What’s next in automated feed pushing for Lely? After releasing the world’s first fully automated feed pusher over 10 years ago, last April Lely Announced a replacement for the Juno 100 and Juno 150 feed Pushers; appropriately called the Juno Next .
Congratulations to Massie farms in Chilliwack BC ,the site of the first Juno Next installation in BC. This second generation feed pusher offers the compact size of the former Juno 100 (42” Diameter) with all the functionality of the Juno 150 (the ability to follow steel strips to park in tricky locations and drive between Barns).
With the available “Flex” Package this Juno can tilt it’s drum to push in either direction which is a big help for single sided feed fronts. The Flex can also lift it’s drum to cross cow traffic areas like center crossovers without getting manure on the pushing drum. With the drum raised the Juno Next can climb slopes up to 8.5°/15%. New ultrasound sensors allow the Juno next to push feed at any distance from the feed front between 6” and 9’ as needed for the time of day and amount of feed at the bunk. These distances can be modified using the new straight forward user interface to adjust to your feed schedule or amounts as they change.
Is there a door in the way? It’s nice to automate feed pushing in all the barns on your farm but in winter sometimes you want to close the barn doors. The Juno next can now open overhead doors using a Bluetooth control box available from Lely and close them once it has passed through.
Automating the routine task of feed pushing not only saves a farmer labor and running costs on a bobcat or tractor; but has proven benefits for feed intake, more consistent rest feed and less sorting. With 20 feed pushing events a day the Juno will reduce crowding at the bunk and provide a chance for even your most timid cows to get fresh feed. Cows should eat 10 to 14 meals every 24 hours to maintain a stable pH level and thus a more efficient use of the feed. Increasing the feed pushing encourages cows to come to the feed fence more often and fill up the rumen again.
Based on a three, 10-minute feed pushing rounds each day, an automatic feed pusher can save you up to 180 hours a year!
Please contact West Coast Robotics today to find out how a Juno could be the next great addition to your farm.
