Andrew Irving, Bectonhall: life is easier with robots

Third-generation farmer Andrew farms in partnership with his parents and wife Morven at Bectonhall near Gretna. The family milked through a DeLaval 28/28 herringbone parlour for 45 years but chose to install three robots while keeping the parlour to milk lower yielding cows.

The herd of 340 pedigree Holstein Friesians has 288 in milk and 300 followers. Cows have been housed for 20 years and are calved all year round.

“Before the robots we could spend nine hours a day milking. We now only put 130 through the parlour and that still takes four hours a day. We need more time and have struggled with labour following worker retirements, so more robots and removing the parlour is the best option,” he explains.

Robots were introduced to replace the old herringbone parlour which is still used

As with many farms, the installation of robots has increased milk yield. For Andrew, who has been working hard with the herd’s genetics, having cows capable of producing 55 litres through a parlour with two milkings a day convinced him that there would be benefits to moving to robots.

“We have cows that are pushing towards 60 litres and the number at this level has increased since we have had the time to work on our genetics. High yielding cows can visit the robots five or more times a day when at their peak which is giving us more milk and improving cow health. We would have to move to three times a day in parlour to get close to this and that would require yet more labour, which is not realistic,” he says.

While some argue robots take away contact time in a parlour which reduces the overall understanding of cow health, Andrew says it has given him more time with the cows.

“We spend a lot of time with the cows in the shed when they are more relaxed. We have noticed incremental improvements in foot health, mastitis cases and cell counts while also being able to use data from the robots to monitor cows that have showed cause for concern.”

Historically, milk fever was an issue. However, following the robot installation, a transition diet for the dry cows was introduced that included straw, wholecrop and silage with dry cow nuts.

Cows have taken really well to the robotic milking machines and are producing more milk

“Our milk fever cases were at 5%, but that has dropped to below 2%. This means more cows are reaching peak production faster and holding it for longer which is also helping push up yields. We have also stopped giving the cows a bolus at the end of lactation which is saving money,” he adds.

SCCs have dropped to 101 and mastitis cases are much lower than when the cows were milked through the parlour. This is partly due to the robots’ four quarter milking system.

“We were definitely over-milking some cows in the parlour, and this was having a detrimental effect on teat health. The four quarter milking system in the robots is more efficient, takes more milk, and has helped bring down mastitis problems,” he says.

The standout benefit has been foot health because cows no longer having to stand for hours to be milked. Foot trimmer visits have reduced, saving the farm money. A visit is made to cows 100 days post-calving and again when the cows dry off.

“Making cows wait three hours to be milked in the parlour feels archaic and was definitely detrimental to foot health. The cows are now showing signs that we will get additional lactations too which will have a positive effect on the overall cost of milking because we will be able to start selling in calf heifers,” he says.

With 400 followers and a closed herd, the farm has historically bred replacements and not had a surplus.

Andrew milks 228 Holstein Friesian cows at Bectonhall which are housed all year round

However, with the robots Andrew sees additional income.

“This is another reason we have been improving our genetics. We want to realise the best price possible for any cows we sell and to do so we needed more time to get the genetics right. The robots have given us this time,” he says.

Working with Worldwide Sires, he uses sexed semen and has been breeding cows for teat position to better suit the robots.

“We look for strong legs, good feet and a sturdy frame, but we have also been adapting the cows to the robots by selecting cows with teat position that suits the spacing in the robot,” he adds.

Cows that fail to AI to sexed semen are given Limousin or Belgian Blue beef semen and reared as bull beef. “We still fatten 200 bulls every year and beef heifer replacements are sold as breeding or fat heifers,” Andrew says.

Labour shortages and the reliance on more labour to attend a parlour have been a big part of the farm’s decision to go fully robotic.

While robots may be a more expensive way to milk, Andrew suggests that his time is being better utilised and with a service plan from Mathers Ltd he no longer has to spend time replacing liners and replenishing chemicals. “Mathers have been a big help through the process of moving to robots.

“Their advice and the advice from DeLaval has helped us to navigate away from parlour milking and the service plan helps us to manage our costs more effectively,” he says.

The robots have been installed with two side by side in one section of the shed and a third robot which stands alone.

The single robot has been used for newly-calved cows coming to the robots for the first time with more experienced cows housed in the larger area of the shed that houses the two robots. The two new robots will be added in a new shed which will sit parallel to where the existing two robots are housed.

“Running both robots and a parlour has been surprisingly expensive. The hybrid model means we are using twice as much water, more consumables and replacing more parts,” he adds.

Letting go of the parlour will still be tricky as he has grown used to having it as a back up measure. However, with two more robots being installed later this year, he feels confident that he will have new options to deal with any issues.

“If a group of cows go red, showing that they have not milked for 12 hours, we put them through the parlour. Without a parlour we will have to adapt and find a way to use the robots as an outlet. Having the one robot set apart may be the best way to deal with this,” he says.

Currently the parlour is used to milk lower yielding cows that come off the robots at about 220 days or when yield has dropped to around 30 litres. We find the cows protest when taken away from the robots, they seem to find the robots comforting. On average, we lose 5-6 litres of milk when the cows are taken off the robots due to the stress of a group change, a change of diet which we find makes them pine for the robots.”

With the additional robots planned to arrive before the end of 2024 he is preparing to switch off the parlour for the last time.

“It will be sad in some ways and a little nerve-wracking, but we are making the right decision and the cows will give more milk and be more comfortable.

“My son Murray is playing a more active role on the farm, and I know that he will see the full benefit of the robots in the future,” he concludes.