A live robotic milking exhibition will be on show from today at the Balmoral Show, where a herd of 40 cows will make the short journey from Drayne's farm in Lisburn to a purpose built dairy unit at Balmoral Park.
Speaking at the show launch Michael Drayne from Drayne’s Farm said “We are very proud to
be associated with the Lely live robotic milking demonstration and to support our local Show.
"We have been milking cows here in Lisburn for over 80 years where we have a long association with the local people. We are delighted they will have the opportunity of seeing our cows in action in a real life environment where they will experience first-hand how efficient the system is and how well the cows are cared for. They are more relaxed and have the freedom of choice to be milked at any time of the day or night.”
“The Lely robotic milking system and its excellent management tools have really freed up invaluable time on our farm to look after the welfare of our cows and for me welfare is everything.” explains Michael.
Lely’s Tomás Cooney commented “We were pleased when the opportunity arose to organise this exhibition at the 2015 Balmoral Show. It has been in the planning stage for the last 8 months and the Lely team has been busy over the past few weeks getting the site ready.
With quotas gone and farmers now having more opportunities to expand, efficiencies in working practices and farm management become even more critical.
The live milking demo will provide farmers with the perfect opportunity of experiencing at first-hand the efficiencies, labour savings and opportunities Lely offer through automation with the Astronaut robotic milking system.”
Lely Center Eglish who is responsible for all Lely robotic milking projects in the area has a huge wealth of knowledge and experience.
As well as 24/7 back up they provide advice in all areas from barn design, layout, and installation along with startup etc. They will be more than willing to share their knowledge and advice with all farmers at the show.
Center manager Jim Irwin added “the system fits neatly into most existing sheds with minimal building work required and it will be the perfect opportunity for farmers to see how easy the installation of a Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system really is.”
Lely introduced their first robotic milking machine in 1992 and today has over 21,000
working worldwide milking over a 1.2 million cows daily. With the long and demanding hours that milking takes the Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system frees up invaluable time for dairy farmers and their families allowing them to concentrate on other farm duties. The system is so flexible that many customers can simply check their smart phone when at the show and know exactly what is happening at home
