GEA unveils DairyRobot milking system at Fieldays
New Zealand farmers get their first opportunity to experience the future of pasture-based dairy automation in action this week at the National Fieldays.
GEA’s CowScout Responder accurately identifies cows on heat through remote technology, further allowing better understanding of a herd’s overall health.
At the heart of the CowScout is the G Sensor that monitors and interprets a cow’s movement via a collar around its neck.
GEA New Zealand’s herd management solutions manager Jan Winke says the system better measures and interprets than the conventional ‘pedometer’ type heat detectors usually strapped to a cow’s leg.
“Our experience is that this sort of sensor is better for the NZ dairy situation where cows will typically be walking further than in Europe, meaning straight foot movement will not always be an accurate indicator of heat activity here.”
The sensors also detect eating, so indicating an animal’s health.
By recording and comparing individual cows’ eating they can detect any departure from the norm, and be set to alert operators to draft out sick cows.
Data is transmitted to a central receiver-processing unit, so the activity of individual cows is logged for access via PC or tablet through an internet link.
The CowScout can provide 24 hour direct alerts on cows that are presenting heat activity, and it suits NZ’s batch approach to mating, usually after the morning milking. Typically, the cows on heat during the last 24 hours would be displayed through the PC or tablet before milking starts, and their numbers can be entered into the system for identification and drafting for AB.
GEA says pasture-feeding farms where CowScout has been installed are finding it works: they are getting information about cows in poor health and help in identifying cows with hard-to-diagnose post-calving condition.
Winke comments “a big challenge for NZ farmers is getting heat identification right for the critical first three weeks of mating. The CowScout has proven 90-95% accuracy, and provides options for the timing of AB.”
For farmers doing their own AB, a real-time update on heat activity will help with timeliness; and cows not needing to come into the milking shed opens opportunities for breeders of pedigree or beef cattle to monitor their herds closely.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…