Giving dairy producers the time they deserve

Pretty soon the temperatures will start warming up (we’re hoping anyway). And pretty soon, people will begin making plans outdoors. Parents will sit in the stands and watch their children play baseball and kids will toss beach towels over their shoulders and head to the pool. It might be a bit early to think this way, but hope might be the only thing that helps us survive the remaining winter days.

We’re bringing this up today because we feel like we’ve done a great job of telling one side of the robotic milking story ― the side that tells you about about increased efficiencies on your farm. Increased production. Decreasing labor costs. But there is another story we’d like to share.

The lifestyle story.

Robotic milking producers are the ones who have made these stories possible. They’re telling us that since they made the decision to start milking robotically, they’ve been able to watch their daughters play softball again. They’ve told us, through tears, that they’ve been able to “watch their kids grow up” again. They’ve told us that the increase in production and bottom dollar is helping them pass their farm on to the next generation.

We love these stories.

We know being a dairy producer is perhaps the most demanding, time-intensive job out there, and we consider it our job to help relieve that stress by giving you back time in your day. We would love to help you get the time back you deserve.

If you have any questions about robotic milking, please don’t hesitate to comment in the field below or to email us directly at lelydairylife@gmail.com.

Lely producer, Ardy Johanson featured in Successful Farming

Successful Farming recently featured Ardy Johanson, an Underwood, Minnesota dairy producer in an article titled “Robotic Milking.” Johanson is spending a lot more time with his family now that his 110 dairy cows are being milked robotically.

Below are highlights from the article:

Last summer, Ardy Johanson enjoyed attending his son’s T-ball games with his wife Robin. Not so unusual, except that some were away games during milking time, and Johanson hadn’t hired anyone to milk his cows. Though he has 110 dairy cows, the Underwood, Minnesota, dairy farmer spends a lot more time with his family these days thanks to two robotic milkers.

“We have three boys, 13, 10, and 7. Many days, I didn’t see them at all,” he explains. That was his first incentive for turning to robotic technology. The other was to replace one full-time and one part-time position and not have to worry about hired help.

The Transition to Robotics
Johanson bought the 50-cow tie-stall operation from his father, Merle, in 1992 and expanded with more cows, a free-stall barn and double-eight parallel parlor in 2000. By 2008, he needed to buy a bigger ($50,000) bulk tank to eliminate the need for daily pickup. Robotic milkers had recently been licensed in Minnesota.

Johanson liked the idea. He started Internet research and visited a southern Minnesota dairy using robotic milkers. Two companies made the machines, he learned – DeLaval and Lely. He crunched numbers and considered the increased milk production as well as savings from not having hired hands. Based on design preference and the fact that a dealership opened up an hour and a half away, he chose Lely.

More Benefits
Johanson says his breeding program has improved. Electronic pedometers on the cows’ tags indicate how many steps they take each day. Increased activity indicates that they are in heat, while decreased activity may indicate they are sick.

After heifers calve, he has been pleasantly surprised by how quickly they adapt to the robotic milker.

“It’s unbelievable how calm the heifers are with the noise of the robotic arm,” he says.

Because cows are getting custom-feed rations for their needs, Johanson believes his herd’s overall health has improved.

After nearly a year, Johanson says he is satisfied with the system and hopes to build the herd to 120 cows milking to maximize his two milkers – one robotic milker for every 60 cows.

Robotic milking allows family to keep herd

The Gruenbaum family was considering selling the herd. And then they discovered robotic milking. Below is an excerpt from a story that ran in the Columbus Dispatch. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and featured in more than 10 publications throughout the nation.

Cows go for self-serve when it’s milking time
Every dairy farmer’s dream is playing out at the Gruenbaum family farm in Plain City.

The cows milk themselves.

No kidding.

The farm is the first in Ohio to install robotic milking machines that allow cows to be milked whenever they want without a human hand touching them.

“It’s just amazing what it’ll do,” said Kenneth Gruenbaum, 66, as he watched cow after cow meander into a stall at their farm and give milk through a machine.

It’s a sea change for Gruenbaum, who grew up milking cows by hand on the 144-year-old farm he now shares with 40-year-old son David.

Five weeks ago, the Gruenbaums installed two robotic units, each with its own stall and milking machine, manufactured by Lely Group in the Netherlands. Since then, they’ve been teaching their 105 cows how to self-milk.

Cows walk into the stall, lured by food. The machine’s arm positions itself beneath the bulging udder, and small brushes wash the cow’s teats. Four tubes, called cups, swing out, and one attaches itself to each teat with the help of a laser scanning device.

The milk flows into the cups, then through a system of pipes into a large container. The cups disengage when the udder is empty, and the cow moves out of the stall. The entire process takes about six minutes.

“It’s just jaw-dropping to see how everything works,” said Sandra Gruenbaum, Ken’s wife and David’s mother.

David Gruenbaum said he and his dad started looking at the milking machines two years ago when they needed to replace their 25-year-old milking parlor.

“We were considering selling the herd,” he said.

Then he saw a self-milking machine on the Internet, investigated it and decided to try it.

If milk prices are favorable, David Gruenbaum expects the machines to pay for themselves within five years because of reduced labor costs and increased milk production.

Kuenzler Open House will feature Lely’s Astronaut A3 Next in Action

Kuenzler Dairy Equipment will host an Open House March 2 and we would love to see you there. Attendees will be able to see the Lely Astronaut A3 Next in action and have questions about robotic milking and the latest robotic milking technology answered by experts in the field.

To learn more about the Lely Astronaut A3 Next, click here.

What: Kuenzler Dairy Equipment Open House

When: March 2, 2010
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Where:101 North Main St. Norwood, NY 13668 Get Directions

For more information:
Phone: 315-353-2075
Fax: 815-457-2346

Visit Us at the New York Farm Show, Syracuse, NY Feb. 25-27

We would love to see you at the New York Farm show next week.

The Lely booth, B93 in the Horticulture Building, will display our latest product in our robotic milking line, the Astronaut A3 Next.

The show will feature educational seminars, hands-on activities for kids, and the latest in farm technology.

To learn more about show events, find lodging, and see a list of show exhibitors, click here.

Are you planning on attending?

Cut Costs, Boost Bottom Line

AgriView’s Feb. 11 issue contained an article that shared tips with readers about how to continue to cut costs on dairy farms. Although milk prices are back to profitable levels, opportunities to cut costs still exist and can help increase your revenue.

Tips in the article provided by Iowa State University Extension dairy specialist Lee Kilmer included:

1. Never give up milk production. During tight times, it can be tempting to reduce or cut some ingredients from rations, but every time this happens, you cause production to drop and the value of that lost milk is greater than the value of your savings in feed.
2. Always maintain milk components – protein and milkfat are the determining factors of your milk check.
3. Don’t make feeding changes that could impact the health or performance of your herd. Be cognizant of the fact that these changes may not occur right away, but could take place over time, leading to a gradual loss in body condition.
   

Nutrition
Kilmer also provided reminders and tips about nutrition.

1. Only when an animal has proper nutrition can it produce milk. Each pound of dry matter (eaten) above a cow’s maintenance requirement will support an additional two pounds of milk production.
   Start thinking about feed costs as feed cost per hundredweight of milk sold, not per cow per day – this calculation takes into account both feed costs and production efficiency.
   Trim the fluff. This could be feed additives. Some additives are marketed based on extensive research, such as rumen buffers, ionophores, and monensin (sold under the trade name Rumensin). Others; however, are marketed on hype. Work with your nutritionist to determine the best additives for your herd.
2. Evaluate the prices of byproduct ration ingredients since they are not as vital to milk production as good forages and corn and soybeans. Kilmer said the challenge for nutritionists and producers is to identify and take advantage of “good” feed buys, and he said avoid purchasing the “byproduct of the week.” He sited the Wisconsin FeedVal computer program and the Missouri Dairymen’s ByProduct Feed page as two excellent sources to get started.
   
   Click here to read the full article.

Reduce energy consumption on your dairy

Progressive Dairyman’s February issue contained an article titled “Reduce energy consumption, reduce your costs.” The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates that farmers nationwide spend about $10 billion on energy every year. For dairy operations, energy costs rank in the top five expenses.

The above figure shows how energy costs on a dairy are broken down according to a study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

By reducing your energy costs you are benefitting in more than one way – you’re helping reduce energy costs, yes, but you’re also helping the environment, and helping secure reliable electricity for the future by reducing the stress on the electrical grid.

How do I reduce my dairy’s energy costs?
There are multiple steps you can take to help increase energy efficiencies on your dairy. In Iowa, a farm can save nearly $10,000 a year in energy costs as a result of installing a high-efficiency milk chilling system, the article stated. One dairy referenced used their cow’s solid waste for bedding, reducing the energy spent transporting bedding elsewhere.

Lely’s Energy-Reducing Practices
Reducing energy costs is something we at Lely have been striving to help producers with, as well. With our most recent addition to our robotic milking line, the Lely Astronaut A3 Next, we’ve further streamlined the robotic arm movements to help reduce energy costs. The Astronaut A3 Next has significantly fewer movements required for teat cup connection and removal, and only one pneumatic system.

Click here to read the full article.

What steps have you taken or do you plan to take to help reduce energy costs on your dairy?