Four years ago, I had the pleasure of interning on a 120 cow dairy formerly known as Cannon Cattle Ranch in Johnsonville, New York. The farm was milking in a flat bed parlor and retrofitted into two A4 robots the summer I worked there. Performing the herdsman duties for the farm, I got my first glance into T4C. At the time, T4C was a great milking management tool. However, it had plenty of room for improvement when it came to reproduction and overall herd management.
Fast forward to today, and Lely now has the reproduction module, and other things such as advanced filters, sick chance reports and more. Many of our farmers are no longer using secondary management programs due to these improvements. I have always admired Lely’s continued ability to improve upon their current standards, especially when it is a direct result of farmer feedback.
Continuing the improvement trend, last month Lely introduced the new A5 robot, once again proving their determination to make the best even better. The new robot was only one of the enhancements made to their product line. They also announced a new Juno, Discovery, and Luna Brush.
Initial feedback from the A5 has been overwhelmingly positive. A common comment is how clear it is that Lely took feedback from farmers, Lely Technical Service Support (TSS), and Lely Farm Management Support (FMS) personnel and incorporated it into the design of the A5. From the FMS perspective, the A5 is much more accurate post-dipping cows because it now continues the use of lasers to locate the teats while post-dipping. Start-up is also much easier with new mapping techniques and a more user-friendly interface on the E-link. Service Techs are excited about the new robot arm, which is a hybrid between electric and air. This makes the robot quieter, more efficient, and attach faster than ever, making farmers happy. We are excited to see this new robot out in the field, and are so happy #Lelylistened
For more information on the A5 and all the new advancements in Lely’s product line, be sure to check out the following resources:
https://www.lely.com/us/milestone/