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To: thecow who wrote (34581)	5/30/2003 10:08:27 AM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 110603

Self-milking cows boost dairy farm production ananova.com A dairy farmer says production on his farm has shot up by 20% since the installation of machines which let the cows milk themselves. Tim Gibson uses the robotic machines on the family farm in Crakehall, near Bedale, North Yorkshire. The two pieces of equipment, which cost £60,000 each and come from Holland, automatically feed the cattle, clean their udders and latch on the suction cups using a computer guidance system. Mr Gibson, 23, who farms with his father David and mother Denny, said: "Cows want to be milked all the time. They have an inbuilt system which tells them when they have to go. It's like going to the toilet for them. "It is unnatural for them to store it up so this allows them to come in and be milked when they want. "It took a while for them to get used to it but they are fine now." Normally cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and again in the early evening. Mr Gibson says the 130-strong herd visit the machines on average seven times as day, although their milk is normally taken on just three occasions. The machines have caused so much interest that 735 people, mainly farmers from the North East, attended an open day organised by Mr Gibson.