Oct 28 2014
Lely has always stood behind the value of its milking robots, even for businesses with more than 500 cows. This has led to the development of an all-round concept that goes much further than just milking alone.
Recently, Lely revealed that it would be delivering forty-four Lely Astronaut milking robots to a large dairy farm in Frohburg, in the east of Germany. They are not alone. Increasing numbers of large businesses are considering milking robots as an excellent alternative to traditional milking.
Coert van Lenteren, from Lely’s specialised Dairy XL department, explains that: “Especially for large businesses, it is more than just about automating milking, it is the way in which the business is managed. The focal point is improving efficiency and standardising processes, more so than in standard-sized businesses. The focus is on where the farm manager wants to take the business and the corresponding goals that need to be set”.
Tailor-made
Van Lenteren adds: “For this area, we work with new indicators, namely the number of litres milked per paid hours’ work. This gives us an excellent insight and makes no distinction between new and existing businesses. We have been able to further optimise processes based on this so that we can deliver products tailor-made for any large business. A huge boost can generally be seen in the productivity and quality of the working environment.
Full concept
“Although our XL concept can be applied to all large dairy farms, we are mainly oriented to businesses with lots of their own land and their own production of forage. What is unique about Lely is that we can offer our clients an all-round concept. As a producer of forage machines, feed technology, milk technology and barn automation, Lely has a unique position in the marketplace. Our clients not only benefit from machines developed with a broad vision, they also get systems that fit in with each other perfectly from a technical point-of-view.
“Milking robots are part of the package”
“A lot of the time, we come across the preconceived idea that milking robots are only suitable for businesses with fewer than 300 cows”, says Van Lenteren. “That is a huge misconception. This is an all-round package. We often say: We sell service and farm management and deliver milking robots as part of the package. Our clients are starting to understand what we mean by that”.