After just one year with his two new Fullwood Merlins, things are on the up for Rod and his dairy herd.
Farmer/owner:
Rod MacBean
Farm location:
Aston, Wem, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Farm name:
Brockhurst Farm
Herd:
100 Holsteins / Brown Swiss Cross (Building up to 130 over next couple of months)
Milking system:
Two Fullwood Merlins
Date of installation:
October 2011
Rod MacBean
The Brockhurst farm is no stranger to Fullwood. It was back in 1977 that they installed a 5:10 Fullwood Herringbone Parlour Pack, and apart from standard maintenance it has only needed the minimum attention - serving above and beyond the call of duty.
 
When Rod took over the farm in 2003 he took a number of key decisions to secure the farm’s future. Then in 2010 he decided the time was right for a complete modernisation. He was determined to create the very best working conditions for himself, his team and his growing dairy herd. As part of the modernisation programme, Rod decided to invest in two Fullwood Merlin robotic milking systems.

One year on, one of the major successes has been the fertility of his cows. This has been achieved without the use of natural service or a major synchronisation regime and is testament to good heat detection and nutritional balance. In addition, cows are starting to calve onto the robot for the second year and these cows are happy to go straight into the robots achieving yields 25% up on the previous year. What’s more there’s a saving in labour costs of an impressive £30,000 a year and a reduction in milking time. This time is now spent focused on managing the herd with impressive results. Rod commented,“ I can’t say it’s all been plain sailing, but with the figures we’re achieving choosing Fullwood was definitely the right decision.


Find out more about our Merlin robotic milking system...