But as well as improved efficiencies and a happier healthier herd, the innovative milking technology has delivered a new dilemma facing manufacturers across the board.
Who will train the technicians to program and service the growing number of automated technologies?
«It’s revolutionised the way we do farming, but with that, it’s meant that we need a different breed of worker,» Mr Drury said.
Designers of electrical trades courses from the Newcastle campus of TAFE NSW are working on a solution to the problem, common across the manufacturing sector.
However, it is good news for apprentices who are getting exposure to real world problems and cutting edge technology.
Robotic dairy is like ‘sophisticated traffic control system’
On the surface, Drury Farm looks like any other — a herd of 430 milking cows heading to the milking shed, nestled in the Manning Valley.
But robots built by Sweden’s DeLaval are revolutionising milk production, effectively enabling the dairy cows to turn up at any time of the day or night for milking.
Many of the components of the dairy are familiar: cows are still identified by numbered ear tags, and suction cups attached to a cow’s teats convey milk to large temperature-controlled vats, awaiting collection by milk tankers.
But, at the Drury’s farm, an automated system works like a sophisticated traffic control system.
It decides whether to allow a cow into the dairy for milking or send it back out to pastures, based on the cow’s milking permissions, set by the farmer.
Pointing to a pie chart on a computer display, Mr Drury demonstrated access to real-time data, which helped farm workers plan their day strategically.
«The red cows are the cows that need attention in the next couple of hours,» he said.
«The green portion is the dry cows, and the yellow is the number of cows that need to be milked in the next six hours.»
He said other benefits of the system were real-time snapshots about the herd status, manual selection of cows for express lane milking, a holding function for specific cows at the dairy after milking, and an alert delivery and data via mobile devices.
«When there’s a problem with the cow, it sends us that signal — to our mobile phones,» Mr Drury said.
With a price tag of around $2 million, which Mr Drury said ws comparable to building a traditional rotary-style dairy, the Drury’s system is one of an estimated 50 in operation around Australia.
TAFE NSW adapting to industry demand
Head teacher of electronics and advanced manufacturing at TAFE NSW Newcastle campus David Leask said the dairy industry’s shift towards automation mirrored a wider shift in manufacturing and technology.
«We have students in class that are working for a diverse range of companies, from flight simulator maintenance to over-the-horizon radar and big data analytics companies,» Mr Leask said.
«And the common theme for all of those companies is electronics. What we’re seeing is a dramatic shift away from consumer electronics and a huge influx of people in industrial control systems.»
TAFE NSW is adapting to industry demand for specialised knowledge by pulling certain skill sets from certain traditional qualifications.
Mr Leask said they were: «piecing together a beautiful mix of skill sets from different areas to create outcomes specific to the needs of people», such as Mr Drury.
Clinton Burgess, apprenticed as an electrical engineer to Hunter-based company Dexata with contracts with defence and which is working on big data analytics, is applying field learning to his training.
«It was actually quite amazing to see it all working. We’ve seen it all in theory but actually, out here in a real world operation, I was gobsmacked to see it all work,» Mr Burgess said.
Conrad Neilands, apprenticed to Novecom, which manufactures and maintains dust and noise monitoring systems, loves the real world exposure he is getting to cutting edge technology.
«It was really amazing to see the cupping machine in action,» he said.
«It’s really incredible, the way it scans and sees the teat, and the way it can adapt to the way the cow is moving in real time is quite amazing.»
Cows ‘rewarded in the paddock’
Mr Drury said the robot milking system had resulted in «a really positive impact on the yield of the cows».
«The initial stages were a bit touch and go but certainly we’ve seen that once the cows [had learned] they could be rewarded in the paddock,» he said.
«If she’s giving a reasonable a level of production, she can actually turn up to have a feed and that machine will automatically reward her.»
Mr Drury said the incentive-based system and computer program was «there to encourage that to happen», but farmers still needed to be on the farm every day, and willing to work directly with the cattle.
After two years working with the robotic dairy, the Drurys are still fine-tuning the automated system.
«We certainly went through a few hurdles to start with, but now we’re seeing a 20 to 25 per cent increase in production on where we were last year,» Mr Drury said.
«So, it’s really starting to kick some goals now.»
Mr Drury’s daughter Tiffany Sagar said the robotic dairy gave workers «more time to focus on the herd as individual cows, whereas, with the old systems, we’d only see them for three hours».
«You’re actually watching the cows behaviour a lot better so, on a daily basis, we’ve got that hands-on contact with the cows as well,» she said.
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-02/robotic-dairy-delivers-increased-milk-production/8082764