CUTTING edge dairy technology has come to western Victoria, with Paul and Marsha Smith installing a new robotic rotary dairy on their family farm at Mepunga.

It all started six years ago when Paul was looking at a YouTube video of the GEA robotic rotary dairy from Germany. It was an emerging technology back then. Paul knew that his current dairy was 25 years old and on its last legs.

In addition, finding and retaining labour was getting more difficult each year. Paul was also motivated to build a dairy for the future, rather than just putting in a standard-issue rotary dairy with 30-year-old technology. 

The robotic rotary is made up of 40 robotic arms which are positioned in between each bail on the dairy platform. The robotic arm pivots from the side of the bail, moving in front of the cow’s rear legs and swinging around beneath the cow’s belly until it reaches the udder. From there each teat is washed and a camera helps to guide the cups onto the teat.

Each quarter is individually tested and milked separately. So, if one quarter has a high cell count, that milk can be isolated into a separate vessel to be disposed of. Upon the completion of milking, a dose of teat spray is automatically inserted into each cup to allow for teat disinfection before the cups are rinsed and the cow exits the platform.

One of the strengths of the new system is the individual cow data that can be captured at every milking for each quarter of the cow. This is a highly effective mastitis control tool.

Most cows adapt to the new system quickly. Evidence from robotic rotaries in Europe suggests that cow behaviour and experience is better, given the predictable, quiet movement of the robots. The gentle washing of the teats by the robots also helps to stimulate the oxytocin response in the cow, helping to stimulate a rapid milk let down.

Paul has around 50 of the current 750 strong herd require human assistance, as their udders are not suitable to the robotic system. The longer-term plan is to genetically select bulls to sire daughters with teat alignment to suit the robotic system. 

The herd is batch milked twice a day and, so far, the pace has been set at around 240 cows milked per hour. Paul is currently milking 750 cows but is planning to increase numbers once the system and processes are well understood.

GEA robotic rotary systems have been installed in European barn systems. However, this is the first to be installed in Australia on a pasture-based system and the second robotic rotary to feed grain on the platform.

Paul commented that the company has been great to work with and were very supportive during the whole process. A local firm is available in Warrnambool if any breakdowns occur with the system.

Significantly, with the installation of the robots, Paul’s labour requirements on farm will decrease by two full time staff a year, which is an estimated saving of $120,000 pa. No staffing changes will take place in the short term, but the business usually offers two positions to back packers, which will not be filled once the current travellers move on. 

With the increase in milk production from growing the herd, Paul plans to have the robots paid off within 10 years, depending on the milk price and seasonal conditions.      

With labour shortages continuing to be a hot button issue in the dairy industry, many farmers will watch with keen interest to see how the robotic rotary technology performs in our pasture-based system. Watch this space! With thanks to Peter Gaffy of WestVic Dairy.