An upgraded version of German technology manufacturer GEA’s automated milking system, newly available in North America, allows producers to run up to four milking robots from one supply unit for power and water and decrease time-per-cow in the robot by up to 26 seconds.
“We’re excited to help push farm efficiency even further,” said GEA automated milking system (AMS) North American business development manager Stuart Marshall, in a recent media release announcing new features on the Dairy Robot R9500. The features were available in early 2021 in Europe and then rolled out a few months later on this side of the Atlantic.
Why it matters: Fine-tuning of maintenance schedules and the robot’s completion of tasks required for milking a cow should result in cost savings for farmers using updated R9500s.
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Jerome Voyer, GEA’s Canada-wide AMS sales specialist, told Farmtario the 2021 edition represents a combination of several upgrades released over the past few years for the R9500. Thanks to the unique modular nature of GEA’s technology – elements of existing R9500s can be upgraded without installing a brand new unit – some of the features described as “new” have already found their way onto Canadian farms.
Examples, he said, are better-quality parts sourced by the company after learning through experience that the original part doesn’t last as long as expected. Voyer noted the modular aspects of the GEA robots have been available since 2015, and he’s always happy to tell a producer their R9500 can be upgraded or paired with a new robot during an expansion without having to buy a whole new unit.
A representative from GEA’s North American headquarters in Illinois touted the four-robot supply unit capacity as one of the most noteworthy aspects of the 2021 upgrades. And Voyer confirmed that’s a good selling point, given the potential for cost-effective operation compared to separate units for each robot supplying water for cleaning, compressed air for gate operation, and electricity.
But he said since the announcement of the 2021 upgrades, the most excitement generated on-farm in Canada has been for key software changes affecting maintenance schedules and “box time” – or the average time between one cow entering the stall and the next cow entering the stall.
“The software is a big chunk of what people are talking about because we were able to reduce the box time by up to 26 seconds,” he said. “That’s huge when you think about how much that adds up to over the day.”
It can increase number of milkings per cow or even delay the need for considering an additional robot to handle a growing herd.
Close to half of those 26 seconds came through what’s now a simultaneous post-milking cleaning of the inside of the milking units, the exterior of the milking units, and the camera that identifies which cow entered the stall. Previously, each of these steps occurred in succession, each taking about six seconds.
With the new R9500 software, it all happens at once.
Canadian producers, Voyer added, also like the upgraded maintenance schedule software. Based on several years of experience providing service to the various parts of the system, he explained, GEA has fine-tuned the schedule to reflect the fact some parts don’t need to be serviced as frequently.
The result is a more cost-effective service package.
Other unique aspects of GEA’s technology – available in new robots or as segment-by-segment upgrades thanks to the company’s modular approach – include quarter-by-quarter sensing of somatic cell count, and its “the In-Liner Everything” milking unit that also fore-strips, pre-dips, cleans and post-dips the cows’ teats.
GEA also boasts a “separation mode” allowing a series of special needs cows to be milked and milk diverted away from the bulk tank.
Also new with the 2021 version is a relocated service access drawer for easier access and is “now more ergonomic and accessible to key components,” GEA said in the release. “The drawer features a new larger design, along with colour-coded hoses matching up to each individual quarter throughout the service module for faster, more intuitive maintenance.”
