Technews: The latest in agricultural technology from around the world

by Annemarie Bremner

milk. Being able to do this efficiently is a great benefit on a dairy farm,” says Ludo Bols, Feeding Systems Specialist at DeLaval. “By including the OptiWagon as part of the Optimat system you have an efficient and flexible feeding system that can help to save valuable time and limit energy costs on farms,” Ludo says.

DeLaval stands by its concept of having separate products for mixing and cutting, and distributing the feed. “This way we develop the product to do the job it is meant to do in the best possible way,” says Ludo.

Capable of providing various animal groups with a different feed mix up to 12 times a day, the recipes and routes are set up and adjusted via the firm’s DelPro farm management system.

DeLaval says that the Optimat system is installed on more than 600 farms, mainly in Europe. Described as simple and effective, the standard version is suitable for feeding 120 to 130 cows. The master version is a fully automatic feeding solution for dairy herds of up to 1 000 animals. (Source: Delaval.com)

Therange of DeLaval robots is now being expanded with an autonomous feed distribution robot – OptiWagon. Feeding is one of the biggest costs on a dairy farm and, in addition, the most labour-intensive activity after milking. DeLaval is launching the new robot as a module in its complete automated feeding solution, DeLaval Optimat™.

This total feeding solution provides everything from weighing, cutting, and mixing to delivering the feed to the feed table. It will be available in most European markets shortly.

This latest robot is designed as a module for use with the firm’s Optimat stationary automatic feeding system. This mixes the ingredients, which are then conveyed into the tub of the OptiWagon for feeding.

“The new feed distribution robot helps to optimise the conversion of the roughage dry matter into