ICAR Technical Series no. 7 - Nitra Proc.

Veysset et al.• Options of the milking parlourEquipping the milking parlour with all the options leads to an increasein annual repayments compared to a simple milking parlour. The extracost of the AMS compared to a simple milking parlour is from 30 000 to40 000 F higher than a milking parlour with all the options.• The depreciation period of the investmentsIncreasing the depreciation period from 7 to 10 years makes it possibleto lower the annual repayments. Since investing in an AMS is moreonerous, it thus benefits from a greater reduction in annual repaymentsin absolute value than that of the milking parlours, hence an extra costreduced by 10 000 to 40 000 F depending on the price of the equipment.Acquiring references on the motivations behind the purchase of AMS andespecially on the conditions of the technical, economic and human successof its installation is essential to help future potential buyers in making adecision before investing.ConclusionThe structures which have become equipped with an AMS are largestructures where milk production is often in competition with other animalor plant production units. This diversity of production leads to choices inhow to use labour. Labour therefore plays a major role in deciding on theinvestment and the issue of labour must not be considered solely from thepoint of view of milking but as part of an overall assessment (Dedieu et al.1993).Despite the fact that they have a higher production volume than thenational average, the most suitable farms for making the AMS profitableare family structures of fewer than 65 dairy cows.The milking parlour certainly remains adequate for a large majority ofdairy farms (farms which are too small for such a large investment, grazingbasedsystems, farmers who are reluctant about computers…).Some hypotheses have been put forward and time is needed to see whetherthey can be validated: technological innovations on the next generation ofAMS and milking parlours, life expectancy of an AMS, maintenance andoperating costs, second-hand market, evolution in the prices of differenttypes of milking machinery. The more references which are available, themore potential buyers will be informed objectively and we will have atrue idea of the AMS market.ICAR Technical Series - No 7149