The world’s first robotic milking system was installed on a dairy farm in the Netherlands in 1992. Today, over 40 000 dairy farms worldwide use automated milking technology.
Although South African dairy farmers have been slower to embrace robotic milking, the Human family of Goedgeleë Farm near Protem in the Western Cape believes the technology represents far more than automation – it is an investment in the future of profitable, sustainable dairy farming. Farmer’s Weekly had the privilege to visit Goedgeleë.
The farm boasts South Africa’s second robotic dairy, following Job Legemaat’s pioneering installation near Rayton in 2016.
Today, six robotic milking units at Goedgeleë milk more than 360 Jersey cows around the clock, allowing every animal to decide when she wants to be milked while sophisticated software continuously monitors production, health, reproduction, and nutrition.
A family tradition of innovation
When Pierre Human returned to the family farm after completing his university studies in 1981, his father was farming Red Poll cattle. Pierre established a dairy enterprise and began milking Jerseys in 1983.
More than three decades later, history repeated itself when Pierre’s son, Pierre-Jacques, returned to the farm after completing his studies. Johann, Pierre’s eldest son, had already taken responsibility for the cropping and sheep enterprises, leaving the family to decide what role Pierre-Jacques would play in the business.
The decision coincided with one of the most difficult periods in South African dairying. Milk prices remained under pressure while production costs continued to climb. By 2016, the number of dairy farmers in South Africa had declined dramatically from nearly 6 500 in 1999 to fewer than 1 700.
The Humans realised they had reached a crossroads: either expand and modernise, or leave the dairy industry altogether.
Their passion for Jersey cattle ultimately determined the outcome. Instead of abandoning dairying, they decided to build one of the most technologically advanced dairy facilities in the country.
“We first did extensive research to study the world’s leading robotic dairies. We also visited Job Legemaat near Rayton to see his robots in operation. The planning process alone took almost 10 years,” Pierre recalls.
Pierre-Jacques later travelled to the US as part of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau tour, where he visited several conventional and robotic dairies before continuing to the Netherlands to study some of the world’s leading automated milking systems.
Building a dairy for the future
Construction of the new dairy took longer than anticipated because the family insisted on achieving the design they wanted.
“We knew exactly what we wanted. If something differed from the specifications, it had to be rebuilt. Looking back, we’re extremely satisfied with the result,” says Pierre-Jacques.
Every aspect of the facility was designed with longevity and sustainability in mind. Only galvanised steel was used to eliminate corrosion at ground level. Large roof overhangs, added after the original design phase, not only improve cow comfort by providing shade and shelter, but also harvest valuable rainwater in an area where every drop counts.
Sustainability extends throughout the operation. An automated robotic scraper continuously removes manure from the passages and pushes it into a collection pit. The liquid fraction is recycled as grey water for cleaning purposes, while the solid fraction is returned to the fields as organic fertiliser, completing an efficient nutrient cycle.
Why robots?
The Human family selected six GEA R9500 robotic milking units, customised to suit the management philosophy of Pierre and Pierre-Jacques.
Initially, Pierre admits, he was sceptical. “I didn’t fully understand the technology at first,” he says. “But I have always believed that if you don’t keep innovating, you’ll eventually fall behind.”
Today he regards robotic milking as one of the most cow-friendly systems available.
“There is minimal human intervention, which reduces stress on the cows and ultimately results in more milk of better quality.”
Pierre-Jacques believes the greatest advantage lies in the precision of the system.
“Each quarter of the udder is milked individually, and the cows decide for themselves how often they want to be milked. That relieves udder pressure naturally and significantly improves animal welfare.”
The combination of robotic milking and precision feeding has also improved the overall efficiency of the dairy.
“Since installing the robots and introducing precision feeding, the efficiency of the entire operation has improved substantially. That has been our biggest gain.”
Five ways robotic milking improves cow welfare
At Goedgeleë Farm, robotic milking is about far more than reducing labour. The system is designed around the natural behaviour of cows, allowing them to eat, rest and be milked on their own schedule. According to Pierre and Pierre-Jacques Human, these are the five biggest welfare benefits:
1. Cows choose when they are milked
Instead of being driven to a milking parlour at fixed times, cows decide for themselves when to visit a robot. This reduces stress and relieves udder pressure naturally, particularly for high-producing animals that may choose to be milked more frequently.
2. Less human handling means less stress
The voluntary system eliminates the need to herd cows into holding pens. Animals move quietly between the feeding, resting and milking areas at their own pace, creating a calmer environment and allowing them to express more natural behaviour.
3. Every quarter is milked individually
Unlike conventional systems, the robotic units monitor each quarter of the udder separately. This improves milking efficiency and helps identify problems such as mastitis early, while preventing an infected quarter from affecting the rest of the milk.
4. Every cow receives individual care
The robots continuously monitor milk yield, milk quality, activity, feed intake and health. Cows requiring veterinary treatment or artificial insemination are automatically drafted into a special-care area, enabling farmers to intervene quickly before small problems become serious.
5. Precision feeding keeps cows healthier
Each cow receives an individually formulated ration based on her production level, body condition and nutritional requirements. Combined with continuous access to high-quality forage, precision feeding helps maintain optimum body condition, fertility, health and milk production throughout lactation.
The result
A quieter, lower-stress dairy where cows enjoy greater freedom of movement, improved comfort and better overall health, demonstrating that automation can enhance, rather than replace, good stockmanship.
A dairy that never sleeps
The barn is divided into four functional areas: the resting area, feeding area, robotic milking area, and a dedicated special-care section.
The system operates entirely on voluntary cow traffic. Cows move freely between resting, feeding and milking without ever being driven or forced. As a cow approaches the robotic milking unit, the computer determines whether she is ready to be milked. If not, a gate opens automatically, allowing her to continue directly to the feeding area. If she is due for milking, she enters one of the six robots.
The design is a hybrid housing system. Feeding and milking take place under cover, while the resting area remains an open paddock without cubicles, allowing cows to express natural behaviour while still benefitting from the protection and efficiency of the automated facility.
Visitors are often struck by the remarkable silence inside the dairy. Instead of the noise and activity associated with conventional parlours, the cows move quietly through the system at their own pace, creating a calm, low-stress environment.
Precision management
The true power of the robotic dairy lies not only in automatic milking but also in the continuous stream of information generated by every cow. From the control room, Pierre-Jacques can monitor milk production, milk quality, feed intake, fertility, activity levels and health in real time.
If the system detects that a cow requires veterinary attention or artificial insemination, she is automatically drafted into the special-care area, where she waits comfortably with feed, water and a rubber resting surface until the farmer arrives.
The software also sends SMS notifications alerting the farmer to changes in milk yield, milk composition or herd health, allowing problems to be addressed before they become serious.
“There are no fixed milking times,” says Pierre-Jacques. “The entire dairy can even be monitored remotely by cell phone or camera.”
Remarkably, the entire dairy is operated by only two employees. One oversees herd administration and daily operation of the robotic barn, while the other is responsible for cleaning, maintaining the facility and continuously monitoring the cows.
Feeding every cow individually
Although the dairy uses some of the world’s most sophisticated technology, the feeding philosophy remains simple.
“We try to stay as close as possible to nature,” says Pierre.
The cows receive high-quality roughage grown on the farm and conserved as silage. Feed is presented along a long feed bunk fitted with Flexi Feed barriers.
Pierre even designed the solar-powered feed pusher himself. The machine moves continuously along the feed alley, pushing feed closer to the cows to ensure it always remains within easy reach.
Concentrate feeding is managed using Johan Heunis’s Ideal Weight Feeding precision-feeding program, which formulates an individual ration for every cow according to her production level, body condition and nutritional requirements.
The system ensures that each animal receives exactly what she needs while maintaining optimum body condition, fertility and long-term health.
The cows decide
Currently, more than 360 Jersey cows are in milk. Rather than being milked at fixed times, they visit the robots whenever they choose.
The highest-producing cows may enter the robots as many as five times a day, producing up to 40ℓ daily, while the average cow visits approximately 3,2 times per day and produces between 12ℓ and 30ℓ of milk.
Inside the robot, teat cleaning, stimulation, pre-dipping, milking and post-dipping all take place automatically. Milk from each quarter of the udder is monitored separately, ensuring that mastitis affecting one quarter cannot compromise the entire milking process.
Milk is delivered every second day to Mooivallei Dairy in Bonnievale, and the herd consistently records an exceptionally low somatic cell count of between 80 000 and 100 000 cells/ml, reflecting the high standard of udder health achieved through precision management.
Prepared for any interruption
Continuous operation is essential in an automated dairy.
To safeguard the system during power failures, Goedgeleë uses an automatically starting standby generator, while an uninterruptible power supply keeps the computers, vacuum pumps and robotic units operating until full backup power takes over.
This ensures that milking continues uninterrupted, even during load-shedding or unexpected outages.
Innovation with purpose
Looking across the calm, contented Jersey herd, it becomes clear that Goedgeleë’s robotic dairy is not about replacing people with machines. Instead, technology has become another management tool that enables better stockmanship.
Cows experience less stress, choose when they are milked, receive individually tailored nutrition and are monitored continuously through real-time data. Labour is used more efficiently, milk quality has improved and management decisions are based on accurate information rather than observation alone.
“This has been a journey of discovery,” says Pierre. “Everything was new to us. Our system is unique, and it has exceeded even our highest expectations.”
By combining exceptional Jersey genetics with world-class automation, the Human family has built far more than South Africa’s second robotic dairy. They have created a blueprint for a future in which technology, sustainability and animal welfare work together to produce better milk and a more resilient dairy business.
