Darcy in conversation with Penner Farms Services employee Colin Smith
Darcy: ‘We're located 160 kilometres from our Lely Center. Despite the distance, the service has always been good. Most of the time, we just give them a call and they'll straighten us out over the phone. But when we need support on location, they always come. We've never had to sit and wait. They also keep a good supply of any spare parts that we might need. The people at the Lely Center have been really good to work with.’
How is your relationship with the Lely Center?
Darcy: ‘My dad is 84 years old and still comes over every single day. When we decided to move forward with the new barn, he was on board right away. To him, it couldn't happen fast enough. He's proud of how far we've come from when it was just him, his sisters and his parents milking a few cows by hand.’
Lanna: ‘We find that older dairy farmers in general are amazed when they visit our farm and see the robot for the first time. They just stand there in awe. We're also still amazed sometimes, seeing a cow just walk in there, at her own free will to get milked. She's eating feed, she's calm and content. It's still very exciting.’
The farm has been in the family for almost 75 years. How did your relatives feel about the transition to robotic milking?
Darcy: ‘Definitely. I think that if we had stayed in the old tie-stall barn and had kept plugging away like we were, our children wouldn't be as interested in dairy farming as they are now. And not just because it frees up time for interests outside of work. A modern facility and the computerised aspect of robotised farming is something that kids really catch onto. It stirs their interest much more when they're young.’
Did robotics change the way your children look at dairy farming?
Darcy: ‘We installed the Lely Astronaut A4 milking robot in 2013. Since then, we've upgraded to the A5. When we first transitioned to robotic milking, our kids were 6 and 10 years old. It allowed a lot more flexibility in our schedule, especially in the evenings.’
Lanna: ‘Our son was playing hockey at the time. After we installed the robot, we didn't miss a single game. Even if the game was at 5 in the afternoon in a town an hour away, we could leave early enough to be there. You can accommodate important events in your children's lives a lot more easily. It's gives the cows more freedom, too. They still get milked 3 times per day, on their own schedule and without us having to be there all the time.’
How has robotics made life on the farm more enjoyable?
Farm facts
- Farm data: Mason Farms, run by Darcy and Lanna Mason
- Location: Oak Point, Manitoba, Canada
- Start date: milking robot since 2013
- Number of cows: 8 Holstein milking cows in addition to a black Angus beef herd
- Lely robots: Lely Astronaut A5,
Lely Juno - Lely Center: Penner Farm Services
What do you enjoy about farming?
Darcy: ‘We enjoy developing new heifers. We really strive to improve the genetics with each generation. Our new barn helps our heifers reach their full genetic potential. By participating in the Lely Horizon Programme, we have so much more information on our cows. That makes it easier to select the right bulls. We can track their full history from the day they are born until the day they leave the farm. When you know a cow's characteristics, such as their butterfat production, you also know what you need to improve.’
Lanna: ‘Seeing the genetic improvement in our herd means a lot to us. We take a lot of pride in milking good quality cows. That's more important to us than the number of cows. Besides, if you're going to milk a cow, you might as well milk a pretty one, right?’
Lanna & Darcy Mason
Owners Mason Farms
HAPPY FARMER
Darcy and Lanna Mason are third generation dairy farmers. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Manitoba, Canada, the couple runs one of the few dairy farms in the area. In 2013, they built a new robotic freestall barn and converted their old tie-stall barn into a heifer barn. The arrival of the Lely Astronaut milking robot provided the flexibility they needed to spend more time with their children, making their day-to-day lives more satisfying and enjoyable.
Darcy: ‘We're located 160 kilometres from our Lely Center. Despite the distance, the service has always been good. Most of the time, we just give them a call and they'll straighten us out over the phone. But when we need support on location, they always come. We've never had to sit and wait. They also keep a good supply of any spare parts that we might need. The people at the Lely Center have been really good to work with.’
How is your relationship with the Lely Center?
Darcy in conversation with Penner Farms Services employee Colin Smith
Darcy: ‘Definitely. I think that if we had stayed in the old tie-stall barn and had kept plugging away like we were, our children wouldn't be as interested in dairy farming as they are now. And not just because it frees up time for interests outside of work. A modern facility and the computerised aspect of robotised farming is something that kids really catch onto. It stirs their interest much more when they're young.’
Did robotics change the way your children look at dairy farming?
Lanna & Darcy Mason
Owners Mason Farms
What do you enjoy about farming?
Darcy: ‘We enjoy developing new heifers. We really strive to improve the genetics with each generation. Our new barn helps our heifers reach their full genetic potential. By participating in the Lely Horizon Programme, we have so much more information on our cows. That makes it easier to select the right bulls. We can track their full history from the day they are born until the day they leave the farm. When you know a cow's characteristics, such as their butterfat production, you also know what you need to improve.’
Lanna: ‘Seeing the genetic improvement in our herd means a lot to us. We take a lot of pride in milking good quality cows. That's more important to us than the number of cows. Besides, if you're going to milk a cow, you might as well milk a pretty one, right?’
Darcy: ‘My dad is 84 years old and still comes over every single day. When we decided to move forward with the new barn, he was on board right away. To him, it couldn't happen fast enough. He's proud of how far we've come from when it was just him, his sisters and his parents milking a few cows by hand.’
Lanna: ‘We find that older dairy farmers in general are amazed when they visit our farm and see the robot for the first time. They just stand there in awe. We're also still amazed sometimes, seeing a cow just walk in there, at her own free will to get milked. She's eating feed, she's calm and content. It's still very exciting.’
The farm has been in the family for almost 75 years. How did your relatives feel about the transition to robotic milking?
Darcy: ‘We installed the Lely Astronaut A4 milking robot in 2013. Since then, we've upgraded to the A5. When we first transitioned to robotic milking, our kids were 6 and 10 years old. It allowed a lot more flexibility in our schedule, especially in the evenings.’
Lanna: ‘Our son was playing hockey at the time. After we installed the robot, we didn't miss a single game. Even if the game was at 5 in the afternoon in a town an hour away, we could leave early enough to be there. You can accommodate important events in your children's lives a lot more easily. It's gives the cows more freedom, too. They still get milked 3 times per day, on their own schedule and without us having to be there all the time.’
How has robotics made life on the farm more enjoyable?
Farm facts
- Farm data: Mason Farms, run by Darcy and Lanna Mason
- Location: Oak Point, Manitoba, Canada
- Start date: milking robot since 2013
- Number of cows: 8 Holstein milking cows in addition to a black Angus beef herd
- Lely robots: Lely Astronaut A5,
Lely Juno - Lely Center: Penner Farm Services
Darcy and Lanna Mason are third generation dairy farmers. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Manitoba, Canada, the couple runs one of the few dairy farms in the area. In 2013, they built a new robotic freestall barn and converted their old tie-stall barn into a heifer barn. The arrival of the Lely Astronaut milking robot provided the flexibility they needed to spend more time with their children, making their day-to-day lives more satisfying and enjoyable.
HAPPY FARMER
