Lely order book 'slightly better'
Dairy automation company Lely reported a 3.4% decline in total turnover last year but notes that sales are picking up.
While we are used to hearing about the latest hi-tech tractors or machines winning medals for technical innovation, it seems that in the livestock sector, designers and manufacturers are also taking awards, often for developing solutions for more basic problems.
That’s the case for a Cow Toilet, which took out the only Gold Award at the 2021 Digital Eurotier Livestock Machinery Event.
Featuring a suspended bowl that collects the 15 to 20 litres of urine produced by a typical housed European cow every day, the toilet, designed by Dutch firm Handkamp, separates manure from urine at source to help reduce ammonia emissions.
The collection system is integrated into the rear section of a specifically designed feeding station. In operation, the front of the unit stimulates a specific nerve bundle just about the cow’s udder, causing the animal to spontaneously urinate. The resultant liquid is filtered through a sieve, then drained via a suction line to storage.
Tests on local farms show that the system collects around 50% of the daily urine production, which given there are 1.5 million dairy cows in the Netherlands means there is a potential to collect 15 million litres of urine. The manufacturer is already looking for uses for the liquid, with tests already underway to assess its viability as a fertiliser on local fruit farms. There is also research being done on its viability as a fuel or for the generation of electricity.
Back in the dairy barn, additional benefits of separation are said to be cleaner floors, improved hoof health and better air quality. Still around 18 months away from commercial availability, the €20,000 units, each capable of dealing with 25 cows, are also being trialled for possible integration into robotic milking systems.
The 2025 South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) chairman, Rangiora farmer Andrew Stewart, is predicting a successful event on the back of good news coming out of the farming sector and with it a greater level of optimism among farmers.
WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.
Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.
Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser SustaiN – which contains a urease inhibitor that reduces the amount of ammonia released to the air – has now been registered by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). It is the first fertiliser in New Zealand to achieve this status.
Precision application of nitrogen can improve yields, but the costs of testing currently outweigh improved returns, according to new research from Plant and Food Research, MPI and Ravensdown.
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