While a lot of UK-based robot milking herds are kept indoors, in Ireland the preference is for a grazing system. As County Tipperary farmer Michael Croke points out, why complicate things and add expense when the grass is available in paddocks around the yard?
Flexibility and labour have been the driving forces behind the Croke family decision to switch to robotic milking. Indeed the family members wanted to take the plunge six years ago, but, having just purchased another block of land near their County Tipperary farm, they opted to revamp their existing herringbone parlour and extend it to a 20-unit swing-over design until the time was right.
