This is the time of year when farmers are making decisions about investing in milking equipment. There is evidence that the big spend in dairy facilities has waned somewhat. Speaking to a number of plant hire contractors over the last few weeks, many don’t seem to think they will be as busy this autumn as they have been for the past few years. Bookings for plant hire contractors are a precursor to construction. Uncertainty surrounding Brexit is definitely a factor in any slowdown in dairy development.

On the other hand, those designing milking parlours and doing business plans for dairy conversions say they’ve never been busier. Most of the demand for their services is coming from the midlands, as farmers with considerable land blocks and youth on their side are considering converting to dairy. It could be that investments are being planned for 2020 and beyond, rather than this year. This could be an opportunity for farmers to install equipment at value in 2019.

This week, we detail the expansion of a milking parlour in Tipperary, from a six-unit double-up, to a 14 unit. The difference it has made to the daily lives of the Duggan family is immense. While a considerable level of automation has been employed, the overall investment came in a reasonable cost. If the Duggan’s decided to build a new parlour on a greenfield site, then it’s likely that the cost of the development would have more than doubled.

Robotics

Bavanmore Farm is removing it’s robots and constructing a 16-unit parlour instead.

There are many reasons why robots may not suit the farm in question and there is validity in the statement that more modern robots are better, but the point still stands that robotics are not always as good as they are made out to be. It’s a case of raising awareness of this. Read about it here.