Pilot study of a Mobile Milking System: An investigation of its potential use in New Zealand

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to investigate whether there was a place in the New Zealand dairy industry for a mobile milking system (MMS). In a mobile milking system a movable milking shed is taken to the cows instead of the cows being milked in a permanent centrally-sited milking shed. Such systems are used overseas. It was believed that there could be a niche market within New Zealand, but it was also recognised that there are special challenges associated with the use of such a system. The aim of the project was to garner the impressions of such a system from potential stakeholders within New Zealand, as well as the experiences and ideas from a wider dairying community. The project consisted of designing an information pack describing how the MMS operates and some of its possible uses, plus a comparative budget that proposed that a MMS system could return 14 per cent return on asset utilising leased land, while a “conventional” milking system, utilising owned land, returned 8.3 per cent for the targeted 200 herd size. The information pack is in Appendix A; the information it contains is not repeated in this report. This pack was then used to gain feedback regarding the following three areas: a) the perceived need for a mobile milking system; b) perceptions of its advantages, disadvantages and impacts; c) and the management issues that may arise from the use of such a system. Once the information pack was designed, five informants provided feedback on the pack prior to finalising and distributing 120 survey packs. An on-line survey was developed resulting in 66 responses. A further six interviews were carried out with farmers and regulatory bodies, including Fonterra, in order to gain greater in-depth knowledge of the issues surrounding the use of a Mobile Milking System.