Robotic milking

[Stuckingeneva]

the lely products are actually cheaper than downland robo red and blue

 

[nonemouse]

Used to bulk buy the lely chems , about a years worth, and the prices weren’t to bad. But delivery got a bit erratic and now I just get chem as I use it from local coars depo.
Use, deosan active for the brushes, Delaval cidmax for acid and progiene bottle wash as alkaline

 

[pappuller]

the lely products are actually cheaper than downland robo red and blue

Not per litre they're not

 

[Stuckingeneva]

Not per litre they're not

They are, i worked it out just yesterday

 

[pappuller]

They are, i worked it out just yesterday

Are you buying 20/25 or 200l ?

 

[Stuckingeneva]

Are you buying 20/25 or 200l ?

20

 

[pappuller]

20

Downland are 25l wheras as lely are 20kg iirc we are on 200l downland which gives a considerable saving

 

[Wesley]

This is our local Lely centres pricing. £925 spend for 6% discount, £2500 for 10%. Another 5% to come off those prices from 1st October

 

[pappuller]

This is our local Lely centres pricing. £925 spend for 6% discount, £2500 for 10%. Another 5% to come off those prices from 1st OctoberView attachment 1139611

will look at my last invoice but bear in mind they are 20l drums and 205l barrels another lely ploy to think ur getting more than you are

 

[DickDastardly]

Anyone successfully milking a mixed herd through a robot? V300 or a classic in particular. We milk a herd of Jerseys on a cheddar contract. Ms currently in excess of 10.4% but id like to push more volume. Various reasons. Biggest one is wanting to repay capital quicker and generate some surplus cash for other things. Just a bit of fine tuning.

Option 1: is to buy more in milk/POL Jerseys, which are difficult to source atm. Quality wise and health status.

Option 2: 15% of the milking portion to be Holstein. Also been offered some fresh procross from a very good local unit.

biggest concern is bullying ect. The Jerseys bullying the Holsteins . We have the cow space, a row of cubicles could easily be adjusted to accomodate larger cows. Im just curious to know if anyone else has a similar setup. I want to maximise milk output per robot. i dont feel we are hitting the sweet spot just yet. We either push to 75 Jerseys or we try to bring in a higher yielding breed and run at 65-70 cows.

Ta

 

[Bald Rick]

Anyone successfully milking a mixed herd through a robot? V300 or a classic in particular. We milk a herd of Jerseys on a cheddar contract. Ms currently in excess of 10.4% but id like to push more volume. Various reasons. Biggest one is wanting to repay capital quicker and generate some surplus cash for other things. Just a bit of fine tuning.

Option 1: is to buy more in milk/POL Jerseys, which are difficult to source atm. Quality wise and health status.

Option 2: 15% of the milking portion to be Holstein. Also been offered some fresh procross from a very good local unit.

biggest concern is bullying ect. The Jerseys bullying the Holsteins . We have the cow space, a row of cubicles could easily be adjusted to accomodate larger cows. Im just curious to know if anyone else has a similar setup. I want to maximise milk output per robot. i dont feel we are hitting the sweet spot just yet. We either push to 75 Jerseys or we try to bring in a higher yielding breed and run at 65-70 cows.

Ta

I would be wary of mixing your breeds TBH ... and certainly wouldn't be looking to have Holsteins unless you can separate them - & keep them separate - in to bespoke cubicles. And, have you adapted the milking box to accommodate Jerseys? We did with our Lelys and there was no way a big cow would have fitted in - bad enough on a rotary.

I would also investigate importing heifers as I note that the dispersal sale due to happen recently has been postponed due to a TB breakdown. Generally, they want to ship 54 head so there may be options to split loads with another farmer.

As for the Procross, it appears that the trick is to get them in calf ASAP otherwise they quickly put on weight in a housed system if they go a bit stale

 

[DickDastardly]

I would be wary of mixing your breeds TBH ... and certainly wouldn't be looking to have Holsteins unless you can separate them - & keep them separate - in to bespoke cubicles. And, have you adapted the milking box to accommodate Jerseys? We did with our Lelys and there was no way a big cow would have fitted in - bad enough on a rotary.

I would also investigate importing heifers as I note that the dispersal sale due to happen recently has been postponed due to a TB breakdown. Generally, they want to ship 54 head so there may be options to split loads with another farmer.

As for the Procross, it appears that the trick is to get them in calf ASAP otherwise they quickly put on weight in a housed system if they go a bit stale

The V300 is indexed. Feeding trough comes in/out on a ram. Meaning you can set parameters for short, medium and Large cow. Which is a good feature TBF, we also have the stall set to it's widest so bringing a larger cow into it would be no hassle at all.

I was hoping to attend that sale. Such a shame, but it is what it is at the end of the day. We are only 10 cows short. This is the first year of rearing our own replacements so i need a stop gap and i definitely need to be running at capacity. Currently achieving a decent milk price with strong solids but would do anything for more volume, even if it meant diluting quality. The Jerseys are perfect for this system, only bugger is that you need to pack as many of them as you can per box in order to get enough volume to justify the capital. And second to that, is actually finding well bred Jerseys with a breeding and high health status. If i wasn't milking Jerseys i think my go to would be a procross, and just happens to be that a chap down the road has plenty for sale and they look like peas in a pod.

Long term goal would be to have a second Robot and a lean too from this building. Two separate herds and milk into one central tank. Milking for volume, quality and a decent cull value. It would be interesting to compare efficiency and overall performance. Never putt all your eggs in one basket.

 

[Bald Rick]

The V300 is indexed. Feeding trough comes in/out on a ram. Meaning you can set parameters for short, medium and Large cow. Which is a good feature TBF, we also have the stall set to it's widest so bringing a larger cow into it would be no hassle at all.

I was hoping to attend that sale. Such a shame, but it is what it is at the end of the day. We are only 10 cows short. This is the first year of rearing our own replacements so i need a stop gap and i definitely need to be running at capacity. Currently achieving a decent milk price with strong solids but would do anything for more volume, even if it meant diluting quality. The Jerseys are perfect for this system, only bugger is that you need to pack as many of them as you can per box in order to get enough volume to justify the capital. And second to that, is actually finding well bred Jerseys with a breeding and high health status. If i wasn't milking Jerseys i think my go to would be a procross, and just happens to be that a chap down the road has plenty for sale and they look like peas in a pod.

Long term goal would be to have a second Robot and a lean too from this building. Two separate herds and milk into one central tank. Milking for volume, quality and a decent cull value. It would be interesting to compare efficiency and overall performance. Never putt all your eggs in one basket.

remember to fat adjust your jersey milk so you have a comparative against Holstein … and you might be pleasantly surprised.
Just had an email from Denmark wanting to know if we want to share a part load to calve before Christmas. We won’t need them but I can liaise on your behalf if you want via pm/email

And the other thing to note … you never really get the double whammy of yield and solids. It’s always a compromise

 

[Milkcow365]

 

[Bald Rick]

View attachment 1140833

Pinch of salt as it’s not including things such as longevity & number of lactations of the cow, better feet, takes up less space and so on

 

[Milkcow365]

Pinch of salt as it’s not including things such as longevity & number of lactations of the cow, better feet, takes up less space and so on

Do jerseys last longer on intensive systems?
What about the calf value of the jersey?
Feet are all about management so thats equal for both breeds id say. Intensive systems only.

 

[Wesley]

Pinch of salt as it’s not including things such as longevity & number of lactations of the cow, better feet, takes up less space and so on

I like to be controversial…but all this longevity & number of lactations everyone bangs on about, surely all that really matters is value of milk in its lifetime? Good Holstein barrener will easily be over £1000 to add in to it as well.

 

[yin ewe]

I like to be controversial…but all this longevity & number of lactations everyone bangs on about, surely all that really matters is value of milk in its lifetime? Good Holstein barrener will easily be over £1000 to add in to it as well.

If she gets to the barrener stage

 

[Milkcow365]

If she gets to the barrener stage

Again that’s a comment for management… give jerseys to a bad farmer and it’s the same outcome.
The study above was done with farms at the top of their game in both breeds to give it a fair run and that’s the conclusion.
I’m not holstein in the brain either.

 

[Wesley]

Yes they may be less tolerant to lots of things but get things right & they’ll certainly reward you. We’re still working on getting it all right & it’ll take a while (if its actually possible) but shutting the gate on our cows has transformed things. I know its not for everyone, but it makes the management of them far easier.
Doesn’t matter what breed, success is all down to management & taking advantage of their strengths.