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| The Henry's Robotic Dairy and feed pad at Pyree - new and old side by side |
We have made a video of our visit to the Robotic Dairy which you can view at
to learn more about modern technology in action in the Dairy Industry in the Shoalhaven.
This is from a news story in the South Coast Register in 2009
PYREE is home to the first commercial robotic dairy in NSW, where, unlike traditional dairy farming, cows can be milked at any hour of the day by an automatic machine.
After undergoing considerable research, John and Andrea Henry started their robotic dairy two years ago.
Robotic dairying is popular in Europe, where it has been used effectively for the past 15 years, and was introduced in Australia about five years ago.
The Henrys have installed two robots at their farm, each capable of milking between 60 and 80 cows.
The system allows the Henrys greater flexibility in their dairying and as such they are able to sustain their rural contracting business as well.
“I don’t have to get up at 4am to milk. I can come and check the cows at 6am or so, it’s not restricted to certain times,” Mrs Henry said.
The technology means the cows can come to be milked when they are full at any time of day or night.
Pellets in the robot’s feeding trays sweeten the deal and encourage the cows in as well.
There is no concern however that a cow hungry for treats might repeatedly get milked, as the robots ensure each cow is not milked more than once within six hours.
The cows average 2.8 milkings a day, with some coming in twice and others three or four times.
“We have even had one cow come in to be milked at midnight.”
The robots recognise each cow by a transponder.
“We can see which are the more timid cows and can go and get them for milking if needed,” Mrs Henry said.
The first time a cow is introduced to the robot, the Henrys program the robot for that particular cow. After that, two lasers determine the position of the teats and the cups are applied accordingly.
“You get more milk per cow because you are milking them more often.
“The more milk you take out, the more the cow will produce,” she said.
This means the Henrys have seen an improvement in the udder health of their cows.
Before milking, the robot washes the cows’ teats, ridding them of dirt and stimulating them for production.
Afterwards the cow is automatically sprayed with a disinfectant to prevent bacteria and the machine flushes out the equipment, ready for the next cow.
Cows are not over-milked because the cups are released one quarter at a time when milking has ceased.
The Henrys said their cows were also in better condition, with the robot able to alert them to any abnormalities in each animal’s temperature, bacteria levels, milking frequency or litres of milk yielded.
The robot will even call their mobile phone in the event of a problem with the cows or machinery.
“It will be the way of the future for some farmers,” said Mr Henry.
“It’s not for everyone, though, because robots are limited in the number of cows they can milk.
“It gives us more time to manage cows instead of putting cups on teats,” he said.
The Henrys hope to commence tours of their robotic dairy for the public within the next couple of months.
The transponder, worn around the cow's neck
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