DeLaval AMR in use on a real farm
Stefan and Karin Löwenborg have been testing the AMRsystem since April 2010 at their farm in Southern Sweden. They began by milking 300 cows on the industry-first automatic milking rotary and are now moving toward milking 500. The chance for staff to make dairy farming a desirable career at Odensviholm farm and the possibility to increase to 800 milking cows with no extra investment are the key strengths the DeLaval AMR has brought Stefan Löwenborg, the world's first dairy farmer to use the automatic milking rotary. "Our AMR installation will be able to milk up to 90 cows per hour and operate 9 hours twice a day. This, without the need to hire new employees and make further financial investments," the fifth generation pioneer dairy farmer said. "We developed the system keeping large scale dairy farmers' needs in mind. That's why the AMR is all about keeping costs down and working as effectively as possible," DeLaval Vice President Business Area Capital Goods Andrew Turner told reporters at Odensviholm farm. "AMR farmers will be able to focus their time and energy on their own personal and business priorities rather than being confined by daily milking routines," he added. Karin Löwenborg thinks that the DeLaval AMR can also be a good way to attract and keep quality labor. "People who want to work on a dairy farm are interested in the animals, so if you offer them the opportunity to focus on that aspect of the job instead of making them milk all day your farm becomes a more attractive workplace," she said. "And it's also a fun job for those who enjoy working with technology and computers." While there have been some challenges with the system along the way, since it is still a test installation, Stefan Löwenborg praises the help he has received from DeLaval service technicians. "They have really been very supportive," he said. "They can change components quickly if something isn't working properly." The Odensviholm installation has been part of the pilot phase' which caters now to the final stages of development and the first stages of commercialization. Pilot farms are a standard procedure for DeLaval with new milking equipment, Andrew Turner explained. "The robotic rotary is not just an innovative piece of equipment. It represents a new way of farming. We are focusing now on making sure that the upcoming commercial installations can reap the benefits from this revolutionary technology," Andrew Turner said. DeLaval is testing the AMR on farms in Sweden and in Australia and plans a number of commercial releases in those two countries during 2011. It will be available in other selected markets in 2012. Please contact your local DeLaval organization as solutions vary in different countries. 05.11.2011