TESTIMONIAL

In 2017, our old rotary dairy was having major issues mainly due to age and worn parts, and we knew that we would have to invest in either a new rotary, or perhaps robots would be an option. My husband Evan and I were getting older and not so much enjoying cupping up cows any longer. We were like the rotary, our body parts were getting squeaky!

 

We did a lot of investigation in regards to brands, performance and also what we thought would suit our family and setup the best.  The all in one liner on the GEA robot was a game changer for us and helped to cement the decision. From the moment the cow enters the robot, washing, stimulation to actual milking was about 45 seconds, so we made contact with John Van De Burgt , and he and his team were great to work with. They listened to our ideas, incorporating them into theirs, and what we came up with has been nothing short of fantastic.

 

The robots have changed the way we looked at farming. Whilst there is still a lot of cattle work to do, the actually milking process has been taken out of our hands, and we are really pleased with how much the cows enjoy running their own show. No more bringing in a large group of cows twice a day, causing hoof problems and lameness issues, the girls come in whenever they choose, which leads to better overall health and less bullying in the yards.

 

Dairy Plan is a great program that runs in conjunction with the robots, making tracking each cow and her stats easy, and Cow Scout is fabulous for heat detection and health. With a click of a button, we can see where each cow is at in her cycle, and it also alerts us to any kind of health issue, more often than not, before you can see it visually.

 

These are a long term investment for us, and with the upgrades that happen periodically, we don't see any issues into the future.