Robotic Rotary Milking: Inside a $6M Investment Paying Off Faster Than Expected
The Dairy ProQ robotic rotary, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, has proven to be an impressive addition for Victorian farmers Paul and Marsha Smith.
GEA Farm Technologies’ DairyRobot milking system combines highperformance automation with traditional dairy farming practices and makes its debut at the Fieldays.
A demonstration unit has been specially shipped to New Zealand for the event, alongside a virtual reality experience that allows farmers to explore the system in both voluntary and batch milking environments.
Craig Lowry, head of sales & service, GEA Farm Technologies NZ says DairyRobot is now available in New Zealand and combines high-performance automation with traditional dairy farming practices.
Designed specifically for Kiwi conditions, the system supports both batch and voluntary milking systems. Offering flexibility, efficiency, and control. With a compact footprint, it can be retrofitted into existing infrastructure with minimal disruption, he says.
“You really need to see it to fully understand the difference this system could make to your milking routine. It is fast, efficient and clean, creating a more sustainable milking system for your farm,” says Lowry.
The DairyRobot also provides easy access behind the cow at any time, allowing farmers to manually cup, check, treat or dry off cows.
At the core of the DairyRobot is GEA’s In- Liner Everything technology, which completes every step of the milking process, including stimulation, cleaning, milking, teat spraying, and rinsing, all in one seamless cup attachment.
The system also offers individual quarter milking, somatic cell count management, and realtime data collection, giving farmers better visibility and control over herd health and productivity.
Australian dairy farmer Michael Krichauff, who milks 210 cows at Three Bridges Robotic Dairy in South Australia, has been using GEA’s R9500 voluntary system with three robot boxes.
“We really liked the idea of a pit and the ability to manually put cups on a cow. We can go in behind the cow safely, press a button, and manually put the cups on if we have to,” says Krichauff.
“Aside from some pipework and a little concreting, we managed to use all our existing facilities. A highlight with GEA was the option of multi-sized cows in the one box – we’ve got three different sizes we can use.
“The ability to manage cell count with individual quarter management is far better than anything I’ve seen elsewhere. And GEA was the only provider that offered a good herd testing system. We just plug it in, press ‘herd test,’ go home for the night, and the next day all the samples are ready to go.”
