Melvin & Heather Smith

Heather and Melvin Smith are the third generation to farm the 200 acres near Carrigaline. Their herd is 145-strong, annually producing around 950,000 litres. All went to Dairygold until April, when they opened a new milk vending enterprise, Lapland Farm Milk Hut.

“It was a good two years in the planning,” says Heather. “We did the building work ourselves, got approval from the Department of Agriculture, and eventually opened on Easter Monday.” The idea came after watching an episode of RTÉs Ear To The Ground.

However this wasn't their first time bringing in innovation around the farm. In 2017 the couple made the move towards automating their farm by installing two Lely milking robots and a Lely Discovery 90 robotic scraper. Since installing the robot they have seen vast improvements in work life balance as well as herd production

 

Open Day October 2nd

To see first hand how the Lely Astronaut A5 has transformed Melvin and Heather's farm, join us for his Lely Open Day on Thursday, October 2nd. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear directly from Jonathan about his experience, see the robot in action, and chat with industry experts and suppliers.

Don’t miss out—come along and discover how robotic milking could work for you!