Meet the Scottish Farms We Work With
Four farms, four families, in their own words — what they put in, when, and what they said about it afterwards.
Four Farms, Four Families
Each of these is a real farm that bought from McCaskie, with a page of its own written at the time. The year is on the card because a result from 2009 is not a promise for 2026.
Parkend Farm, Crossgates
The Weatherup family · Fife · 2017
160 Holstein Friesians and four Fullwood M²erlin robots, installed in March 2017 — and why the shortage of relief milkers was the reason for going robotic.
Read the Parkend Farm story
Gartclush Farm, Bannockburn
The Brisbane family · Stirlingshire · 2009 and 2010
180 Holsteins and three Fullwood Merlin robots: two installed in March 2009, a third added in July 2010, and the move to milking three times a day that followed.
Read the Gartclush Farm story
Grougfoot Farm, Linlithgow
The Kennedy family · West Lothian · 2016
125 Friesian cows and a Fullwood 16 x 16 herringbone, installed in December 2016 in the existing building — and why Louise Kennedy chose a parlour over robots.
Read the Grougfoot Farm story
Barneighthill Farm, Mauchline
The Smith family · Ayrshire · 2018
150 cows and three Fullwood M²erlin robots, installed in March 2018 — and the open day the farm held in 2019.
Read the Barneighthill Farm storyFife, Stirlingshire, West Lothian and Ayrshire — which is roughly the spread of the country the engineers cover from Stirling.
A Case Study Is Not an Advert
Anybody can write that a robot pays for itself. A farmer saying it about his own herd, with the date on it, is a different thing.
So these pages are kept the way they were written: the farm, the family, what went in and when, and what the farmer said. Where a page quotes a yield or a labour figure, it is that farm’s figure at that time, in that farmer’s words, and it stays on that page rather than being lifted out here as though it were a general claim.
What they have in common is the reason they went ahead: labour, mostly. Relief milkers who could not be found, a second parlour shift nobody wanted, a family that wanted the evenings back. That is the case for robotic milking on most Scottish dairy farms, and it is made better by the people who did it than by us.
What to Ask a Farmer Who Has Done It
The most useful hour in a robot decision is spent in somebody else’s shed. These are the questions worth taking.
The first month
How long the herd took to settle, how many cows had to be fetched, and who did the fetching at eleven at night.
Labour, honestly
What the family does now with the hours the parlour used to take, and whether anybody was let go or simply not replaced.
When it stopped
What happened the first time a robot stopped in the night: who they rang, how long it took, and whether the same engineer came back.
What they would change
The shed layout, the fetch pen, the feed, the number of boxes. Every farm on this page has an answer to that one.
Bring the answers to us. A system is designed around the building and the herd, not bought off a page, and the honest answer to some farms is a parlour rather than a robot.
The Engineering Behind the Stories
Every farm on this page bought a milking system from McCaskie Engineering and is serviced by the same people who installed it.
Robotic milking
Fullwood Merlin robots — McCaskie is the leading Fullwood dealer in Scotland, with more than 90 Merlins installed. Robotic milking.
Conventional parlours
Pearson conventional parlours and the Fullwood Merlin Meridian rotary, designed around your building, then supplied, installed and serviced from Stirling. Milking equipment.
Service, day and night
Eight engineers, on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Service and call-out.
Tell Your Story on This Page
If McCaskie has installed a system on your farm and you would be willing to talk about it, we would like to add you here.
It is your story in your words, with the date on it, and nothing is published without you reading it first. Ring Engineering at Stirling on 01786 474 481 or use the contact page.
Questions
Which Scottish farms have McCaskie robotic milking systems?
Four are written up on this site: Parkend Farm at Crossgates in Fife, Gartclush Farm at Bannockburn, Grougfoot Farm at Linlithgow and Barneighthill Farm at Mauchline. McCaskie has installed more than 90 Fullwood Merlin robots in all.
Are the case studies up to date?
They are dated. Each one was written at the time of the installation or open day, and the year is shown on this page so a result from 2009 or 2017 is read as what it is.
Can I visit a farm with a Merlin robot before deciding?
Ask. Farm visits depend on the farmer, but an open day or a visit can often be arranged through Engineering at Stirling on 01786 474 481.
Can my farm be featured?
Yes, if McCaskie has installed a system for you and you are willing to talk about it in your own words. Nothing is published without your approval. Ring Stirling or use the contact page.
Who installs and services the systems in these stories?
McCaskie Engineering, the leading Fullwood dealer in Scotland: eight engineers based at Springkerse in Stirling, on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.