A northern Ireland dairy farm has installed the 50,000th Lely Astronaut robotic milking unit, marking a huge milestone in the Dutch company’s history.

Automated milking has spread fast to dairy farms since the launch of Lely’s first Astronaut prototype in 1992, particularly due to the lack of labor available to dairy farmers globally.

In fact, there are now Lely Astronaut robotic milking units installed in 50 countries worldwide, milking three million cows daily, providing a wealth of data to help farmers improve fertility, health and production.

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Due to the success of the Lely Astronaut the company has also boosted its portfolio to now including technology covering all aspects of farm management, including feeding and manure management.

Purchasing the 50,000th robot, along with three other Lely Astronaut A5s, was father and son team Stephen and David Cargill from Hollybank Farm near Templepatrick in County Antrim.

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The duo milk a herd of 180 Holstein cows three times per day through an 18-point swingover parlor, which takes six hours and requires two labor units per milking.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

The current parlor replaced robots of a different brand eight years ago, but the Cargills decided to return to using robotic milkers to improve their work-life balance.

Favoring the Lely brand this time, the Cargills were impressed by the service of the local Lely Centre Eglish, having invested in a Lely Vector feeding system two years ago. 

David said, “You must have a quality of life in any job, and agriculture is one of the trickiest. Farming is repetitive, but it must be enjoyable, otherwise you can’t get good retention of staff.

“The support from designing the initial concept to the installation and after-sales support from the Lely engineers has been absolutely fantastic.”

For the Cargills, the use of robot milkers align with their goal to create a sustainable, enjoyable and labor-efficient dairy farm.

Stephen said, “We are humbled to receive the 50,000th robot and are very appreciative that Lely has chosen to bring it to our farm in Northern Ireland.

“We want to be here milking cows for generations to come, and that’s why we have made the investment, as everything we do, we do for the long-term future.”

Since the introduction of the first commercially available Lely Astronaut in 1995, there have been several new and revised models introduced over the years.

By 1997, when there were 100 Lely robots in use around the world, Lely introduced the A2 robot available with a galvanized or stainless steel frame.

In 2004, the Lely Astronaut A2 Evolution with a static teat detection system and a new vacuum system was introduced. The all new A3 model arrived in 2005, and after several modifications the A4 came five years later.

This then paved the way for the first A5 units in 2018, the company’s most successful robot.

Adding his endorsement to the Cargills during a visit to see the 50,000th unit being installed was Gijs Schloman, chief commercial officer at Lely.

He added, “We started very small, very slowly using new technology that nobody ever thought could milk cows without human intervention.

“Many farmers around the world have given confidence and trust to Lely, and we are very grateful they have opted for the red robot.

“We think we can contribute to the lifestyle of farmers. That’s important because we know how difficult it is to find successors.

“By changing the type of work and making the work more pleasant, we help to contribute to succession.”