McCullugh's farm

Cows are averaging c. 35 kg’s, with 3.3 visits per cow resulting in over 600 milkings a day and a total output over 6,000 litres per day. BF is 4.34 and PT is 3.34, having bred for robot friendly cows for many years, milk speed is an excellent 3.1 kg per minute allowing 12% free time. SCC has decreased from around 150,000 to 81,000 and TBC has decreased from between 8 to 20 down now to 3. 

“The cows adjusted faster than I expected,” says Kieran. “The start-up process went smoother than I thought, within two weeks most were coming themselves.”

The detailed data collected by the robotic system tracks cow visits, milk yield, fat/ protein, conductivity, temperature, cell count, colour of the milk and rumination activity. This information enables Kieran to monitor individual cow health and performance and intervene quickly when needed.

 

“Having the data at my fingertips makes it so much easier to manage the herd, the Horizon programme comes with a handy phone app to ensure decision on cow health can be done at any time,” said Kieran.

“Labour has been transformed on the farm,” Kieran explains. “Each milking used to take about 3 ½ hours now routine tasks in the robots are done within ½ an hour. I feel much better now and not under the same pressure. The flexibility is great at busy times of the year you can stay in the fields to do work to take advantage of the good weather when it is there! The cows are up an average of about an extra 5 litres a day which will more than cover the extra cost of the robots. The Lely robots have transformed my life, I’m very happy with them, the robots have taken the hard work out of milking!” Commented Keiran.