A cow in the Netherlands leaving the milking machine, followed in straight away by another having decided itself it was time to be milked. Automatic milking is not new, but this is called the astronaut, its completely automatic system that allows the animal to decide when it wants to be milked. Much like a car wash, the cows' udders are cleaned and located precisely by laser bean before the machine connects. The manufacturer Lelly says the process removes the stress of waiting to be milked, allowing the cow to take control. Alice Verslus is their marketing manager.

That cow is a very dominant creature or cows can be very dominant creatures. So you can imagine if there are only two times a day that they can be milked, that there's always a lot of stress to be milked as the first one in the herds.

The astronaut also checks each animal while it's being milked, so the farmer knows each cow's condition.

What is crucial for a proper robotic milking management is that you know that the cows are healthy. So it's far more important to have a good, fit, balanced feed management and really spends the time in the herds.

The system can be set to alter each animal's feed allocation, depending on productivity and the farmer gets to sleep in.

Stuart Macdill, Reuters

straight away 馬上，即刻