Friday, 28 June 2024 10:55

ErgoPOD set for 2025 farm debut

Written by  Staff Reporters
ErgoPOD will be commercially available on farms from 2025. ErgoPOD will be commercially available on farms from 2025.

Waikato Milking Systems has unveiled the final production version of its ErgoPOD, a state-of-the-art semi-robotic technology designed to increase milking speed, productivity, and efficiency in the parlour.

ErgoPOD will be available for installation on farms next year. After years of development, the prototype was introduced a year ago and at this year’s Fieldays, visitors saw the final production version.

WMS executive chairman Jamie Mikkelson says that to unlock the significant productivity gains that ErgoPOD now provides, the company embarked on a mission several years ago to understand the barriers and challenges that limit milking efficiency.

By studying the work routines of milking operators, they identified the activities that increased effort for the operator and posed musculoskeletal challenges leading to fatigue and health impacts. “We also meticulously analysed every aspect of the milking routine to identify opportunities for automation that would reduce labour and make milking easier,” says Mikkelson.

The culmination of their research and development efforts, guided by a milking science- based approach, resulted in a groundbreaking milking management system. This system significantly reduces the effort required in milking, breaks productivity barriers, and creates a healthier, safer milking environment.

The company says after years of development, ErgoPOD promises to revolutionise milking for dairy farmers worldwide.

More like this

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.

Fencing smarts from the Emerald Isle

While a leading New Zealand brand seems to have a stranglehold on the local electric fencing market, a company from the Green Isle seems to be making significant inroads, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere.

Featured

Top innovators announced

The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

RainWave set to cause a splash

Traditional spreading via tankers or umbilical systems have typically discharged effluent onto splash-plates, resulting in small droplet sizes, which in…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Misguided campaign

OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is…

Fieldays goes urban

OPINION: Once upon a time the Fieldays were for real farmers, salt of the earth people who thrived on hard…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter