Dairy farmers can automatically process milk directly on-farm from milking robots to bottles through the revolutionary Lely Orbiter, which works 24 hours a day.
The innovative system has been designed by Lely, which is one of the industry’s leading dairy robot manufacturers, with “the highest food safety standards in mind”.
The Lely Orbiter concept offers new opportunities for farmers to market their own milk, support their sustainable future and meet the demands of today’s increasingly discerning consumers.
The Lely Orbiter system can extract milk directly from two to four Lely Astronaut milking robots and has been especially designed to handle a low milk flow.
This, according to the firm, enables the system to start processing the milk fast, directly after milking, by cooling it down to the desirable 4 degrees Celsius mark.
The continuous automated operation ensures a large capacity.
Future-proof
The closed set-up of the system, coupled with the fact that there are very few processing steps and little time between milking and processing, guarantees both milk quality and food safety, according to Lely.
The on-farm dairy processor is designed to be “a future-proof solution” for farmers to increase their milk income.
A spokesperson for the firm said:
“They can increase the revenue of milk by adding more value to milk. There is a short route to the consumer and the choice to market the milk themselves.”
“The system allows farmers to differentiate in the dairy market and explore new opportunities.”
“Higher revenues from milk also allow them to meet changing consumer demands and invest in a sustainable future for their farms.”
Different taste experiences
The Orbiter system is able to facilitate and enable different taste experiences for consumers by offering dairy products in their “purest form”.
Consumers will also be able to trace the produced dairy products back to individual cow family level.
Lely states the taste and ingredients of milk will vary according to:
- Cow breed;
- Lactation phase;
- Diet;
- The changing seasons;
- Choices made in processing.
“With the Orbiter, the farmer has total control to process milk from any selected group of cows.”
“This allows the farmer to make choices about processing with the end product and consumer in mind.”
“The reduced number of steps from the farm to the consumer creates the freshness and purest taste of the product,” the spokesperson added.
In the words of Alexander van der Lely, CEO of Lely, this new Lely Orbiter system will offer farmers “a smart way to produce fair, direct, and pure dairy products and to increase the value of their milk”.
“This on-farm dairy processor matches the high-quality standards of large industrial-scale processors.”
“The quality and taste of milk are safeguarded as direct on-farm processing is much faster and offers a shorter route from cow to consumer,” he added.
Is this a venture for you?
Lely has an online facility for farmers to evaluate if they are suited to Lely Orbiter.
The facility raises questions such as:
- Do you have a vision of dairy processing? Are you willing to do extra work and take on responsibility and risk?
- How would you describe yourself – an entrepreneurial farmer or a dedicated farmer;
- Do you live nearby many consumers (more than 1 million) within 50km?
- Are you interested in selling your own milk in high volumes – minimum of 800.000L per year;
- Do you have at least two Lely Astronaut robots at your farm – type A4 and A5?
Previous farming news articles on That’s Farming – www.thatsfarming.com
- VIDEO: 10 robots, 500 cows, 1,600-acres
- Farmer goes down on-farm processing plant route instead of expansion
- VIDEO: How this farmer is processing his own milk on-farm
