Dairy herd manager turned inventor Julian Retikaukau has designed a device that solves the problem of getting cows to step off rotary milking platforms.

Farmers at present encourage the animals to back out of their bails with water spraying in the cows' faces at the exit point, or with milking staff pulling a cord to jiggle plastic bottles or bits of wood to give cows the message their ride is over.

The trouble is that Daisy and Co can grow used to these signals and ignore them, settling in for a free spin without cups attached' and sometimes soaking up an operator's time to get them to step clear.

Julian's Moove Off device is installed at the level of cows' heads at the platform exit point. As each animal comes around with its cups removed, sensors activate a compressed air powered arm which pushes the Moove Off bumper pad about 150mm, toward the cow.

While the pad doesn't actually touch the animals, the movement so close to their eyes cannot be missed and cows always back off the platform without argument.

A Moove Off prototype installed on the rotary platform at Trevor Currin's dairy farm on Puketitoi Rd, between Titoki and Purua, is proving effective. Conserving water was what first got 23-year-old Julian interested in developing the Moove Off.

A "city boy" from Wellington, he began farming four years ago and found he loved dairying. He started managing the 1000-cow herd on a Sweetwater farm near Kaitaia two years ago.

During the drought last summer he calculated that keeping the platform exit spray on continuously while the herd was being milked uses more than 6000 litres of water daily, Electricity was needed to pump the water to the spray nozzle and pump it away later as effluent.

By contrast, power to operate the Moove Off device was available at very low cost by tapping in to the compressed air system on every rotary platform.

Julian patented the Moove Off concept then approached Joe Ross from Northland Metal Industries in Whangarei, who built and installed the prototype on Mr Currin's farm.

Northland Metal Industries is in the process of manufacturing Moove Offs for sale now.

The first unit should be available by mid to late December.

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