Our Farm Management Support specialists continuously investigate how to improve the milking process even further. They do this by running tests in the barn while using our customers’ knowledge of the Lely barn solutions. In this way they gain valuable insights, which help you to manage your dairy farm more efficiently and profitably.
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17 articles
Mechanical brushes are increasingly recognized as a vital tool for improving cow welfare, far beyond basic grooming. The science behind brushing shows compelling benefits in stress reduction, physiological well-being and even productivity.
The Lely Luna is more than just a mechanical brush, it is a carefully engineered enrichment tool designed to promote cow comfort, health and welfare. Built around natural behaviour research, the Luna helps cows groom effectively while ensuring safety, durability and minimal maintenance.
For dairy cows, grooming is far more than a luxury, it is an essential behaviour linked to comfort, welfare and emotional balance. Many farmers are surprised to learn how strongly cows are motivated to scratch and brush themselves. In fact, controlled experiments have shown that cows will work just as hard to access a mechanical brush as they do to access fresh feed, underlining how important grooming is to them as a natural need.
Cows experience itchiness, loose hair, parasites, dust, sweat build‑up and general irritation on different parts of the body throughout the day. Their instinct is to rub against trees, posts or rough surfaces. However, in modern barns these natural scratching objects are often unavailable. This makes a mechanical cow brush a powerful enrichment tool, one that allows cows to express natural grooming behaviour that would otherwise be restricted.
A clean shed, a healthier herd, and more hours back in the day - these are the things Australian dairy farmers stand to gain from automatic manure cleaning. But knowing the benefits is one thing. Understanding how the right system actually works in practice, and whether it suits your shed and your operation, is where the real conversation begins.
That is exactly what the Lely Discovery Collector is built for.
A clean shed is something every dairy farmer understands. More than just appearances, it is about cow health, milk quality, and the daily reality of running a productive farm.
For many farmers, keeping on top of manure cleaning is one of the most time-consuming and physically demanding parts of the job. Across Australian dairies, more farmers are looking at automatic manure cleaning as a solution that is not only effective, but a practical answer to the realities of modern dairy farming.
When temperatures drop cows start to grow thicker hair to protect them against the winter cold. This makes them sweat, and excessive hair growth on the udder and tail may also impair robot efficiency. Cows’ tails are usually shaved mechanically using a shaver. There are two options for removing hair from the udder: shaving or singeing (flame clipping).
For an optimal milking process, we want to milk quickly (effective in time), gently (maintaining the comfort and well-being of the cow) and completely (milk out most of the available milk). To help achieve this optimal result, the liner choice, condition and maintenance are of major importance to this.
This article provides more knowledge about the causes behind lameness and foot problems to help reduce the incidence of lameness and its associated costs.
The somatic cell count (SCC) is a common benchmark used in mastitis management. Testing of the SCC of composite cow milk should be done every 3 weeks to 6 weeks. Additional measurements between milk controls can help with the early detection of changes in udder health.
