Barn automation - dairy farms with over 500 cows

Content

Worldwide, challenges such as climate change, a growing global population and a more demanding society leads to new perspectives on how to run a viable dairy farm in the future. In addition, dairy farmers face the impact of reduced availability of quality labor alongside a supply chain which is under increasing cost pressure.

Large dairy farms face all these challenges and more. As farms grow, it's no longer about duplicating processes, working harder or upscaling. It is about the efficient use of diminishing resources while facing the challenge of retaining qualified staff and ensuring regulatory compliance.

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Our solutions for large dairy farming

Running a large dairy farm means coping with challenges such as adding value to the milk, managing slurry and nutrients effectively and – last but not least – ensuring society continues to accept our industry and our evolving methods.

By bringing automation and technology to your cows, repetitive work will be reduced significantly and you’ll benefit from a smaller, yet more skilled workforce. At the same time, animal welfare increases when your barn is designed around the cow and present her an environment to maximise her genetic potential.

Colin Laird, Scotland

“I believe that however good your stockmanship, when herd size grows beyond 400 cows, it’s impossible to achieve the high level of consistency delivered by the robot during the milking process.”

John Harrison, USA

“It’s just a better environment for cows and it’s a better business environment. There’s no doubt in my mind that the dairy industry transition this way.”

Rainer Ackermann, Germany

“Work has to be fun, otherwise people don’t want to go to work and they don’t have any energy to do the work either which is actually the most important thing.”

Cohesion delivers results

Creating an environment where cows, technology and people work together allows them to excel in their area and will deliver increased results. By having cows and technology work for the farmer, time is freed up to focus on other routines and execute the right decisions. The nature of labor changes from repetitive work to focusing on only those cows that need attention.

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Dairy XL
Dairy XL Principles video
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Digital dairy farming

We have used our experience and leading position in dairy automation in the development of our management system Lely Horizon. On a modern dairy farm, data is generated in numerous locations all over the farm. This concerns data on individual cow health, production, feed, personnel, finance, suppliers, etc. A digital management system with powerful algorithms is indispensable to analyze this data and convert it into useful management information that helps with daily management and making strategic choices.

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Lely Dairy XL

Specialists in the automation of large dairy farms

The difference between medium-sized and large dairy farms is not only reflected in numbers and amounts, but also in areas such as personnel management, cow health and logistics. With more than 30 years of experience in dairy automation, Lely recognizes the specific characteristics and challenges of larger dairy farms and is able to provide solutions for all circumstances.

Lely Dairy XL consists of a team of specialists that are engaged worldwide in sharing knowledge and experience about setting up and managing large dairy farms. The team supports and trains local Lely organizations and, because of a direct link with the customer, it assists when necessary. Of course, the customer's goals are always central and the overall picture is always taken into account.

Red Cow Community

Connecting large dairy farms

Large dairy farms worldwide face the challenge of building a future-proof company, while maintaining social support. Thanks to the Red Cow Community - a partnership based on providing inspiration, connections and networking - our Dairy XL customers gain new insights to improve their business results, by distancing themselves from existing structures.

Dairy XL global user experiences

Stories from our customers

Blyth Farm, Peeblesshire, Scotland 10 x Lely Astronaut Automatic Milking System
‘Colin Laird of Blythbridge Holsteins reviews the first 18 months of his Lely journey. Since installing 8 Astronaut A5 milking robots in his new shed in 2019, milk yields have increased by 17% and labour requirements have reduced. As of 2021, two further milking robots have been retrofitted in his existing building.’
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Homestead Dairy, Plymouth, IN, USA 36 x Lely Astronaut milking system
‘After Brian and Jill Houin decided to take over the Homestead family farm they realized that they needed to do it different to be more efficient. For their new facilities which opened in 2017 they choose for the Lely system to milk their 2200 cows. “It's the future of dairy and it's the only way to dairy.”’
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Vallensgård, Ljusdal, Sweden From 16 to 1000+ cows
‘As an entrepreneur Jan-Erik Hansson always looks for opportunities that keeps him moving forward. At the very last moment, he opted for the Lely system because he realized that he would not find enough staff to work with a carousel with 60 places.’
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Agrargesellschaft Greisheim, Ilmtal, Germany An elegant solution
‘Rainer Ackermann visited a lot of farms before choosing for Lely because of our experience and the way the cows are arranged in the barn. “It was a more elegant solution than a rotary”. He also noticed that young people like the way of working much more.’
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The new milestone in milking

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Increasing feed intake has never been easier

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The next step towards a bright future in dairy automation

Lely Horizon is available for all farmers with a Lely Astronaut automatic milking system or a Lely Vector automatic feeding system. Discover the Lely Horizon packages: Control and Advance. Find out which one suits you best.

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Lely Vector

Automatic feeding is ready for you

Increase the efficiency and profitability of your feed strategy by feeding your cows more often. More frequent feeding stimulates frequent eating day and night, which means cows ingest more fodder. This has a positive impact on animal health, fertility and production, and also benefits your bottom line.

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Lely Farm Management Support

Helping you optimise your business and results

Regardless of whether you are just about to make the transition to automatic milking and/or feeding, or you have been using our products and management systems on your farm for a while, you receive guidance before, during and after you start. For more experienced users, we help you optimise the management of your farm.

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Why Lely?

Farmers all over the world make choices about how they set up and run their farms. Every day, we help them make the best choices for themselves and their farms. We do this by providing advice and innovative solutions that contribute to efficient farm management. For sustainable milk and meat production. Present and future.

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Dairy XL