Page 17 - Vol.38-No.6

DAIRY FARMING

FONTERRA WELCOME MILK-E, NEW

ZEALAND’S FIRST ELECTRIC MILK TANKER

New Zealand’s first electric milk tanker, cies, reduce safety concerns, and reduce pleased to see this project come to life. New
Milk-E, has been officially launched by the the amount of work required to customise Zealand has ambitious targets to rapidly
Minister for Energy and Resources, Hon. Dr a Fonterra tanker. A battery swap system reduce carbon emissions, and transport is
Megan Woods, in Morrinsville. is being installed at the Waitoa site where key, but heavy freight has proven hard to
Local Government, Iwi, Industry and Milk-E will be based to trial how this could decarbonise. If successful, this project could
Fonterra employees were also present to work within a fleet to minimise downtime be replicated across a number of New Zea-
recognise the significant milestone in the from battery charging. land businesses.”
decarbonisation of New Zealand’s heavy “It’s been great to see the team turn chal- The electric milk tanker will operate out of
transport, while also recognising the team lenges into opportunities so in addition to Fonterra’s Waitoa site, which Mr Whineray
behind the build. trialling Milk-E’s on-road ability, we’re also says is very fitting given it was the site of
Named by Fonterra farmer Stephen Todd trialling a new electric pump, hose config- New Zealand’s largest fleet of electric milk
from Murchison, Milk-E is part of Fonter- uration and cabinetry,” says Mr Whineray. trucks 100 years ago.
ra’s fleet decarbonisation work, which is one Fonterra received co-funding from the Other work on Milk-E
of a number of programmes that’s helping Government’s Low Emissions Transport Fund includes:
the Co-op towards becoming a leader in (LEFT), which is administered by EECA (the
sustainability. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Author- • An electric pump on the driver’s side
“Right across the Co-op our teams are ity). has reduced the pipework on the truck
constantly looking at how we can decrease EECA Group Manager Investment and by 3.4 metres, reducing tare weight.
our emissions – from on farm, to at our sites Engagement, Nicki Sutherland, said, “We’re • The milk hose now falls naturally back
and throughout our transport network,” said across the guards of the truck and is se-
Chief Operating Officer, Fraser Whineray. cured onto a Bayonet connection which
locks the hose in place and seals the end
“The team here at our Morrinsville Work- of the hose in transit
shop have done a fantastic job of pulling
this tanker together. Being a New Zealand • Newly designed doors that open out
first, there’s been a lot of creative thinking sideways with minimal moving parts,
and Kiwi ingenuity to bring Milk-E to life.” resulting in improved safety.
Changes to the battery configuration have • The need for a hydraulic tank and pump
given the team an opportunity to trial other has been removed and a fully electric
additions to improve milk collection efficien- motor and pump has been installed.
Circle 19 on enquiry card
HOW DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS ARE IMPROVING ANIMAL WELFARE

Sensor technology is not particularly DeLaval is constantly working on im-
new on dairy farms but as time goes proving the data analysis to help the de-
on, more and more technologies are cision-making process on farms.
emerging and farmers can now gather “There’s so much data out there now,”
huge amounts of data. says Ilka Klaas. “What’s important is how
When a cow is milked using a DeLaval to use it. We can improve the algorithms
VMS™ for example, there are several sen- and increase the value of monitoring. In
sors in place that provide information on that way we can help farmers get the right
every udder quarter. Our sensors measure risk profiles and give them the right tools
inflammation in the milk, e.g. white blood that will identify the cows that need help,”
cells, but also biomarkers to check for dis- “For a family driven farm, sensor technol- says Ilka.
eases and fertility status. A 3D-image can ogy gives farmers higher flexibility to plan Ilka is also keen to point out their use of
even be taken every time a cow is milked their work while at the same time ensuring sensor technology and big data is making
to measure her body condition score. that cows get the attention they need,” progress because of collaboration. “We
says Ilka Klaas, PhD and Dairy Development
All of this data helps the farmer know Director at DeLaval. work with research institutions around the
how healthy their animals are. This wealth world and industrial PhD students working
of data can alert a farmer about potential “When a farmer is busy with a dozen on the use of sensor technology for better
mastitis or other illnesses and also provide other tasks, it’s important to give them mastitis management. But we also work
other information on the cow’s health and the right information at the right time so closely with the International Dairy Federa-
wellbeing. that they can make the best decisions for tion and other stakeholders in the industry.
the cow.” Together we can make progress faster.”

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