Pressure on labour and the need to meet performance criteria and make a living, have encouraged one Herefordshire-based dairy farmer to grab technology by the horns. So much so that Phil Brooke of Nicholson Farm in Leominster has upgraded to the latest activity monitoring system and invested in robotic milking.
Since setting up the new unit, Phil has also converted to organic milk production. With the commitment to a high-tech system, Phil decided that producing high-quality milk that met the organic criteria – and secured him a better price – was the way to go. He explains that before making this decision, “It was a fairly stressful time and under our milk contract, we were experiencing the worst of the volatility.”
• Effective management of herd health and fertility
• Reduced somatic cell counts
• Increased yield to 9,200 kg of milk at 3.8% fat and 3.2% protein
• Able to adjust poor-performing feed rations, before they impact production
• Access to herd data on PC, tablet or mobile phone, for real-time insights and remote management
Phil is already reaping the benefits of the new SenseTime solution in his high-production herd, which is currently yielding 9,200 kg of milk at 3.8% fat and 3.2% protein. “The rumination data is extremely useful. Information comes through quickly – it’s updated every 20 minutes – and the algorithms in the program automatically pick out poorly cows and highlight these under ‘Cows to inspect’ or ‘Cow distress’ headings.”
