Open Day
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Albert and William Wallace run a family dairy farm near Tobermore, milking around 112 cows alongside followers. Albert has farmed there for over 40 years, steadily expanding the herd from 19 cows in 1969 to the current numbers, while maintaining a closed herd for herd health. The farm’s breeding strategy is strongly focused on milk protein percentage and profitability, with an annual average of 3.61% protein and over 10,200 litres per cow. Most of their milk goes for cheese production, so achieving higher protein levels directly increases the value of their output.
The Wallace's Farm
Six years ago, the Wallaces installed Lely milking robots to replace their old herringbone parlour, which had required three hours of milking twice daily. They had considered upgrading to a new parlour, but the building modifications would have been costly, and William wanted to achieve three milkings per day without the heavy time commitment. The robots offered that flexibility, along with more precise feeding and individual cow management. They were impressed by Lely’s reputation for strong customer support and the feedback from neighbouring farmers who already used Lely systems.
The transition to robotic milking went smoothly, with most cows adapting within just a few days. The system provided much more detailed data on each animal — including rumination, heat detection, and activity levels — helping improve breeding management and timing for AI. They quickly saw yield increases, particularly from younger cows that chose to visit the robots more frequently, some milking four or five times per day. The combination of higher milking frequency and accurate feeding led to improved production efficiency without extra concentrate costs.
Over time, the Wallaces have continued to expand and modernise their facilities. They redeveloped existing sheds, built extensions to increase cubicle space, and reorganised housing to optimise cow comfort and robot access. The robots were among the simplest parts of the installation, up and running within days once the building work was complete. Their system is now supported by renewable energy, with 36 kW of solar capacity and battery storage significantly cutting daytime power costs — a good fit for the robots’ steady energy demand.
Both Albert and William agree that the move to robotic milking has transformed their workload and the farm’s performance. They now enjoy greater flexibility, better herd data, and stronger yields without being tied to rigid milking times. As William put it, the switch has allowed them to get more out of their cows and their time — and he “wouldn’t want to go back to a parlour again.”