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.
Dairy automation specialist Lely has developed a version of its Discovery robot to remove manure from solid floors, unlike the original which could only push muck through floor slats.
The Discovery Collector contains a vacuum pump to ‘hoover’ up manure after first softening it with a front mounted water nozzle, then using a following spray to wet the floor to prevent it becoming slippery.
On board, two water bladders of 70L capacity are filled from a docking station at the end of a cycle, and in a neat piece of design, the bladder containing the manure expands as the water tanks empty.
After a run, manure is emptied from the machine at a designated dump site.
The Collector navigates independently using in-built sensors, following an easily programmed, pre-determined path at pre-determined times.
Available in Europe in early 2017 and elsewhere later in the year.
http://www.lely.comAmong the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.