RIVERHOLME PASTURES
Page 78
Coast & Country
A robotic opportunity not to missed
Riverholme Pastures
Farm manager Rhys Grant hoses down the yard.
Alvin and Judith Reid’s new dairy shed at Pleasant Point near Timaru in Canterbury is not quite “milking the cows from the comfort of a warm living room” – but it’s the next best thing. Sitting comfortably in a large swivel chair in the dairy shed office, with two huge screens and two smaller ones in front of him, Alvin can zoom into any paddock on the farm, the raceway and dairy shed and read the cow’s tag number and see which one is coming in to be milked.
There are several cameras mounted on the roof, which relay images through a computer to the large screens. “I have always been interested in technology and when I was on the Dexcel board I was involved with the first robotic milking machines at Hamilton, to see if they would work. When converting this dairy farm and building a new dairy shed, I had the chance to install them and see for myself,” says Alvin. The farm is 132 hectares effective of river flats and has the Opihi and Tengawai rivers on either side. Alvin and Judith had owned the land for 12 years, formerly using it as dairy support for their other dairy farms.
Planning for the dairy conversion started in 2012. It took six months to get “change of land use” approval from Canterbury Regional Council. Once approved, building started and Alvin was able to plan his robotic dairy shed.
Robotic system
During 30 years of dairy farming he’d built up a good relationship with DeLaval and decided to indulge his love of new technology and install their robotic system or Voluntary Milking System – the first DeLaval units in the South Island. There are six units placed in a circle, rather than a straight line. “To help manage the
system better – think automation, think circles,” says Alvin. DeLaval district manager Grant Vickers says his company appreciates Alvin’s loyalty to the brand during the years and the DeLaval team was delighted to work on this project with him. “It took three years to come to fruition and we discussed all the options available. We designed the complete system including pasture management, which is a three-way voluntary grazing system.” The cows come in voluntarily over a 24-hour period to be milked.
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