OCTOBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Robots help solve dairy staffing issues
Corner's Pride the single biggest install of Lely robotic milkers by DAVID SCHMIDT ROSEDALE – Any doubt
robots are taking over the dairy industry has been removed. Robotic milking is taking a giant leap forward as Corner’s Pride Farms in Rosedale is in the midst of installing 30 Lely robots. Owned by Bernie and
Yvonne VanderMeulen, their son Justin, and partners Brandon and Janel Bisshop, Corner’s Pride is BC’s second- largest dairy farm, milking about 1,700 cows. In addition to about 1,700 acres at home, Corner’s Pride also has feedlots in Popkum and Merritt and a large hay farm in Alberta.
When Corner’s Pride made
the purchase last winter, the 30 robots represented the world’s largest single sale of Lely robots. “It started with us looking
at how to deal with labour,” Bernie states, noting there is a constant turnover among his 10 milkers. As well, with all the quota
Owners Brandon Bisshop and Justin and Bernie VanderMeulen of Corner’s Pride Farms in Rosedale stand on the viewing platform in one of their two new barns. When renovations are complete, the farm’s herd will be milked with 30 Lely robots. (One can be seen in the background.) DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO
increases in the last few years, VanderMeulen knew they would have to add another barn to keep up. They rejected a rotary parlour because
“we’re trying to remove the human element,” and even a robotic rotary requires people to bring cows to the parlour.
Before making the decision, the
partners looked at large robotic dairies in New York and Indiana. They were
convinced when, during one visit, Yvonne observed that “there seems to be nothing going on” in the barn. “Cow calmness is so much nicer with robots,” Bernie explains. Before choosing Lely, the
partners used a 65-point questionnaire to compare available robots. That included assessing the manufacturer and dealer as well as each robot’s performance. “They all milk cows and
how you manage them determines how good or bad they are,” Bernie stresses. They particularly liked
Lely’s three-way sorting gate. While most cows are released back into the pen, twice a week each cow is directed through the second gate and a footbath. The third gate directs cows into a separate holding pen for treatment. Because of the holding pens, they do not have any head lockers in the main barns. Treated cows then go to a special hospital pen.
“We will have 29 robots for the
milking herd and one in the hospital See PRODUCTION on next page o
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