Dairy farm manager Neil Rowe never waits for the cows to come home -- they make their own way to the dairy barn and milk themselves with the help of a hi-tech milker.

The cossetted cows are at Manor Farm in Marcham, near Abingdon.

Thanks to an automatic milker, the 100-strong herd comes and goes as it pleases.

Detailed information about the herd is programmed into a computer and it calls up the information when an animal walks into the stall for milking -- even cleaning its muddy hooves.

With the same technolgy used to fit wheels to new cars, an arm swings underneath the cow's udder and with help from two beams of light, the teats are located, cups fixed and milking begins.

In the first month of operating the new system, the cows were trained to queue up and let the machine milk them.

Mr Rowe said: "They're much happier and peaceful in themselves and more relaxed."

Although the milking system is the centrepiece of the barn, other hi-tech fixtures help to keep the cows comfortable. They eat, drink and sleep, lulled by classical music. If they want a good scratch, there's an automatic revolving brush they can push against.

Mr Rowe said: "The welfare of the cows is paramount.

"Not only are they more content, they are healthier, live longer and produce better quality milk.

"Our lifestyle has improved along with that of the cows. Everyone benefits."

The concept of robotic milking was first thought up in the early 1980s, and was introduced in the UK in 1996.

There are about 6,000 machines in 3,000 farms, which are used as part of intensive farming, which means the herds are locked in the barns all their lives.

Mr Rowe's farm was the first in the country to modify the technology for organic farming, and he has now been awarded a Nuffield Agricultural Scholarship to study the systems across the world.

He said: "Many farms have given up because it's difficult to train the cows. It's difficult in the first three-week period.

"You don't want the cows all queueing up.

"You want one being milked, a few queuing and the rest doing something more useful." How it works:

1. The cow is free to come into the barn when she wants to

2. She learns to step into the stall when she needs milking

3. Detailed information about the herd is programmed into a computer, which can detect which animal has arrived for milking

4. An arm swings under the cow's udders and beams of light locate the teats before the cups are fixed and milking can begin

5. During milking, the cow's hoofs are cleaned.