Customer story
MIOne DairyRobot R9500
New GEA milking robots provide peace in the barn and in the head
Almost ten years ago, Jeremy Huyghe from Koekelare chose GEA MIone milking robots. They performed well, but today there is a need for more milking capacity and smoother cow traffic. “By switching to the GEA DairyRobot R9500, we save time, work more flexible and milk more,” says Jeremy. “It was the right decision at the right time.”
Jeremy graduated from VIVES College at Roeselare in 2015. He knew from a young age that he wanted to farm, and when his parents expanded their poultry business, Jeremy was given the opportunity to take over the arable and dairy farm. “We were still milking with a tandem milking system,” he says. “I was interested in automating with milking robots and went to an inspiration trip to the Netherlands with a GEA account manager. There we saw the MIone milking robots in operation and decided to install two robots.”
A new start
Afterwards, the family got the opportunity to build a new barn across the old farm. They got a license for 260 dairy cows. “So, it gave us the opportunity to expand,” Jeremy says. “Two extra robots allowed us to milk the 220 cows smoothly. The modern barn with four MIone robots was a breath of fresh air in terms of working comfort.”
The need for more comfort and capacity
However, both agriculture and technology do not stand still, and in nine years, a lot has changed. “We wanted to further improve the potential of our barn and our cows even better, and then we found that we encountered a limited capacity for our herd with the MIone robots,” Jeremy says. “We noticed a need for more milking capacity, smoother cow traffic and less working time for troubleshooting the robots or intervening in case of problems with the cows.” Being very satisfied with the technology and support at from GEA, Jeremy got in touch with GEA again. GEA's new generation DairyRobot R9500 proved to be a perfect fit for the dairy farm's needs.
Free cow traffic works
Jeremy initially had some concerns about the transition from controlled to free cow traffic, but those worries proved unjustified. “Now, our 240 cows easily find their way to the milking robots in tall booth design position, avoiding congestion in the waiting area. The connection time has also improved enormously. On average, cows now spend barely six minutes in the milking box. In addition, the DairyRobot R9500 is suitable for hanging heifers or control cows by hand, when desired. The number of cows we have to collect ourselves, fluctuates around ten animals,” Jeremy notes.
Peace of mind
“We can now leave the farm occasionally with peace of mind. The new robots offer much more flexibility so that I can better combine the dairy business with our arable farming and coarse vegetables,” Jeremy says. The fact that the DairyRobot R9500 collects and shares a lot of data around cow health is also a big advantage for Jeremy's wife Stephanie. Cows with an elevated somatic cell count, can be quickly detected and treated thanks to the continuous quarter-hourly somatic cell count measurement. Problems can be solved quickl,y and the health and milk quality of the herd increases. “As a veterinarian, I can only be pleased by that,” says Stephanie. “Another important aspect for me isthat teat cleaning is done entirely in the milking cup, from cleaning to dipping. That is a huge step forward for the udder health of the animals.”
Milking even better
In the near future, Jeremy plans to take further steps forward in milking results. “We now have the capacity and technology to make our cows perform even better in the milking parlour. With good guidance from GEA and some adjustments in feed management, I want to strive for 35 litres per cow, or even more. We used to be at 2.5 milkings per animal, today it is already three and I expect this to increase further.” For Jeremy, the conversion was the right decision at the right time. “I definitely recommend other dairy farmers to inform about the possibilities of the new generation of milking robots. We now have much more peace of mind in the barn and in our heads and that is priceless.”
