At the forefront of innovation, the DeLaval VMS robotic milking system exploits a cow’s natural behaviour cycle of feeding, resting and ruminating, and is built around the fact that each cow decides when she wants to feed. DeLaval’s Voluntary Milking System first appeared on the market 20 years ago and revolutionised the way in which dairy farmers could manage their business. Since then DeLaval has continually developed, modified and improved its VMS, adding the OCC™ cell counting system, Herd Navigator™ software and a new model in 2015 including the Body Condition Scoring (BCS) camera.
The new DeLaval VMS incorporates a host of improvements that will enable farmers to do more with less. At the heart of the system is the milking arm – which in many ways replicates actions of the human arm. New software and the highest ever quality camera assess the best and most accurate way to attach the teat cups. The system learns and adapts to each individual udder, memorising the settings and resulting in attachment rates of 99.8 per cent, taking away the need to teach the machine manually with the entry of each new cow.
Attachment of teat cups is 50 per cent faster than the previous model, milking capacity is up by 10 per cent to a potential 3,500 kg of milk a day, yet running costs are lower. The integrated DeLaval InSight™ system is able to find the teat fast and accurately, giving the cow a stress-free and relaxed experience.
A major advance is in teat spraying. The V300 & 310 are fitted with the DeLaval PureFlow™ system which cleans each teat individually with a 99 per cent teat spray hit rate. Increased stimulation from the PureFlow system also results in a 15 per cent higher milk flow. A new user interface – DeLaval InControl™ mobile app allows for remote control of the system as well as access to information.
Passing an automatic gate after feeding, a cow’s identity is read by the system. If that particular cow has only recently been milked it is routed to the resting area, but if it is eight hours since the last milking, or the computer’s stored data calculates that the cow is holding eight kilos of milk, it is diverted to the VMS milking pen. When comfortably in the pen a portion of feed is dispensed in the robot manger to keep the cow occupied during the milking process.
Now the system’s hydraulic robotic arm comes into action. It’s fast, quiet, robust and gentle, and its repetitive procedures are consistent too – just as the cows like it. Each teat is individually cleaned with warm water and air, then stimulated, pre-milked and dried before milking. Only a few seconds are needed for optimum teat sanitisation, which results in high milk quality milking capacity. The arm automatically locates the teats, attaches the teat cups, re-attaches if needed, aligns the milk tube and sprays the teats after milking.
Controlling the milking is fast and intuitive thanks to a touch-screen interface. The system identifies the cow, displays milking performance for each udder quarter, recording time, yield, flow, conductivity and blood. The management software also provides instant information on the status of each cow, alerting the farmer to anything that requires attention.
For more information on VMS technology or to arrange a quotation for the V300 system, speak to the T H WHITE Dairy team today.
