Farm Name: Fortunes Wood Farm, Dorset, UK
Farm Owner: Mr Preston
Number of Cows: 120
Parlour Size: 12/12
Number of Milkings per Day: 2
ATL Equipment: Parlour feeders, parlour auto-id, milk meters, MicroMarque3S, Cowculator PC software and out of parlour feeding system
Why was the ATL Pegasus sorting gate system chosen over other manufacturers?
Initially it was the use of electronic ear tags for the out of parlour feeding system, for the parlour upgrade it came down mainly to price. Another important factor was the ease of linking everything together so that it only required one PC program. It looked simple, easy to repair and we've never received such good technical support.
What solutions were you looking for from the ATL equipment?
- Feeding cows more precisely.
- Reducing feed costs.
- Parlour auto-id enables other people to milk our herd with less training.
- Modernisation.
How has the ATL equipment made a difference?
- The cows have never looked so good and are producing up to 4 litres per cow more than before on less feed.
- The milking time has been reduced with automatic cluster removal (ACR), parlour auto-id and the milk meter wash control.
What features of the ATL equipment do you use most?
- Flagging dump cows and not actually being able to activate the unit until you acknowledge the flag.
- Cowculator PC software very easy to use and you can pinpoint individual cows.
- ACR adjustments and vacuum / ACR removal delay are very good.
How would you rate the service ATL provides?
The service is the best we've known and help is always available.
Would you recommend ATL equipment to other farmers? If so, why?
Yes - Simple, easy to use and very good value for money for a product that does the same as other companies, if not better