MACHINERY Saving time and labour are important on any farm and making small changes to everyday routines can pay dividends. For David Luxton, one of those changes was to his bedding up. Ruth Wills reports.
Bedding up streamlined
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ince purchasing a new self-propelled bedding dispenser, David Luxton – who farms at Newlands Farm, near Bradworthy, Devon – has seen significant labour and time savings. Having completed an overhaul of the farm in 2019, moving from a 16/16 DeLaval parlour to three DeLaval robots, Mr Luxton was keen to keep improving efficiencies to maintain a good work-life balance. He says: “In October 2019 we started milking through the robots, moving from a grass-based system to a housed system, and bedding up became a bit of a bottleneck. “We were trying to get the cows up, scrape the beds off, put lime down and spread sawdust all independently – it was taking two people 45 minutes to do the job.” He tried a few different bedding machines, before settling on the AG Duo. “We tried some with engines, but
David Luxton says using the AG Duo has led to a big improvement in efficiencies.
David Luxton
as soon as we drove them into the shed the cows spooked,” he says. “There was also a maintenance side with the engines – air filters and dust do not go together well – and they are very expensive.” Mr Luxton was very keen to maintain a calm and quiet environment for the cows. “As soon as we went into the shed with the engine powered machines the cows went from one end to the other,” he says. “On a robotic system it is all
The cubicle shed has been designed to maximise cow comfort and output.
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about quietness, consistency and not upsetting the cows’ routine.” The shed itself contains the three DeLaval robots, which can each take at least 60 cows per day. “The shed is built for 180 cows, with 180 cubicles and locking yokes for each animal – we have put a lot of attention to cow comfort,” he says. “There are enough beds for every cow, 10cm of water trough space for each cow and rubber on the feed fence – we have done everything to maximise cow comfort and therefore maximise output too.” Capacity It was a chance encounter at LAMMA 2020 where Mr Luxton stumbled across the AG Duo. “We have always had AG Maxi dispensers, but this was the first time I had seen the Duo,” he says. He liked the fact it was battery powered, and had a brush with a big capacity. Mr Luxton was able to trial the machine, the first time it had been used on a commercial dairy farm, and he said rather than being spooked, the cows did not react to it. “Because it is battery powered there is no maintenance compared
to an engine and it has enabled us to streamline the bedding up,” he says. “You would not need to charge it every day, but we do just to make sure it is always charged.” The conveyor belt helps to keep dust levels down. “It is better than having a blower to blow the sawdust out,” he says. “It has agitators inside which keep the sawdust moving around, then the dispensers drop it on to the conveyor belt. The speed of the belt can be altered, as can the agitators and auger, to allow for different types of sawdust. “You can switch each part on independently – so I can just put the brush down and use it for sweep-
AG Duo specifications rHopper capacity: 350 litres rDistribution method: conveyor belt rSpread distance: 0.9-1.2 metres rMachine weight: 320kg rDischarge height: 0.45m rDischarge speed: 215 litres/min rWidth: 0.8m rPrice: £12,500
NOVEMBER 2021 15/10/2021 14:04
