A prototype of a New Zealand milking system has received an award for its innovation this month and it could show to be well-liked to Irish farmers as soon as it turns into out there in the marketplace.

The prototype, known as the ErgoPOD was designed and created by Waikato Milking Methods, which received the 2023 Prototype Award at Fieldays Innovation Awards.

Government chairman of Waikato Milking Methods Jamie Mikkelson mentioned: “We began on this journey about 4 years in the past; we had this loopy concept that if we had been going to be essentially the most admired firm globally for milking effectivity, if a single operator might milk a thousand cows in an hour, that will be a sport changer.”

The ultimate phases of improvement of the ErgoPOD, together with on-farm trials, are anticipated to be accomplished over the following 18 months.

New Zealand award winners

Entry necessities for the prototype award included that the innovation should:

  • Have utility within the meals and fibre sector;
  • Not have been uncovered broadly previous to the awards;
  • Not be out there on the market in the marketplace.

The factors required for entrants to be judged on included:

  • Who’re your opponents and the way do you differ?;
  • Is it delicate to the atmosphere?;
  • What’s the distinctive answer – profit to the sector?;
  • Presentation of the innovation.

The 2023 prototype prize bundle included $10,000 money and product design and improvement providers to the worth of $5,000.

Milking system prototype

The Ergopod prototype has demonstrated the flexibility for farmers to cut back their threat of damage, as a big quantity of automation is concerned in operating the system.

Waikato claims to halve the time required for farmers to use milking cups and to ease the entry for cows, because it removes a number of hazards for a cow getting into and leaving the milking platform.

The prototype facilitates alternatives for the exact measurement and management of milk high quality, and even hurries up the method of a cow exiting a rotary milking platform.

Waikato Milking Methods may have a presence on the Nationwide Ploughing Championships this 12 months in September in Ratheniska, Co Laois.