Semi-robotic milking technology to boost parlour efficiency
Waikato Milking Systems’ latest innovation, ErgoPOD is now commercially available within New Zealand and Australia.
One product that reinforces this notion is WMS’s own DairyHQ - Parlour Management System that allows farmers to take control of their parlour in one space, by incorporating analytical data insights to monitor results and trends from each cow in the herd.
The state-of-the-art system focuses on four main modules: Identification (ID), which is an in-parlour system that identifies the animal in the milking point to ensure accurate feeding, milk weight recording, and animal handling. Feed (FEED), focuses on precision feeding based on individual needs, to boost animal performance and reduce waste. Sort (SORT) incorporates the automation of animal sorting, helping to improve mating and animal health outcome, while saving time and labour, while Milk (MILK) tracks the milk production of each cow, allowing better breeding and feed management decisions.
Waikato Milking Systems’ head of product development, Chris Singleton, notes that the main goal was to provide a simple-to-use and intuitive system that focuses on the parlour. He says DairyHQ brings a difference to the shed.
“It provides valuable information directly to the farmer without flooding them with extra data, allowing to find out exactly what they need to know to make those informed decisions.”
DairyHQ also integrates seamlessly with the company’s other automation products, especially as the dairy system innovators ready themselves for the 2025 launch of one of their latest products. ErgoPOD - is a robotic assisted milking solution that the company says will revolutionise the milking experience for dairy farmers. This innovation embodies high-performance milking through its emphasis on human- and cow-centric design with robotic assistance, boosting milking time productivity and efficiency.
Providing efficiency, productivity, and reducing labour costs without removing the essence of dairy farming is a significant advantage of DairyHQ. Waikato Milking’s focus on the farmers’ needs is again highlighted in its product developments, leaving everyone at WMS’ Horotiu base excited for the future of dairy farming.
