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The first four Lely Discovery Collectors have been installed on Bruce Dinnington’s farm in Dacre, near Invercargill.
The daily chore of hosing or floodwash could be a thing of the past if you have Discovery Collector C2 on your milking shed floor.
The Lely Discovery Collector, a common product in many countries, is now available in New Zealand.
It operates at times of your choosing and follows a route that you select, 24/7, year round. The company says it will save time and money while reducing total effluent storage capacity.
Lely says that since 2005, its Discovery 90 S and 90 SW have been cleaning slatted barn and shed floors around the globe. In 2016, Lely entered the market for automatic cleaning of closed floors with the Discovery Collector C1 – where effluent is collected by a vacuum pump. The recently released Discovery Collector C2, which is available in New Zealand, has an increased driving capacity and charges wirelessly.
Rather than pushing the effluent forward, the robot collects it and unloads above a dumping point at the preferred location, before recharging again for the next route. For an optimal cleaning result, the Discovery Collector C2 can use water to thin the manure at the front and to prevent new manure from sticking to the floor in the back. This water is tanked independently and stored in two water bags in the effluent tank. As the effluent tank becomes fuller, the volume of the water bags decreases so that more space becomes available for effluent.
As a result, the machine is compact. Cows can easily get around it and the Discovery Collector C2 can drive under (separation) fences and through cross alleys. With an efficient 24V lithium battery, the robot only takes around 3 kWh per day in electricity consumption. “All by driving programmed routes based on your planning, specifically made for a shed’s daily rhythm and that of cows,” says Lely.
The Discovery Collector C2 navigates independently using built-in sensors. The preferred route can be programmed and schedule set around peak and off-peak traffic times.
Lely Discovery Collector doesn’t need cables, corner pulleys, and raised cross alleys as with, for example, an effluent scraper. Fewer obstacles allow cows to move more safely through the barn and/or shed. It also allows for more flexibility in the design of the total farm concept, for example, when considering automatic milking.
Lely says with the Discovery Collector C2, floors are cleaned automatically to the farmer’s needs. The compact robot navigates between cows, sorting gates, cubicles, and waiting areas. This ensures a clean floor which is conducive to, free cow movement and cow comfort.
The first four Lely Discovery Collectors have been installed on Bruce Dinnington’s farm in Dacre, near Invercargill.
Massey Ferguson has announced a strategic supply partnership with International Tractors Limited (ITL), a manufacturer of low-horsepower and compact tractors, with recognised brands such as Sonalika and Sollis, to expand its portfolio with a new tractor range.
With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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