A decreasing number of farmers are getting their hands dirty, lest they gunk up their smartphone. Dutch maker of farming technologies, Lely, recently installed their 12,500th cow-milking robot. That means that hundreds of thousands of cows all over the world are producing tens of millions of liters of milk per day at the pumps of robots rather than the hands of farmers.

If you’re not familiar with Lely’s Astronaut A4 robotic milking system, it’s essentially a boxed area that the cows walk into and are milked – at their leisure. The cow just walks into the milking station, 3D cameras target their teats with a ‘teat detection system,’ and milks the cow. After milking a series of brushes cleans the cow and a swinging feeding trough “encourages” the cow to leave and make way for the next in line.

The appeal of the Astronaut A4 isn’t only that it automates the milking process, it also automates milk testing right at the milking station and pushes the data to the farmer’s smartphone. Detecting a bacterial breast infection called mastitis, and measuring fat, protein and lactose levels allow the farmer’s to monitor the quality of their milk. An automated brush system not only cleans the cows and cuts down on milk contamination, but through tactile stimulation will trigger the hormone oxytocin that stimulates milk production. Milking speed and dead milking times are also monitored so the farmer can make adjustments if he needs to to increase productivity.

The end result is reduced labor costs and increased productivity. According to Lely, the Astronaut system produces 10 to 15 percent more milk than conventional farmers who typically milk twice a day.

It’s the state-of-the-art, automated cow milking system that farmers have grown to love.

To commemorate their 12,500th customer, Lely launched a video competition in which users produced videos showing how they use the Lely Astronaut system and how it affects their farm. The winner, announced in January, was the Smit Family farmers. After seeing a few of the runner-up videos, it’s obvious to me that these guys put a lot more effort into winning points for creativity.

Lely isn’t limited to cow-milking platforms but provides a suite of technologies to meet a variety of farming needs like forage harvesting vehicles, automated feeding systems, and robotic barn cleaners. To meet increasing demand from customers in North America they’ve built a US headquarters in Pella, Iowa that will officially open on March 29th. They also opened a center in Bain-de-Bretagne, France last year.

From GPS-guided tractors to fleets of weed-clearing robots, technology continues to change the meaning of a day’s work on the farm. The advent of tractors in the early 20th century was a striking example of how technology could transform the industry. The hands off milking system that the Astronaut A4 provides allows farmers to spend less time milking and more time managing the health of their heard as a whole from their smartphone. The growing popularity of the platform is a testament to its cost-effectiveness. While it’s not clear that it makes the cows happier, as Lely claims, what is clear is that the platform sure has farmers whistling Dixie.

[image credits: Lely]



images: Lely

video: Contest Winner