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milked on the robots and the rest are still milked three times a day through the parlour. “Admittedly the first few weeks were tough, having to be there 24/7 to train the cows and maintain production with minimum stress. Cows that have that natural ability to produce milk thrive on the robotic system. It is a great system for increasing production while maintaining the highest standard of welfare. With the reduced stress on the cows I fully expect to see an increase in longevity and lifetime production in our herd,” explains James.
The Stewarts have seen many benefits to robots already with increased production and reduced mastitis meaning less antibiotics being used. “Cows on the robot average 38 litres on 3.1 milkings a day, which is an increase of 7% from production before the robots. With the conductivity sensors monitoring the colour and temperature of the milk we can treat mastitis using natural remedies without using antibiotics before it develops to
a harmful stage.
“I see a place for more technology in the future, but with the 20:40 fully automatic Dairy Master parlour still working well, both systems are complementing each other. We tend to keep cows that are slow milkers and have close rear teat placement in the parlour as we seek to run both systems to full potential. The robots have allowed us more time to manage and monitor our herd,” adds Andrew.
Having initially established the herd with 23 calves purchased at the Laurel Cottage dispersal it was graded up again 10 years ago as a result of James’ interest in breeding. “Over the years we have kept a largely closed herd with a few purchases of heifers from local herds, Holland and an excellent group of non-pedigree heifers from a dispersal at Kirby Thore. “All the Dutch cattle did exceptionally well in the herd and classified well. Three EX, six VG and one GP. One cow stood out from day one. This was Ballinaskeagh Agatha, she had outstanding strength,
feet and legs and went on to breed a current herd favourite Ballinaskeagh Design Agatha EX91.”
Breeding in the herd is a joint decision between Jim and James. “We are moving more towards genomics, heifers by the first genomic sires we used are now calved and milking and we are pleased with the results. Our Lavaman and Merchandise heifers are milking well. We also have an exciting Priam daughter which we might consider showing if we can find the time.”
Current herd sires include Star, Corinthian, Loveheart, Baloo, Gerwyn and Diego. “We also use sexed Drummer and Goodwhone semen on heifers. When it comes to bull selection we are looking for bulls that offer the overall package, with a big emphasis on fertility, life span, balanced type, milk production and solids. “We want to breed cow families that don’t necessarily follow the fashion of the day. Homebred families such as Nancy, Holly, Gem, Tess, Joni and Winnie have all developed
A new shed was built with two robots to help manage an increase in numbers.
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