DeLaval Voluntary Milking System (VMS) transforms dairy farming into a 9 to 5 job

Danish dairy farmer Erik Jørgensen has been a farmer all his life. He never thought he would see the day when livestock would willingly enter a stall to be milked by a machine. But since he started up his VMS-adjusted barn two and a half years ago, dairy farming as he knew it changed forever. These days he almost works regular office hours and spends most of his time monitoring and managing his herd instead of doing hard manual labour. The cows are happier than ever and he can spend more time with his family. In short, life is good for Erik Jørgensen.

Designed and built especially for VMS it has been little more than two years since Erik Jørgensen’s new barn has been up and running. But the process leading up to the decision to go with DeLaval VMS took almost six years. One important factor behind his decision to choose DeLaval was the ability to manually control the milking arm on the VMS and he demonstrates just how easily he can take control of the milking arm and manually attach it to the udder which is important when training new cows.

“Animal welfare is what matters most to me and I was concerned that milking robots would cause the cows undue stress. I visited other farms and saw that the animals did not suffer with VMS, in fact it was the other way around. I also looked at competing products before finally deciding to go with DeLaval’s Voluntary Milking System,” says dairy farmer Erik Jørgensen.