How Farm Management Support works
Making the transition to automatic milking and/or feeding is not for the short term. Precisely because it is for the long run and for the continuity of your business, we offer thorough guidance to all of our customers worldwide when it comes to making the right choices. We also help you to prepare for this new way of working. We do this in 3 phases.
Before start-up
In the run-up to start-up we are here to guide you with our knowledge, experience and expertise. We have built this up over the last twenty years with customers all over the world.
All of our know-how is collated in the Lely RoadBook. This is a digital protocol that describes the entire preparatory phase up to the actual point of start-up.
This is a proven concept, and is the same for all new customers worldwide. It is based on experience and feedback from dairy farmers who have already made the transition. It is also how we ensure that everyone receives the same information, always at the right time, on any subject ranging from preparing the cows and new routines to using the management system.
We talk to you and your feed advisor to agree on the feed rations for automatic milking, and discuss what is and is not needed on your farm. We also involve your vet, dairy processor and breeding organisation. We do everything that is needed to achieve a smooth start.
During start-up
Our colleagues from Technical Service Support deal with the installation of the machines themselves. The technicians ensure that the machine is properly fitted so that you can rely on it working correctly right from the start.
We guide the cows the first time they go to the automatic milking system to ease them into the new way of being milked. Experience has shown us that with this guidance, on average 80% of cows voluntarily go to the milking system within two weeks.
During start-up, all of the previous preparatory work and knowledge transfer is put into practice, from the preparation of the cows and the knowledge of the management system to the feed strategy.
The feed strategy is not only important for automatic milking. It also comes into play when starting out with the Lely Vector, our automatic feeding system. Along with your feed advisor, we take a closer look at aspects such as the composition of feed, order of loading and mixing times. In this way we guarantee that the prepared ration is also correctly served at the feed fence.
After start-up
Even after start-up, we continue to offer you as much guidance and support as you need. Together we look at your personal goals and what you want to concentrate on in the future. We monitor progress via a number of systems that we have at our disposal. We also pay regular visits to your farm and organise training evenings with other dairy farmers. In this way we all learn continually from and with one another.
Of course, we are always interested in knowing how happy you are and whether there are any improvements we could help with. We stay in constant touch with you to help you achieve a sustainable, profitable and enjoyable future on your farm, in line with your goals.