Weichuang Ranch is a comprehensive enterprise that specializes in dairy farming and feed processing, and has a modern breeding demonstration park with over 10,000 dairy cows in Inner Mongolia, China. In 2022, Weichuang Ranch began applying Sveaverken smart feed pushing robot, the RoboPusher Pro, to improve the feed intake and milk production of their dairy cows. By automating feeding management, they were able to save on labor costs and increase the cows' feed intake, and in results of more yield. In May 2023, Weichuang Ranch deployed eight more units of the new generation feed pusher robot - RoboPusher Nimbo from Sveaverken, making their dairy farming even more efficient and smarter.

Challenge: Manual pushing and uncontrolled timing

Before using Sveaverken's automatic feed pushing robot, Weichuang Ranch relied mainly on manual pushing to feed their lactating cows. Two shifts of personnel were required to push feed to the cows in turn every day. The pushing frequency during the day could barely meet the requirements, but that was not the case at night. In this way, the feeding times of dairy cows were affected and so the feed intake turned unstable.

Solution: Automatic feed pushing and stable feed intake

Designated for feed pushing in ranches, Sveaverken feed pushing robot adopts a visual navigation system that allows for efficient and unmanned automatic feed-pushing conditions. Travel routes and pushing frequency can easily be set by operating a laptop or mobile device.

After using the Sveaverken feed pushing robot, the feeding efficiency of Weichuang Ranch has been greatly improved. The ranch owner expressed his satisfaction by saying, "I can see the feeding status of the robot and the cows are eating on my phone screen clearly." Moreover, the ranch owner gave a high evaluation of Sveaverken's feeding pushing solutions for the following reasons:

• Save manual pushing costs. At present, the feeding management of lactating cows on the ranch relies on automatic feeding, especially within one hour after milking, which is the period of time when the cows need the highest feed intake and the robots need to push three times. With the robot, there’s no need for manual work, and the timing and frequency of pushing are guaranteed.
• Increase feed intake of lactating cows. The machine will not fool people. By charging for 2.5 hours, the RoboPusher Pro can push 24 times a day. With frequent feed pushing, the cows can have fresh feed once they enter the barn. Compared with manual feeding, the feed intake is more stable.
• Good after-sales service. The Sveaverken after-sales team did an excellent job. When there’s a problem, they came with solutions by just making a phone call. Even before the problem was discovered, the after-sales team had already fixed it online.

(RoboPusher Nimbo at one of the cowsheds)

Result: RoboPusher Pro and RoboPusher Nimbo help to build a smart ranch

Through the use of smart feeding robots, Weichuang Ranch has transformed from manual feeding to automatic feeding. This not only reduced labor costs, improved feeding efficiency, but also increased the feed intake and milk production of dairy cows. The daily milk yield of the ranch has reached 65 tons recently. Through more smart equipment and technologies, Weichuang Ranch has successfully built a digital and smart modern breeding demonstration park for dairy cows.

In conclusion, the application of Sveaverken's feed pushing robot has brought a more efficient and smarter model to the dairy farming industry, and has also shared insights into the development of the smart farming industry. If you are interested in realizing smart feeding management on your ranch, please contact Sveaverken team. They will provide you with professional consultation and services.