If sorting gates are widespread in roto, they remain rare in conventional milking parlours. However, this equipment can save time and work organization, especially when the livestock is large.
When the Hersant brothers planned to invest in new equipment for treaty five years ago, they knew they didn’t want a robot, “it’s less scalable”. As for the roto, “it’s a bit of a factory, and then the cost is still much higher, not to mention the maintenance”, points out the eldest of the two, Frédéric, 45 years old. In fact, milking, they like it, even if they spend 2h30 there.
To replace their 2×5, they chose a simple equipment 2×16 TPA. On their 160 ha farm in Ercé-en-Lamée, south of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), they have 180 cows, 160 of which are milked. It’s a lot of work for the 3 UTH. Since they were starting from scratch, that is to say the construction of a new building, they were able to install a doors of tri. The objective: to save time and improve the organization of work. “There is no more stress, we don’t have to go get the cow in the barn to isolate it, appreciates Benoît, 37 years old. Before, we finished milking and the slightly feverish animals that we had spotted, we had to pick them up one by one. »
The time saving, so it’s ten minutes for each milking, with a ladle. And casually, “it’s one of the things that are essential for us today. We realize that we might not do without it and yet we are not addicted to technology”.
Plan isolation
When the cows enter the platform, they pass in front of an identification panel, their number is displayed on a screen at the entrance to the pit. In milking parlor exit, they all pass another identification sign and then through a two-way door. Those that need to be isolated are automatically directed to a box on the right, whatever the reason (freshly calved cow, need for ultrasound, trimming, various treatments or heat). The others rush into the building. Another box, next to the isolation boxallows you to manually carry out a second sorting if necessary, for example to separate cows in heat from those that require care.
All the animals on the farm are equipped with a tag with an RFID chip, which allows information to be controlled remotely. From the milking parlour, the breeder directs each of his cows by means of a terminal: to the right for isolation, straight ahead for the return to the barn. He can also program this from his computer the night before or well before, if he has planned an insemination date for example. “Monday followingnoon the spotter will come, so we save our list of cows, we program the isolation”, describes Frédéric Hersant. When the inseminator comes, he knows where to find the cow, the box de tri is at the entrance of the building.
Herd tracking software
Sorting gates are sold with a herd tracking software. The breeder enters all the events concerning each of his cows: care, medication, repro events. Milk data is also accumulated by the software, which facilitates herd monitoring. But the Hersant brothers, who weren’t “computer buffs at the start”, admit that they had fairly basic use of their equipment, four years following installation.
Potentially, the system is scalable, it is possible to add a second sorting gate. But “it must be planned from the outset in the development of the building”, warns Frédéric Hersant.
In any case, it seems difficult to envisage the installation of sorting gates at the exit of an existing milking parlour, because this requires not only rearranging the building but also changing certain equipment: adapting identification panels to entrance, have compatible automatic stalls.
Breeders who change their milking parlor few remain equipped with sorting gates. “To pay 10,000 to 20,000 euros for this, the guys are not ready”, notes Aymeric Ventroux, technical sales representative at Modema agri, Delaval dealer. “It must correspond to the farmer’s choices, to his way of working, but this is only relevant for herds of more than a hundred cows”.
Four sorting gates at the Experimental Farm
Systems inside on the other hand, are equipped with sorting gates in approximately 8 cases out of 10. These are most often two- or three-way exits. The cows are guided towards the building, towards a first box for insemination or towards a second box for care, for example.
The Trinottières experimental farm, in Maine-et-Loire, uses a roto system with no less than four output sorting gates. The first gate allows certain cows to be transported to an infirmary box or an insemination box. The others go to the second door which allows a second sorting, then the third and the fourth door. The case of the experimental farm is particular, it needs to constitute batches for its experiments. The farm has 145 cows in production with group inseminations, which also requires the daily isolation of several cows. “If we weren’t an experienced farm, we would only need two gates,” says dairy herd manager Benoît Vaillant. He estimates the time savings generated by these sorting gates to be “at least thirty minutes a day”. Provided that everything works well, because there are sometimes misfires, “it happens that the cow is not picked up, and there, it’s a mess, some days I have five or six cows that are not sorted , it’s very complicated, you have to sort everything manually,” sighs the dairy herd manager.
