New: the HappyLiner silicone liner

Dairy farming never stands still. Automation, animal health and milking process optimization continue to evolve - and seemingly small components sometimes play a surprisingly large role. One of those components? The liner.

HappyFarmer has been responding to this for years with their reliable rubber HappyLiner liners for milking robots. After years of proven results, a new step is now coming: the introduction of the HappyLiner FLS-0021, a silicone liner specially developed for Lely milking robots.

Why switch to the HappyLiner FLS-0021?

Silicone is becoming increasingly popular in dairy farming. And that's not without reason. Compared to rubber, it offers several advantages:

More flexible material: more comfortable for the teat, so more comfort for the cow
Less chance of cracking: maintains its shape better
4x Longer lifespan: silicone (10,000 milkings) wears out less quickly than rubber (2,500 milkings)

These advantages have been the starting point for Marte van Hastenberg, who translated his experience as a technician and installer of milking robots into this practical innovation: the FLS-0021.

Field research: how does the FLS-0021 perform?

The real value of a product only becomes clear in the barn. That's why our intern Koen van Zutphen (third-year Livestock student at HAS Geen Academy), set up practical research at multiple dairy farms.

Research setup

Multiple dairy farms switched to the HappyLiner FLS-0021
During the research, data was collected from 10,000 milkings per robot.
- 10,000 with the original silicone
- 10,000 with the HappyLiner FLS-0021
On each farm, at least one milking robot continued working with the original silicone liner - as a control group
The data was analyzed with SPSS statistics software

Measurement points

Milking speed
Number of refusals
Number of milkings
Somatic cell count

Results: what stood out

The results of the comparison between the original silicone liner and the HappyLiner are promising. These are the key findings:

1. Milking speed
The FLS-0021 increases the minimum average milking speed by 0.1 kg per minute, rising to as much as 0.3 kg per minute. This may seem small, but adds up over an entire herd - and saves you considerable time per day.

2. Refusals
The number of refusals per milking robot increased by an average of 55%. That seems like a deterioration, but it's not: more refusals means that cows come to the milking robot on their own more often.

3. Somatic cell count and failures
No significant difference was found in somatic cell count or number of failed milkings. However, there were farm-specific trends that showed positive differences. This suggests that some farms can achieve additional benefits - depending on management and animal group.

Recommendations and next steps

The results show that the FLS-0021 performs well in principle, but effectiveness can vary per farm or group of cows. So, what does the new Happyliner FLS-0021 liner add to your milking robot? The Happyliner FLS-0021 silicone liner ensures a smoother milking process: higher milking speeds, more spontaneous milkings from your cows and all that for an affordable price.

In short: an investment that pays for itself in happy cows and a happy farmer!