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Manitoba | I'm still fighting going the robotic route but with labour issues as they are on dairies I totally understand the guys going that way. If you are really serious about putting one in take some tours of farms who have been running with them and I would suggest visiting ones operating for a number of years, not only new installations. When you spend that much on a machine that will milk 60 cows you almost have to tell people you are happy, your brain will force you to think that for a while. I would think to find enough operations with a number of years under their belt you will have to go to Ontario / Quebec. There has been lots there for quite a while. Here in Manitoba robots started going in about 5 years ago. Delaval was first in and got a pretty good head start. Once Lely finally decided we were worth the risk they have put in over 20 I believe. Since they came in they have sold almost all robots that have gone in with delaval being pretty quiet. From producers putting them in I have heard simplicity and speed being part of the reasons for their selection of lely. I am sure both work, dealer preference and experience would be a big factor going that route. How many cows are you milking? if you are replacing a worn out tie stall or ancient parlor with the barn having to be replaced as well and are looking at one or 2 units the economics are quite comparable. With milk prices fluctuating as they do in the US a big up front purchase like a robot would scare me but you are operating in that environment so you would know better than me. One other thing guys have told me is that you never save as much labour as the sales pitch will tell you. Yes it changes the work and you will save on labour but you will not cut out the equivalent of all milking labour, and stalls need to be bedded and maintained, non cooperating cows must be brought to the robot, etc.
One thing to keep in mind is that how you manage the dairy will change. If you can handle that, doing things differently, then you will probably be satisfied. If you won't change, or think you will try to change how the robot works to match your style, you will fail. | |
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robotic milking systems
