In recent years, automation has been playing a greater role on Irish farms. This has especially been the case for many new entrants into the dairy sector who have invested in new milking parlours and robotic milking systems.

This week, we travelled to the Ballywater Wind Farm to meet Ivan Allen, a new entrant into dairying.

In the past 16 months, Ivan installed what was then Ireland’s first Trioliet automatic feeding system and the country’s first Teagle Tomahawk C12 bale and grain processor.

Last year, the Allen family installed both Ireland’s first Trioliet automatic feeding system and the country’s first Teagle Tomahawk C12 bale and grain processor.

The farm

Located between the villages of Kilmuckridge and Ballygarrett, Ivan Allen calves down 550 cows annually, running the cows in an indoor milking system.

The Allen family entered dairying in 2019, sourcing their herd of high-genetic merit cows from France, the Netherlands, Germany and some here in Ireland.

Due to the heavy nature of the farm, the decision was made to house the cows year-round in purpose-built sheds, while milking duties are performed using eight newly installed Fullwood Packo robots.

The farm also has 550 acres of tillage and has a lamb finishing enterprise.

The T40 is the largest feed kitchen available. It is made up of eight bunkers which can store up to 15t of feed in each.

Trioliet system

The Dutch manufacturer has been building automatic feed systems since 2006. Although it is understood several such systems have been sold in Ireland recently, the Allens were the first to install a Trioliet automatic feeding system in the country.

This system continues to be the only system commissioned in Ireland to date and is one of the largest Trioliet systems operational across Europe.

Ivan noted that they opted for an automatic feeding system over a conventional tractor and diet feeder system for several reasons.

“We felt an automatic feeding system would be the best fit to complement our indoor milking system.

“We like to feed our cows very regularly to keep the feed as fresh as possible. This in turn helps to keep intake levels high and maximise production.

“If we were to try and feed the groups of cows and other cattle as regularly with a tractor and diet feeder, it would tie up one labour unit for a large period of time.

“And I honestly don’t think we would be able to feed the various livestock groups as accurately and as consistently.

“Once the feed bunkers in the kitchen are kept topped up and the robot is setup, the system largely works away by itself.

“If we were running a traditional grass-based spring-calving system, we wouldn’t have opted for this type of system. As our cows are housed all year, it means the system is working 24/7.

“We initially looked at three systems – the Lely, DeLaval and Trioliet.

“The Lely system wasn’t big enough for what we wanted.

“We travelled to England and Holland to look at a number of Trioliet systems in action. We felt it was the best fit for us.

“It has the ability to feed into troughs, which meant we didn’t have the requirement for any feed passageways in our milking shed, allowing us to fit more cubicles and make the best out of the shed.”

The Allens like to keep the bunkers topped up with fresh feed every second day.

How does it work?

The Trioliet automatic feeding system consists of two key components - the feed kitchen and the robot.

Trioliet offers three different spec feed kitchens – the T20, T30 and the T40. Feed kitchen selection depends on several factors, such as the size of the farm, the number of fodder types, the number of feeding groups and the existing fodder storage method.

Meanwhile, there are also three robot systems available – a suspended feeding robot, a mains-powered wheeled robot or a battery-powered wheeled robot.

The Allens opted for the Triomatic T40 feed kitchen and the Triomatic HP 2 300 suspended feeding robot.

The robot moves around the building using a suspended rail system. The mix set up and any modifications are carried out through a computer in the farm office. Meanwhile, any issues or faults are sent via text.

The cutting unit features two circular discs, one to cut the forage while the other is used to distribute it onto the adjacent conveyor belt.

The feed kitchen

The T40 is the largest feed kitchen/feed storage available. It is made up of eight bunkers which can store feed for approximately three to five days.

However, the Allens like to keep them topped up with fresh feed every second day. Different feedstuffs can be loaded into each bunker.

These particular bunkers are 8.9m long and 1.95m wide (the largest available) and can store up to 15t of feed in each.

On the day of our visit, bunkers one and two were full of first-cut silage for the milking cows, bunker three had second-and third-cut silage for dry cows, bunker four had wholecrop, bunkers five and six had maize silage and bunkers seven and eight had chopped wheaten straw.

Meanwhile, chopped and washed beet is used in two adjacent standalone stainless steel 4t bins.

In addition, four 7t Crowley silos hold the various rations. Each of the bins and the silos has independent augers, which are used to load the robots.

A rotating conveyor floor (powered by electric motors) in each bunker keeps the feed pushed forward to the cutting unit.

The cutting unit, which is also powered by electric motors, features two circular discs. One disc is used to cut the forage, while the other is used to distribute it on to the adjacent conveyor belt.

The cutting thickness can be adjusted from 2.5cm to 20cm for each bunker, while the vertical speed can also be varied from bunker to bunker.

The cutting system sprays water on to the cutting disc for lubrication and to help keep the cutting edge clean.

This conveyor which the feed falls on to uses weigh cells to accurately calibrate the correct amount of the various feedstuffs required. The chain has a weight limit of 400kg before loading the feed into the waiting robot.

This conveyor which the feed falls onto uses weigh cells to calibrate the various feedstuffs. It has a 400kg weight limit before loading the feed into the waiting robot.

The bunkers are filled using a Manitou telehandler and a Trioliet heavy duty TU 180 XL silage block cutter.

With a 3.4m3 capacity, this implement is designed to take a large, clean cut (up to 1.05m in depth) of forage from the pit face.

“Now that we are used to this block cutter, we couldn’t do without it. Because of the large, clean cut it takes, we get very little secondary fermentation,” explained Ivan.

The bunkers are filled using a Manitou telehandler and a Trioliet heavy duty TU 180 XL silage block cutter.

The robot

The robotic diet feeders are the brains of the operation. The Allens’ system is made up of two Triomatic HP 2 300 suspended feeding robots.

These robots are 3m3 twin tub units, which can mix and feed anywhere from 60kg up to 900kg per mix.

These feeders encompass the same horizontal flow, twin-stream stainless steel augers and the cross conveyor belt (for discharging on left or right) as their larger conventional counterparts.

The robots move around the sheds using a suspended rail system, which works using the same principles as a train track.

The robots are each suspended from the rails using two chains, while a winch allows the working height to be lowered and raised according to the farmyard layout.

This is important on the Allen farm, as the cows in the main shed are fed in troughs, meaning the robot feeds over the cows’ heads at a height of approximately 10ft, while it is loaded back at the feed kitchen less than a foot off the ground.

Meanwhile, in the dry cow shed, the robot feeds onto a conventional passageway. Here, it feeds at ground level and has the added advantage of a rubber feed pusher dropping down to push any leftover feed from the previous run towards the cow’s heads. The robots are powered by an electric power rail running which runs parallel to the driving rail.

Installation and maintenance

“The installation process took around four to five weeks. Two teams came over from Trioliet. The first installed the feed kitchen and the second installed the robots. Meanwhile, a local engineering firm, Foxes, installed the rail system.”

The robots move around the sheds using a suspended rail system, which works using the same principles as a train track.

“The full system is serviced once per month. It’s very simple. All the bearings are greased, the chains are oiled, tightened if required and all the motors and running gear are blown down and cleaned.

“The magnet on the robotic diet feeder is checked for steel, which, if present, is removed. The oil is changed in the gearboxes after every 2,000 hours.

“The entire process takes around four hours each month,” explained Walter Gahan, who carries out a lot of the machinery work on the farm.

The robots are suspended from the rails using two chains, while a winch allows the working height to be lowered and raised accordingly to the farm yard layout.
In the main cow shed the animals are fed in troughs, meaning the robot feeds over the cows’ heads at a height of approximately 10ft.

Teagle C12

The Teagle Tomahawk C12 bale and grain processor also plays a pivotal role in the success of the automatic feeding system.

The C12 also happens to be the only such Teagle machine in Ireland. The Allens use it for two reasons – to chop wheaten straw and to mill homegrown grain.

The machine is designed as a high-capacity mill for processing dry materials (less than 20% moisture), such as straw and miscanthus, to a short length for bedding and feeding, etc.

Through the use of different size screens, the material can be chopped from a length of 20mm up to 100mm.

The Teagle Tomahawk C12 is used to chop straw and mill grain in preparation for inclusion in the automatic feeding system.

How does it work?

Straw is loaded into the rotating drum via a telehandler. The drum on the machine rotates at 2,000rpm, with a resistant bar gradually feeding the straw into the hammer mill rotor. The rotor is fitted with 56 hammer mills that rotate at 73m/s.

The hammer mills are 15mm thick and are plated with a tungsten carbide face which chops the straw against the two half-moon screens underneath.

Once the straw has been processed to the desired length, it falls on to the discharge conveyor underneath. This two-stage conveyer can load the material directly into a trailer up to a height of 4.2m or on to a bunker pile.

The machine automatically monitors rotor speed and will control bale chamber rotation accordingly, stopping the rotation automatically if the tractor drops below 1,000rpm, meaning it won’t block itself.

It also features its own independent 150l oil system which fitted with auto-reverse cooling fan.

A portable bluetooth control terminal can be fitted to the telehandler, which is used to load the machine. This provides remote control of power loading and bale chamber rotation from up to 50m away from the cab of the loading vehicle.

A grain milling hopper fits into the bale chamber and is equipped with fine screens (four to eight mm) to convert the C12 from a bale processor to a high capacity grain mill.
To change the cutting sizes, the machine comes with the choice of six different size screens.

What’s it used for on the farm?

The Allens use the C12 to chop 8x4x3 bales of wheaten straw down to 100mm, where it is then loaded into two of the bunkers in the Trioliet feed kitchen. To change the cutting sizes, the machine comes with the choice of six different size screens.

The Allens found the machine capable of getting through 15 to 20 8x4x3 bales of straw per hour, depending on the moisture content. It is being used to chop 1,000 bales annually.

They also purchased a grain-milling hopper. This optional extra fits into the bale chamber and is equipped with fine screens (4mm to 8mm) to convert the C12 from a bale processor to a high-capacity grain mill. Grain grown on the farm is milled using the C12.

The fine processed product is then loaded into a twin-tub Abbey diet feeder, where it is mixed with urea and enzymes.

Once mixed, the product is stored for two weeks before being loaded into the Crowley silos ahead of being fed through the automatic feeding system as part of the TMR.

Ivan noted that they have often put 10t to 12t of grain through the C12 per hour, again depending on the moisture content. It is used to mill 800t of grain annually.

Teagle C12 bale and grain processor.

Overall system verdict

“To be honest, we did have some teething problems with the automatic feeding system at the beginning,” Ivan explained.

“This was largely software-related. The system was installed in May 2020 when COVID-19 was widespread, making things more difficult.

“However, this was quickly sorted and now that things are running smoothly, we are very happy with the system. We have very little waste – I’d say one to two wheelbarrows per week is the outside of it.

“If we were starting from scratch on a greenfield site, I would opt for the mains-powered wheeled robot. It would avoid the need to fit all the rails. But in fairness, the system works away quietly and efficiently and once the bunkers are topped up with feed, it rarely raises any alarms or gives us any grief. It allows us to focus on the cows.

“As regards the Teagle C12, we are very happy with it. It does exactly what we wanted it to do,” explained Ivan.

? Likes

  • Little or no waste.
  • Very accurate and consistent.
  • Runs very quiet.
  • ? Dislikes

  • Large initial investment.
  • Trioliet automatic feeding system spec

  • Robot model: HP 2 300 suspended feeding robot.
  • Robot capacity: 3m3.
  • Discharge type: Cross conveyor belt.
  • Net weight: 1,750kg.
  • Maximum payload: 900kg.
  • Feed kitchen: T40 with eight bunkers.
  • Bunker length x width: 8.90m x 1.95m.
  • Price for entry-level system: €100,000 plus VAT.
  • Teagle C12 spec

  • PTO speed: 1,000rpm.
  • Output capacity:
  • Grain up to 12t/hr.

    Straw up to 20 8x4x3 bales/hr.

  • Straw screen sizes: 20-100mm.
  • Grain screen sizes: 4-8mm.
  • Conveyor discharge height: 4.2m.
  • Weight: 4,200kg.
  • Tractor recommended: 160-240hp.
  • List price: €89,650 plus VAT.