A west Limerick farmer has praised the early detection of health issues that his 80-cow grazing herd has benefited from since installing the Lely Astronaut A5 milking robot in October 2019.
Denis Mulcahy, who farms with his son Kevin and wife Breda near Newcastle West, uses an Astronaut A5 to milk his herd – and he couldn’t be happier with all the benefits it has brought to him and his farm.
“When I made the decision to change to robotic milking, some people said to me I must be mad because I’d be getting away from physically seeing the cows on the farm.
“But that hasn’t been the case at all. Thanks to the Astronaut A5, we’ve got access to more information about each animal now than we ever did previously, and that’s been very helpful to us both in terms of making milking easier and in monitoring the welfare of our herd,” he said.
Feedback provided by the Astronaut A5 and the Farm Management Support (FMS) team at Lely Center Mitchelstown provide the Mulcahys with detailed insights into herd health management.
“I didn’t feel we had a cell count problem until the Farm Management Support team highlighted an issue with some of our cows not responding to treatment,” said Denis.
“The Milk Quality Control Cell Count (MQC-C) is a great tool for detecting cows with high cell count in real time.
“We selected a few cows and conducted a sensitivity test, which pinpointed the source of the issue. This allowed us to identify the affected cows and treat them appropriately. Afterwards, I worked with my vet to perform a cell count check using the milk recording data. Together, we identified 28 to 29 cows that were suitable for selective dry cow therapy.”
“But when we went through the information and checked it through the robot, I only ended up having eight cows for selective dry cow therapy so the information the robot provided was invaluable,” he added.
In a traditional parlour, cows are miked on a set schedule, irrespective of readiness or cow handling – and both over-milking and under-milking can lead to udder and teat problems.
Lely’s robotic milking system is also gentler on the cow, reducing stress and provides greater freedom of movement, something Denis is very pleased with.
“The pulsation system is not so severe – and you’ve no over-milking of quarters” he said.
“The condition of the cows’ teats has also benefited after going robotic. Since I installed the Lely robot, I’ve been using Lely Quaress Pergo and I’m very happy with it. It’s an all-round udder health product which cares for the teat canal and the teat sphincter, and it’s working very well for us,” he added.
Managing herd health is an on-going responsibility requiring labour, specialised knowledge and constant vigilance. Udder care, in particular, can be time consuming and have a significant impact on milk yields and herd health.
The Lely Astronaut A5 incorporates cleaning brushes and differing varieties of sprays to treat and care for the udder and teats pre and post milking.
Lasers and 3D-cameras determine the position of each teat, then the rotating brushes clean the teat and underside of the udder, before applying milking cups which have unique vacuum and pulsation settings for each quarter.
This level of detail ensures that once milking is over, the milking cup automatically detaches, preventing damage to the teat end which can lead to bacterial infection and mastitis.
To prevent bacteria entering the teat after milking, the Lely Astronaut A5 sprays the teat with disinfectant, reducing the number of bacteria as the teat end closes naturally.
Denis concluded by saying that the Farm Management Support he had benefited from has proven “the biggest plus” in working with Lely Center Mitchelstown.
“The on call service team are great, they’re only ever a phone call away; I hate ringing them on Saturdays but they’ve assured me that I can ring them any day of the week whenever I’m stuck.”
“A robot is more than just milking cows so you really need that back-up. Nine times out of 10 you can probably get the robot going again thanks to the advice provided over the phone.
“The back up service support is so important whether your’re buying a parlour, a rotary or a robot, and I can definitely say I am delighted with the service of Lely Center Mitchelstown” he said.
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