The Morley Family
Gormandale, Victoria
Setting up for the next generation
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The Morley family has been dairy farming in Gormandale since 1918. Glenn and Carol Morley were the 4th generation to take the farm on in 1985, and when thoughts of retirement began in 2021, their son Tim and his wife Kim decided to return to the farm with their three kids. But milking in the old herringbone was taking up to 13 hours a day in spring, leaving little time for anything else.
A new dairy was needed! With the 5th generation returning to the farm, plans began for a rotary and went as far as a deposit being paid, before discussions encouraged the family to investigate robots. After visiting robot farms, they saw that a Lely automatic milking system was cost comparable to a new 50-stand rotary with added technology like electronic ID. The Morleys’ farm was well laid out for the three-way grazing setup recommended for voluntary systems, and the idea of reducing labour was attractive for the busy family who were also juggling house moves and renovations at the time.
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After many drafts of plans, the family installed six Lely Astronaut A5 milking robots into a greenfield dairy in June 2023 with the help of Lely Center Gippsland.
It didn’t happen overnight, but the Morleys had a great support team to get them to robot start-up within a relatively short space of time. Accountants had decades of financial records which sped discussions with the bank, and support also came from their milk factory with a cooling rebate and growth incentive. Expert trades managed their new-build project.
Since starting up their robots, all production measures have increased; yield per cow and per hectare, conception rates, and earnings before interest and tax. Health costs have decreased as the robot data highlights unusual changes, so conditions like mastitis are attended to before escalating to needing pharmaceuticals. Needing less time in the dairy and having greater flexibility with robots has meant more time for important jobs like pasture management, as well as time for family and off-farm activities. Income has also increased as the Morleys now have time to commercially harvest colostrum.
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Key benefits of robots on the Morley farm:
- The free cow movement gives motivated cows the opportunity to excel, while Horizon software identifies cows not performing so management changes can be made for those cows.
- Support from the Lely Center Gippsland community with discussion groups and connections with like-minded farmers.
- More time to manage the rest of the farm to help the growth phase, and getting jobs done that the family never got to before.
- Glenn and Carol can slow down and step back without stress while management transitions to Tim and Kim.
- It has created a more attractive business for future generations
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