We won’t go away!
South Island corporate farmer Aad van Leeuwen has a message for the Government: we won’t go away until justice prevails.
South Canterbury farmer Aad van Leeuwen is installing 24 Lely Astronaut A4 milking robots for a 1500-cow farm over the next six months.
The Van Leeuwen Dairy Group will install its 24 Lely robots in three barns of 500 cows each; the first delivery of eight will be installed in June 2015, the second eight in July and the remainder in October.
A Lely statement says Van Leeuwen Dairy successfully introduced large scale robotic dairying to New Zealand in 2009 with 16 Lely A3 robots. “Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen’s choice of Lely comes from their experience in managing large herds through the Lely concept,” the company says.
Van Leeuwen has robots from the world’s top two robotic milking machine manufacturers – Lely and DeLaval.
Van Leeuwen last year began milking at the world’s largest robotic installation under one roof: the 1500-cow farm uses 24 DeLaval Voluntary Milking System (VMS) robots.
In the Lely media release, Aad van Leeuwen explains that his company chose Lely again because of its previous experience with 16 Lely Astronaut A3 milking robots and the level of after-sales service and farm management provided. Milking performance, installation and commissioning, and continuing support were key criteria.
“Our staff are used to the simplicity of the herd management system, and rely on the robots to do the job for us.
The cows know the system and in my opinion the Lely Astronaut robotic milking system ensures the best result from the cows.
Happy cows and a good return on investment help us reach our goals.”
Lely says robotic milking is a revolutionary step in dairy technology that can increase production while reducing stress on animals and people.
“One of the innovative features farmers describe as pivotal in their choice of the Lely Astronaut A4 system is the cow walkthrough design called the ‘I-flow concept’,” the company says. “The cow walks straight in and out of the unit without making turns. This makes it easier for the cow, which shortens the learning curve and increases the throughput.”
The Lely Astronaut A4 system from the cow’s perspective is completely voluntary, with the cow having 24 hour access to feed, water, milking and rest, therefore removing cow stress. The reduction of stress is due to minimal human interference. The free cow traffic allows for cows to flow according to their needs and the hierarchy rules in the herd promote natural cow behaviour.
In turn, farmers face a much lighter workload and can choose when they want to be in the shed.
“Not only does the Astronaut A4 automate milking, it automatically cleans out the milk lines and the robots three times a day, and automatically washes the vat after the milk is removed,” Lely says.
