One of the world's largest dairy organisations is now utilising a fleet of Volvo wheeled loaders to distribute cattle feed at its five farms in Saudi Arabia, achieving a 40 per cent reduction in loading cycles.

The Almarai Company of Saudi Arabia has over 40,000 head of cattle at five dairy farms in the central Kharj region of the Kingdom. With an overall fleet of 45 wheeled loaders, the company has recently taken delivery of its first Volvo machines with purchase of nine Volvo L70Cs and a single L20C wheeled loader.

At the company's Al Nakheel Dairy Farm, two Volvo L70Cs are in operation 18 hours a day, loading cattle feed ingredients into a mobile mixer, which blends the ingredients and delivers it to the cattle sheds.

The L 70Cs load the ingredients which are housed in separate sheds. The ingredients consist of corn, soya bean concentrate, sugar beet pulp, whole cotton seed and alfalfa grass which at 60 per cent is the main ingredient. Water and molasses are also added.

"A nutritionist works out the amount for each ingredient beforehand, to produce the best milking results," points out Owen Cuskelly, manager of Nakheel Farm.

The wheeled loaders have a computer checklist so they can load the correct amount of each ingredient into the mixer for each batch.

The alfalfa grass (or hay) is grown at Almarai's own arable farms in the north of Saudi Arabia.

The company decided to change its purchasing strategy to Volvo in 1999. Another three L 70Cs and six L90Cs are on the way.

According to Cuskelly, the versatility of these machines and back-up package supplied by the local dealer Medco swayed the decision.

Medco's customer care involves good commercial terms, sound technical advice and year-round training programmes carried out by John Ledwith, Medco's regional manager responsible for introducing Volvo to Almarai.

"The machine's attachments as well as the ease with which the coolers and radiators can be cleaned were also important considerations," he says.

The alfalfa and cotton seed produce huge amounts of dust when being loaded, consequently the machines have to be cleaned regularly.

The company has calculated that the L 70Cs high tip buckets have cut loading cycle times by as much as 40 per cent.

"The Volvos are more versatile with quick hydraulics," says Cuskelly.

Other attachments used regularly at Nakheel Farm are pallet forks and a crane boom for unloading one tonne bags.

Out of a total of 40, 000 cows, Almarai has approximately 20,000 milking cows. These animals are claimed to have the highest milk yield in the world.

At Nakheel there are 7,500 cows, of which 4,000 are milking cows and the rest young stock.

Male calves are sold after three weeks, while the older cows which are no longer producing the required amount of milk are culled.

All the reproduction is done with artificial insemination.

The Nakheel Farm produced 51 million litres of milk in 1999, while the total amount for the five farms was 235 million litres.

All the cows at Nakheel are US Holstein Fresian.

Each farm has its own pumping and desalination plant, bringing and purifying water from deep artesian wells. If this process ceased, the area would quickly revert back to desert.

Due to the high nutritional feed, the Almarai farms are producing 12,613 litres of milk per cow every year .This is one of the best individual production rates in the world.

The Nakheel Farm is 270 hectares in area and has 124 live-in staff. Taken over by Almarai in the late 1970's, it was completely rebuilt and enlarged in 1994, becoming the first super-farm in Saudi Arabia.

As well as spray-cooled sheds housing 250 cows each, the farm has a high-tech milking facility which includes a computerised readout device for each individual cow, measuring its milk yield and weight. Each cow has a computer chip inserted into its hoof at a young age.

As well as the five dairy farms and arable farms, the Almarai Organisation has a processing division, producing all dairy products, a transport and distribution division and a sales and marketing division.

Almarai exports milk, laban, yoghurt and butter throughout the Gulf.

The Volvo L 70C wheeled loader has a maximum speed of 44km/h. The units tipping load varies from 8,260kg on the straight, to 7,130kg on full turn. Bucket capacity is 5 cu m and the operating weight is 10.5 tonnes.

The Volvo L90C wheeled loader has a maximum speed of 38km/h. Tipping load on this unit is 10,800 kg straight and 9,240 kg at full turn. Bucket capacity is 7 cu m and its operating weight is 14.4 tonnes.