A dairy farmer considering a move to a robotic milking system may well be concerned about the cost of electricity to power the robots.
As they run 24 hours a day, there is a feeling that electricity bills will be high. And with the recent increases in power costs, that could be a worry.
In contrast, a parlour is run two or three times a day and electricity use is limited to the times of milking.
Tommy Armstrong from Lely Centre Eglish has analysed the use of electricity on the Hamilton farm, Collone, Co Armagh, over the past six years. During that period the farm moved from 2X milking in their parlour to 3X milking and then to robotic milking following the installation of four A5 model Lely robots.
Tommy Armstrong, Lely Centre Eglish, speaking at an event at the Hamilton farm, Collone.
The data show that in the period of time from when the robots became operational, more electricity has been used. However, in terms of pence per litre of milk produced, the robots compare well with the previous parlour method.
The key point made by Armstrong is that the yield per cow showed a marked increase in the robotic system and the increase in yield has kept the per-litre cost of the electricity under control.
Measurements of electricity use for the six months from August 2021 to January 2022 for the four robots and the other uses of power on the farm, gave a total electricity cost of 1.2p/l.
When milking 2X through the parlour, milk yield per cow averaged 8,500l and electricity costs were similar, at 1.2p/l. Following the move to 3X per day milking, more electricity was used, and while milk yields were also up, power costs rose to 1.3p/l.
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A dairy farmer considering a move to a robotic milking system may well be concerned about the cost of electricity to power the robots.
As they run 24 hours a day, there is a feeling that electricity bills will be high. And with the recent increases in power costs, that could be a worry.
In contrast, a parlour is run two or three times a day and electricity use is limited to the times of milking.
Tommy Armstrong from Lely Centre Eglish has analysed the use of electricity on the Hamilton farm, Collone, Co Armagh, over the past six years. During that period the farm moved from 2X milking in their parlour to 3X milking and then to robotic milking following the installation of four A5 model Lely robots.
Tommy Armstrong, Lely Centre Eglish, speaking at an event at the Hamilton farm, Collone.
The data show that in the period of time from when the robots became operational, more electricity has been used. However, in terms of pence per litre of milk produced, the robots compare well with the previous parlour method.
The key point made by Armstrong is that the yield per cow showed a marked increase in the robotic system and the increase in yield has kept the per-litre cost of the electricity under control.
Measurements of electricity use for the six months from August 2021 to January 2022 for the four robots and the other uses of power on the farm, gave a total electricity cost of 1.2p/l.
When milking 2X through the parlour, milk yield per cow averaged 8,500l and electricity costs were similar, at 1.2p/l. Following the move to 3X per day milking, more electricity was used, and while milk yields were also up, power costs rose to 1.3p/l.
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