiting Lely AMS farms. But one question arose, the one that made many farmers considering robotic milking hesitated, which was whether the existing infrastructure could work with robots, or whether they all had to come down and the whole operation paused during the build.

However, the answer came through careful planning with their Lely project coordinator. The conversation then shifted quickly to how soon they could make the change and start to enjoy the benefits.  

By extending the dairy roof by just eight metres, the team created enough space to install four Lely Astronaut milking robots in a cash register configuration, designed specifically to support the farm's grazing rotation. 

Most importantly, the Rushtons were able to continue milking in the old herringbone right up until the day they swapped to the robots. No production gap. No forced downtime. Just a clean, managed handover.

"The cows did exactly what the Lely guys said they were going to do," Andrew recalled after October startup.

The facility was built with capacity for four robots and space already set aside for six, meaning more room to grow as the herd and confidence expand together. Early indications suggest that expansion may come sooner than the family first anticipated.

The Whipps: Building from the ground up, one step at a time

At Adam Whipp's second dairy property, the starting point looked very different from the Rushtons', but the underlying approach shared the same practical logic - build what you need now, and make it easy to grow into.

Rather than designing and constructing a full-capacity facility from day one, Adam has taken a staged development approach, allowing the milking infrastructure to evolve alongside the farm itself. Two new Lely Astronaut A5 robots are already milking freshly calved heifers, producing milk from day one while the broader site continues to take shape around them.

Cows are fully fed on feed pads, with the surrounding cropping country providing the bulk of the diet. Infrastructure like roofing, shade, loafing areas and other cow comfort measures is being introduced progressively as part of the wider development plan, rather than front-loaded as a single capital commitment.

One of the standout features of the Whipps' setup is what Adam himself describes as an "Australian tweak", a three-way grazing system across the feed pads that helps monitor and control diet, simplifies cow fetching, and improves overall cow flow through the system. 

It's a practical adaptation shaped by the realities of running a feed pad-based operation in Australian conditions.

The bigger picture is equally considered. While the Whipps' conventional dairy continues operating, the new robotic site is being built to eventually receive cows transferred across from the original farm. The ultimate goal is to have two fully robotic operations, running efficiently side by side.

"The system has been set up to be easy to operate and manage across both farms," Adam explained. "It produces milk today while allowing a smooth transfer of cows to the new site over time."

This is staged development done right, practical, manageable, and future-focused.

An Australian Way Forward

What connects the Rushtons and the Whipps is not the size of their herds or the layout of their facilities. It is the way both families have approached the transition on their own terms, working with what they have, planning for where they want to go, and not waiting for the perfect moment.

Across Australia, more dairy farmers are also looking at realistic and cost-effective paths into robotic milking. As existing infrastructure ages, labour availability tightens, and the economics of conventional milking come under pressure, the retrofit and staged-build models are gaining real momentum. 

Robotic milking does not have to mean a total reinvention. It can mean a smart, incremental shift that fits the farm as it exists today and grows with it into the future.

These farms are not following someone else's blueprint. They are writing their own, and in doing so, they are showing what the Australian way into robotic milking can look like.

Andrew Rushton sums it up directly: "If you are looking to upgrade your dairy, you should seriously consider this. The investment is comparable to a new traditional dairy, but the flexibility it offers is life-changing."

With the Rushtons, three generations have built Benlock Jerseys on a willingness to adapt and look ahead. The move to robotic milking is just the latest chapter, and if the early results are anything to go by, it won't be the last.