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Thanks to a new robotic milking system cows get to make their own decisions on when they want to be milked. And that's OK with the lucky who gets to sleep in.
Robotic milking is being taken to a new level with the introduction of a new milking system called the "Astronaut" introduced by a Dutch Company.
Automatic milking isn't new but this system, which allows the cow to decide itself when it wants to be milked, is a first.
The secret of its success lies in the fact that the cow can gain access to the new system 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Lely, the manufacturer, maintains this takes the stress out of waiting to be milked.
[Els Versluis, Lely Marketing Manager]:
"You got to understand, the cow can be milked at the time that she prefers, cows can be very dominant creatures, so you can imagine if there are only two times per day when they can be milked, that there is always a lot of stress to be milked as the first one in the herd. With our robotic system, that's working 24 hours seven days a week, so all cows get their own rhythm in the milking."
The cows udders are cleaned before the milking starts and then connected to the machine by laser.
The Astronaut even runs a health check on each animal as it's being milked.
[Els Versluis, Lely Marketing Manager]:
"What is crucial for robotic milking management is that you know that cows are healthy. It's far more important to have a good feeding balance and management and really spend the time in the herd."
The system can even adjust the feed allocation to suit the productivity of each individual animal.
So the lucky farmer is now getting an easier life.
