Automation In The Dairy Past, Present and Future

Jenny Jago

Outline

• The Past

– drivers of change in dairy design

• The Present

– trends

– meet the technology adopters

– the robots have arrived

• The Future

– operating environment

– a view

THE PAST

Major drivers of change • More efficient labour utilisation

• Better working conditions

The Adoption of Machine Milking: 1940

% Herds machine milked

New Zealand 55

Australia 55

Sweden 35

UK 30

USA 10

Denmark 10

Rest of Europe <5%

THE PRESENT • trends

• meet the technology adopters

• the robots have arrived

Change in Dairy Type

Technology Use (% farms)

Technology Herringbone Rotary Rotary (2010)

(n=80)

Teat sprayer 10 49 97

Cup removers 9 54 100

Stock weigher 4 3 45

Auto-drafting 2 11 100

Milk meters 1 6 100

Heat detection 0 0.5 30

In line mastitis 2 4 60

In bail feeding 18 43 84

Who are the technology adopters?

80 Rotary Study Farms

Herd size 790

Hectares 240

Seasonal calving 76%

Cows per person 180

Age of dairy 59% < 3yrs old

Farm Profile: Production System

• 99% imported feed for lactating cows

• 84% in-bail feeding

• 74% used imported feed all lactation

Technologies of Greatest Benefits

Automatic

Cup

Remover

Satisfaction with Technologies

Technology % Farmers Satisfied

Auto-cup remover 91%

Auto-drafting 84%

Auto-teat sprayer 77%

Mastitis detection* 57%

Reasons for Investment

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

a) Labour saving

b) Attract staff

c) Retain staff

d) Efficient feeding

e) ID cow health

f) ID oestrus

g) ID culls

h) Milking easier

Issues

1 Integration with other technologies

2 Lack of learning networks

3 Lack of trust in the technology

4 Link between technology and people on farm

5 Unexpected learning costs

Benefits

1 Saved time

2 Made herd management easier

3 Positive impact on profit

Labour and

skills support

Management

enhancement

Robotic Milking

THE

FUTURE

– operating environment

– a view

Fewer but bigger herds

Growth and consolidation

Source: New Zealand Dairy Land Use & Production 1990-2030

Smaller milk suppliers are significant

2012 2030

Source: New Zealand Dairy Statistics

People

Labour force trends

Dairy Farm: Hours worked

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

1-9 hours 10-19 hours 20-29 hours 30-34 hours 35-39 hours 40-44 hours 45-49 hours 50-59 hours 60+ hours

Dairy On-Farm NZ Workforce

(Taylor, 2009)

12.1

8.8

6.6

3.3

9.6

21

15.3

16.6

0

5

10

15

20

25

Too stressful Work too many hours

Unsociable hours

Pay

Manager

Staff

Why people leave the industry

Labour productivity: Cows per FTE

2030: Projection 186 cows/FTE

current growth of 2.7 cows/FTE/year

• 5500 herds with 300 or fewer cows

• Majority in aging herringbones

• Experienced owner-operators farming for

more than 20 years

• Many shed will need replacing

• Owners consider their future in dairying…….

Something to ponder

Farm structures

• Small to medium size farms (<400 cows)

– 1 to 3 FTE per farm

– High skilled multi-taskers with unskilled support

• Large farms

– More syndicate and corporate farming structures

– Specialised staff and unskilled support

Summary

• Improved labour productivity and better

work conditions key drivers

• Growth has presented challenges

• New technologies are emerging

• Automation will be an increasing feature on

New Zealand dairy farms

• Going beyond simple labour substitution is

the big challenge