Last time I mentioned that the future of dairying would appear to be going robotic. It is the way we are going here at Rootfield and if the level of demand for leading robot manufacturer Lely’s machines are anything to go by, so are many other British dairy farms.
But as someone who is not that technologically “with it” – I have a Kindle I’ve never turned on, I am a reluctant user of social media and prefer pen and paper to my laptop – I have found myself a bit discombobulated at the thought of a robot milking cows.
When I asked Nick how he felt about it as a hands-on fourth generation dairy farmer, he revealed that my father-in-law had actually considered robots for Rootfield some 20 years ago when he first bought the farm (the original parlour had been filled in).
“Dad would have been a pioneer at the time as robots were quite new back then,” he points out, “obviously today, they are far more advanced – a totally different beast”.
Two decades on, Nick is forging ahead with robots at Rootfield because he believes they represent the only viable route going forward in dairying for us. His decision to take the plunge and invest in two robots has been spurred on by the lack of dairy infrastructure in the Highlands combined with the uncertainty over agricultural subsidies in the not too distant future.
In light of Brexit and the perennially fickle milk price, Nick and farm manager-in-training Duncan are constantly striving to make the farm more efficient and thus profitable. Although an expensive outlay, the robots will help with overall efficiency, which will in turn free up some of Nick’s time so he can manage and grow the processing arm of the business.
Having robots will also give my hardworking other half a better work-life balance because, unlike humans, they don’t need days off or take holidays, which means that Nick will no longer have to relief milk three months of the year (here my discombobulation disappears – bring on the robots, the girls and I cheer).
When the two robots arrive here in the summer, Nick and Duncan are confident that the precision and efficiency of the hi-tech machines will also facilitate better cow health.
The cows can be milked when it suits them rather than at the usual set milking times of 3am and 3pm, and more likely they will be milked three times a day which promotes optimal udder health. Some high-yielding cows may be milked up to five times a day.
This more flexible and individualised milking schedule will reduce overall stress and promote good foot health, too, as they can move freely into the robot at their leisure as oppose to bustling and queuing to enter the parlour.
The incidence of cows slipping or falling on their way to and from the top shed to the current parlour, a particularly perilous route in the winter, will also be eliminated.
Nick was so concerned about his cows during a frosty spell at the beginning of the month that he loaded them into the cattle trailer and drove them the 50 metres to the parlour to prevent any accidents.
These advantages for the herd will also be keenly felt by Nick and Duncan in light of a rather unfortunate incident last week when a new cow dropped dead in the parlour, they think due to an undetected heart condition triggered by stress.
In the meantime, an additional shelter has been added to the end of the collecting yard so the more vulnerable heifers can be moved easily to and from the parlour. This will also help minimise stress and reduce potential accidents.
The poor dead cow was one of Nick’s prized new Ayrshires, bought after a flying visit to Perthshire and Ayrshire at the end of January. He decided to add half a dozen Ayrshires to the Rootfield herd to improve the protein content of the milk, a key constituent for our milk customers.
Not only does Rory Stone, of Highland Fine Cheeses, who takes the majority of Rootfield’s daily milk supply, require a good protein to fat ratio for the flavour of his hard and soft cheeses, but we’ve discovered that it is also essential for producing froth for milky coffees such as cappuccinos and macchiatos.
My brother John, along with business partner and experienced barista Peter, opened their new takeaway coffee and ice-cream business, Milk Bar, in Inverness last month. And it is proving hugely popular in the Highland capital, with an even split between ice-cream and coffee sales (certainly at weekends), which is a little astonishing at this time of year.
We are exclusively supplying them with whole non-homogenised milk from the farm for their coffees – a unique selling point for them and a fantastic sales outlet for us – but to our mutual chagrin on opening weekend, our delicious unadulterated creamy milk refused to froth.
Although they could still make lattes, flat whites and hot chocolates with our milk, Peter and John had to rush out to the local Co-op for regular homogenised milk so they could make the requisite foam for the other coffees.
A quick search online revealed that it was indeed to do with the protein content, which Nick had confirmed by Bryce Cunningham, of West Mossgiel Farm in Ayrshire, who already retails his own milk, supplying a number of cafes and restaurants with Mossgiel Milk.
Bryce was happy to share his product knowledge and milk-processing experience with Nick, who duly altered the herd’s diet to boost protein content. Bryce also recommended that Rosie and the team reduce the temperature we were pasteurising the milk at by a few degrees.
And hey presto, the milk duly frothed when heated – crisis averted, thankfully.
The processing arm of dairying is undoubtedly exciting, but it is fair to say we are definitely learning on the job.
*Rootfield Farm is on the Black Isle, 10 miles north of Inverness, where Jo lives with husband Nick, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, their daughters Daisy and Mollie, and 150 cows
