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To mark its 75th anniversary, Lely, market leader in robots for dairy farming, today presented its new vision for the Farm of the Future. A growing world population means wise choices have to be made for food production. Cautious estimates show that demand for food will increase by 70% over the next 30 years. How innovation can contribute to the major challenges of dairy farming, Lely shows by means of five themes that are central to the Farm of the Future.
Dutch family-owned business from Maassluis grows into world market leader in robots for dairy farming in 75 years.
Consumers, politicians, the media, environmental and animal organizations are calling increasingly loudly for food production to be different. Lely can and wants to contribute to this change. For the Farm of the Future, aimed at 2035, the following innovation themes are central:
1. Improved environment – reduce environmental impact of dairy farming. Not only nitrogen emissions, but also methane emissions, water quality, soil health and biodiversity.
2. Increase farmer prosperity –in some countries where Lely operates, farmer profitability is very low or even zero, this has to change.
3. Buy-in from consumers – bring farmer and consumer closer together. From mutual understanding to physical distance and product traceability.
4. Improve animal welfare – an environment for cows, calves and young stock in which their natural behavior and needs are encouraged.
5. Sustainable and nutritious dairy products – meeting the highest quality and sustainability standards.
André van Troost, CEO: “As guardians of food production, dairy farmers worldwide have already done a tremendous amount in recent decades to produce more sustainably with an eye for their animals and the planet. They – and we – also hear the call from society and we see it as a logical step to help them even further by purposefully innovating on the above themes. In the end, only one thing is important: farmers must keep their ‘license to produce’ as they are needed for our food. Now and in the future.”
New innovations for the Farm of the Future
Recent innovations such as the Lely Sphere, Lely Orbiter and Lely Exos fit very well into the above vision and are a taste of the type of innovations that can be expected. On average, Lely invests 7% of turnover in innovation development, a process that takes around 7-10 years. In the coming years, new innovations will come onto the market to further shape the Farm of the Future.
75 years of Lely: innovation as catalyst for change
What started with a good idea to make the farmer’s life easier, conceived by two brothers in Maassluis in 1948, has grown 75 years later into a family company with over 2,300 employees worldwide, market leader in robots for the agricultural sector. With numerous innovations that ensure a sustainable, profitable and enjoyable future for dairy farming. These robots are used in more than 50 countries. Today, over 2.5 million cows are milked with 42,000 milking robots, and around 75,000 robots are scattered around the world.
