Dozens of farmers attended the Technical Conference on Batch Milking organized by GEA last Wednesday, June 11, at the Hermanos Fernández Martín Farm, located in Dehesa de Romanos (Palencia).
This farm, equipped with 12 R9600 robots, was the venue for the latest Next Generation Farming Technical Conference, where dozens of farmers from different autonomous communities were able to learn firsthand about the batch milking system (Batch Milking) developed by GEA.
During the conference, Víctor Jorge, commercial manager of GEA Farm Technologies Ibérica, explained the advantages of the system:
“The Batch Milking is an automated batch milking system, in which the operator moves the cows to the milking area and they, voluntarily, enter each of the boxes, are milked, and automatically return to their respective batches, thanks to the selection gates.”
The attendees, many of them managers of high-production farms, were able to observe the system in operation, the farm management, and share experiences with the GEA technical team. This was the case of David, a farmer in Ávila with 460 cows in milking, who commented:
“We have opted for this system because we had problems finding staff and maintaining milking routines. We believe it can be an effective solution.”
To facilitate learning, the farmers were divided into three groups that, on a rotating basis, visited the different areas of the farm. There they were able to see the system in operation and see how the Ganadería Hermanos Fernández Martín —pioneers in Castilla y León in installing Batch Milking— manages milking with a single operator.
Roberto Fernández Martín, one of the farm’s owners, explained:
“We couldn’t be happier with the result. We have reduced the staff needed for milking and one person can manage the entire process.”
In addition to the practical tour, attendees enjoyed a technical talk given by Pablo Arias, a nutritionist with more than 20 years of experience in the farm itself, who highlighted the significant progress that the implementation of the GEA system has meant.
The day concluded with a round table in which Diego Martínez Falcón also participated, from the Ganadería Hermanos Falcón (La Rioja), another farm equipped with Batch Milking:
“We have been using this system since 2024 and we only need one person to handle the milking. When I put the first batch in the waiting area, the cows pass through the robots on their own. We have calculated the milking times for each group, so during that time I can focus on other tasks.”
Below we present a short video summary of what the day was like and some of the testimonials we were able to gather during the meeting in Palencia:
To see the photos of the Day click here
