Marlborough Demo Highlights Role of AGVs in Sustainable Winegrowing
The air was unseasonably crisp in the upper Wairau Valley in mid-December as two autonomous ground vehicles moved methodically through the vines, spraying each row in turn.
Earlier this year Tru-Test ran three education days for the Dairy Women's Network focussing on dairy automation systems.
Attendees from the Dairy Women's Network regions said they were blown away by the MilkHub Dairy Automation System and information they could access and use through the MiHub Online Herd Management tool.
"It was a very informative day and I was impressed by what Tru-Test had to offer with regards to automation and information," says attendee Sue Duffy from CRV Ambreed.
Dairy Women's Network Invercargill convenor Katrina Thomas helped to organise the education days and was impressed by Tru-Test presenter Gillian Fullerton-Smith's knowledge on the product.
"The presenter's knowledge created really good discussion about automation in dairy sheds," she said.
"Local farmer Scott Hindrup, who used the system on a day-to-day basis, also talked about how MilkHub dairy automation worked for him. It was great to hear Scott's point of view and how this system adds value to their dairy business."
Tru-Test's New Zealand marketing manager Shaun Owen says, "Dairy women juggle many of the daily demands of dairy farming, often managing all the farm information. It's really important that we can share with Dairy Women's Network members how we can better support them as the key decision maker.
"These workshops are all about transferring knowledge, offering options, stimulating new conversations and helping to make life easier."
All workshops include practical demonstrations of MilkHub modules including the MiHub Online Herd Management Tool which captures individual cow information, herd and shed activity to track performance, reduce the risk of error, and increase efficiency and productivity.
"Fast, accurate information is essential for recognising and managing many issues that affect the performance of the dairy herd," says Owen.
"Mastitis monitoring, feed control, heats, treatment management, staff performance, shed maintenance, cull lists and drafting requirements are some of the demands farmers need to manage, and MilkHub provides an easy way to support these."
Dairy Women's Network chief executive officer Zelda de Villiers says the workshops will increase and support understanding amongst dairy women of the real value easy access to herd and farm performance data can add to the bottom line.
Tru-Test workshops are held on-farm and presented by local area sales managers and local farmers with excellent working knowledge of the MilkHub Dairy Automations Systems.
For more information, visit www.dwn.co.nz or phone 0800 396 748.
