After installing a robotic milking machine over six years ago Nigel and Alison Boyd have ripped it out again and are going back to the traditional herringbone. The theoretically labour saving robots turned out to be a frustrating experience for the Boyds, who are based just outside Dumfries.

Their 100-cow herd is now being milked twice a day in the new herringbone parlour.

“The theory was the Robots could save labour, that they would milk each cow to the full potential and that the machines were better for the health of the cow,” Nigel told Farmers Journal Scotland. “In practice, we found this wasn’t always the case. Cows made their way to the machines where they could be milked in some cases up to four to five times a day. This brought on problems as maintaining consistent milk yield during the lactation period could be disrupted due to the cow’s udder changing shape as the lactation progressed. In many cases this could cause the cow to dry off prematurely as she was not getting properly milked.”

He explained that the advertised idea of saving labour didn’t come to pass because someone on the farm had to be available on call 24/7. At any given time a problem would be detected with the machine and you would receive an automated call. Usually the farmer would either fix the issue themselves or call for help from the manufacturer’s service team.

The Boyds found that it was difficult to get relief milking staff as the machine was so specialised that only someone who had been trained to work it could fill in. Trained service technicians were more expensive than ordinary farm labourers, they found.

The increased number of daily milkings took their toll on the cow’s feet due to additional walking. This in turn, interfered with the lactation.

The robot arm and sensor camera proved to be temperamental. With each cow having a different stance and younger heifers prone to kicking off the clusters, the computer regularly notified the person on duty that there was a problem.

Nigel and his family believe their current, more conventional, system leads to a more sustainable working life. Relief milkers are more readily available, he gets his time off and it is not interrupted.

“There is a definite finishing time when you have switched the milking machine off and I know that all the cows are milked properly – all of the time.”