Ellerton Grange Open Day

The Workman family are opening the gates to Ellerton Grange Farm in Southwaite on 3 November.

You may already know the family from The Beeches Farm on the outskirts of Carlisle, home to their popular Milk Shed vending machine.

For this open day, we’ll be visiting their greenfield site at Ellerton Grange, which began its robotic milking journey on 17 February 2026. From the outset, the farm was designed around a fully integrated Lely automation system, bringing together four Lely Astronaut A5 milking robots, a Lely Vector automatic feeding system, Lely Collector and Discovery manure management, an automated footbath and Lely Grazeway.

The aim has been to create a system where the different areas of the farm work together, supporting cow movement, consistent feeding, cleaner passages and a more flexible daily routine.

In just eight months, the herd has made impressive progress in both milk production and robot performance. Cow numbers have increased from 117 to around 160 cows in milk, while average yield has risen to 31.3 kg per cow per day. Milking frequency has also increased to 3.2 milkings per cow per day.

That progress has been achieved while successfully incorporating grazing into the robotic system. Through the use of Lely Grazeway, cows are still able to access pasture while continuing to move through the milking system.

With automated milking, feeding and manure management all working alongside grazing, Ellerton Grange shows how a well-planned system can bring different areas of the farm together to support performance, cow welfare and a more flexible working day.

The gates will open at 10am, giving you time to arrive, grab a drink and have a chat with the team before the day gets underway.

At 11am, we’ll have introductions before splitting into groups for guided tours around the farm. Each group will be led by a dedicated member of the Lely Center Longtown team, highlighting the different elements of the new shed and giving you the chance to ask questions as you go.

Lunch will be served from 12:30pm, with the day finishing at 3pm.

Come along, have a look around, ask questions and, most importantly, spend time with fellow farmers. Open days are a brilliant opportunity to swap ideas, hear how others are doing things and take a bit of inspiration back to your own farm.

Please register using the link below so we know you’re coming. We’d hate to run short of lunches!