At the Lely Future Farm Days, held at their head office in The Netherlands, Lely introduced a new milestone in milking: the Lely Astronaut A5. Observation of cow-machine interaction and feedback from many farmers has led to the creation of a system that combines proven automatic milking principles with unmatched reliability, ease of use and cost efficiency. The new A5 milking robot means stress-free milking for both the farmer and their cows.
A new milestone in cow comfort and ease of use
At Lely, we feel that healthy and stress-free cows mean more milk in the tank. It has been proven that cows feel comfortable and perform well in Lely’s barn environment with free cow traffic, the I-flow concept and spacious milking boxes.
With the A5, cow comfort has been further improved with a new hybrid arm: silent, faster, energy efficient and more accurate, it results in consistent milking. Instantly following the cow’s every movement during milking, and remaining close to the udder, it quickly corrects itself in the case of any unexpected movement. This ensures a fast and thorough milking process, even with heifers.
With the new Teat Detection System (TDS), post-milking teat spraying has been improved by pre-scanning the udder before spraying, ensuring optimal udder hygiene and limiting the risk of contamination.
The redesigned, intuitive user interface makes automatic milking easy to understand for everybody. From a cow’s first milking to everyday maintenance, all relevant information is available on one single page. Instant actions, such as feed allocation, cow-specific routing and daily maintenance tasks are just one click away. The Astronaut A5 is designed to deliver top-level usability, accessibility and serviceability.
Solid return on investment and proven reliability
To achieve a significantly lower total cost per kg of milk produced, Lely has redesigned the complete system. An extensive worldwide test program, with over 30 customers and more than 2 million milkings, across a wide temperature range was set up to ensure flawless operation under any circumstances. In all tests, detergent and water consumption were lowered and energy use was reduced by up to 20%. Investments in quick and easy maintenance and the use of high-quality components also result in a significant reduction of maintenance costs. Along with improved efficiency, this highly reliable, maintenance-friendly design has achieved an unrivalled return on investment.
Based on the farmers needs
The new Astronaut A5 milking robot, which is compatible with the A4, fits Lely’s vision like a glove. Indeed, Alexander van der Lely is proud to introduce this new, revolutionary product: “Milking a cow has never been so easy and comfortable for the farmer and the cow. The Astronaut A5 contributes to our aim of making the lives of farmers easier, their business more successful, and opening up a bright future for them and their families. That is why we listened to farmers throughout product development, and thoroughly tested Lely’s Astronaut A5 with farmers all over the world. As with all our products, it is they who ultimately determine how successful this new Astronaut will be. “
Market availability
The Lely Astronaut A5 will be available as of today at all our Lely Centers worldwide. Farmers can contact their local Lely Center for more information.
