An orderly queue for the milking machine

At Hill Farm the cows queue for a robotic milker called Merlin.

They are offered a small amount of cattle cake to tempt them into the milking station, which recognises each animal by a transponder in a leg tag.

Farm owner Rachel Paton said the switch to the robot was partly because they wanted to operate a one-man unit.

"It is very difficult to get the staff who will work the long hours - particularly the early mornings.

"We really wanted to just work on our own - and we felt this was the way we could get a good quality of life as well."

Farmer Rachel Paton says the robot has improved her quality of life

Merlin's software operates the robot and reports on feeding, milk quality, milk yield and calving intervals, leaving the farmer to make decisions.

When a cow presents for milking, Merlin "decides" if she is to be milked or not, depending on when she was last milked and her expected yield.

If she returns to the unit too soon, she will not be fed or milked.

Since the farm has started using Merlin each cow has been producing up to four litres more milk a day.