Landcorp - Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit

Sensors on milk lines from each bail in the dairytake a recording every time a cow is milked. Asmilk flows through the sensor, a high frequencyelectrical signal is used to develop a “milk-outsignature” for each cow. The system analysesvariations to indicate signs of mastitis, cow yieldand other performance issues.INFORMED MILKINGMeasurementat everymilkingSome cows produce more milk than others. Boosting thenumber of high performers in the dairy is good for herdproductivity and ultimately financial returns.Landcorp uses MilkHub to see exactly howeach cow is performing – and the informationguides decisions on herd composition, healthtreatments, feeding and more.MilkHub is a dairy management systemwith in-shed devices that “sense” theattributes of milk from each cow, and withsophisticated data gathering and analysiscapabilities. MilkHub, combined withelectronic identification of individual animals,puts a powerful information tool in thehands of Landcorp managers, on-farm andin Wellington office. It also enables them toautomate some basic functions in the dairy.This world-leading technology has beendeveloped in New Zealand since 2001, withcollaboration from Landcorp over the pastfour years. MilkHub now operates in 10 ofour dairies and the roll-out continues. Weare beginning to see big benefits in terms ofhigher milk production and reduced somaticcell counts, and of savings in drug and feedcosts and in reduced need for traditionalherd testing. Now, key attributes of theproduction from each cow are visible at everymilking and without the milk being touched!First and foremost, MilkHub gives an accuratemeasure of milk yield at every milking,along with indications of any mastitis inthe cow and any malfunction in the milkingequipment. Each animal’s performance canbe monitored from day to day and in relationto the herd average – and decisions thenmade on detailed information. “If you have1,000 cows you can split them any wayyou want to give higher performers moreor less feed, to feed up low performers or todraft them out of the herd altogether,” saysPeter Aitken, Farm Business Manager on theWeka complex. MilkHub has been working inWeka’s Bell Hill dairy since August 2009 andit has been built into the new dairy on theneighbouring Blairs unit, opened in June 2010.27