This year’s Lely's Future Farm Days came with a big leap forward in automation and digital security. Lely launched three major solutions that not only increase milking efficiency but also support on-farm digital resilience, helping dairy farms thrive in an increasingly connected world.

Let’s take a look at the highlights 

Astronaut A5 Next – Making the Best Even Better

The Astronaut A5 Next builds on the trusted A5 with smart upgrades:

• A new future-proof operating system allowing remote service and software updates

• A robot arm with enhanced precision and vision, combining laser and camera to improve teat detection and support cow health

• An automatic milk filter, automating one of the last remaining manual tasks

• Backward compatibility, so current A5 owners can benefit from selected upgrades

• New Eartag ID support expands access to automatic milking for more farmers globally

 Now available in Europe. North America will follow after local validation in 2026.

Astronaut Max – Scaled Automation for Large Herds

Built for large-scale farms (500–1100 cows), Astronaut Max introduces a new level of control and uptime:

• Connects up to 18 milking robots from one central control room

• Centralizes vacuum, water, air, udder care, and milk transport

• Enables milking and cleaning at the same time, increasing uptime and labor efficiency

• Offers improved safety through central storage of cleaning consumables

 Phased rollout planned starting in 2026.

Lely Hub – Your Digital Safety Net

With farms becoming more connected, data protection matters more than ever. The new Lely Hub is designed to keep your farm's data secure:

• Acts as a secure shield between Lely robots and your local devices

• Ensures safe data transfer to Lely Horizon and other systems

• Offers peace of mind and business continuity, even in case of connectivity issues

• Managed and monitored by Lely, so you don’t need to worry about IT headaches

 Available via phased rollout from 2026.

Shaping the Farm of the Future

Lely continues to innovate with one goal in mind: helping farmers care for their cows and run a more resilient, efficient operation. Whether you’re a small farm or a large-scale operation, these new solutions are designed to adapt to your evolving needs, today and tomorrow.

Are you excited about these new innovations? Which one would have the biggest impact on your farm? Let us know in the comments.