OVER-HERD AT AN AMS PANEL DISCUSSION

In February of 2025 Minnesota and Wisconsin University Extension hosted workshops titled “Milking Robots: Are they the future?”. The presentations and informal conversations were great learning opportunities. But the producer panels were the highlights of both meetings. You just can’t beat learning from those who work hands-on with robotic milking systems every day. Here are a few quotes from the panelists, and my comments on why they resonated with me.

“It’s all playing with the seconds.” (Jason Baroun – Baroun Family Farms)

Seconds are particularly important when it comes to the time a cow spends in the robot. Saving 10 seconds per milking, on 155 milkings per robot per day, with a 6 ½ minute milking duration, means 4 more milkings per robot every day. 20 seconds would mean 8 more milkings. 8 more milkings could be used to milk 2 to 3 more cows per robot, or 8 more milkings could allow all the cows to be milked 2.7 times instead of 2.6. Seconds matter. Seconds can be saved through system settings – from feed dispensing to take-off flow; system maintenance – from cleaning robots to timely maintenance kits; and cow management – from selecting the right robot cows to removing udder hair.

“If you take care of your equipment, it will keep working.” (David Berning – Green Waves Dairy LLC)

Taking care of equipment can save seconds, with improved performance, as discussed above. It can also save hours when downtime is prevented. One of the panelists recommended taking time to watch each robot milk a couple of cows every day. Experienced observers see and hear things that help them correct small problems before they become big problems. Observation helps them to resolve problems during the day – and avoid alarms during the night.

 “Whenever we interrupt a pen we do as much as we can.” (Jessica Pralle-Trimner – Miltrim Farms Inc,)

Every interruption interferes with cow flow – whether that is locking cows for herd check or walking through to fetch cows. A slightly longer interruption in the morning is better than an interruption in the morning and another in the afternoon. Some of the panelists combined bedding cows, and putting them through the footbath, into one process. Another panelist stressed the importance of consistency. If cows are accustomed to being pushed through the footbath the same way, at regular intervals, they will return to normal behavior more quickly after the interruption.

“Think the process.” (Jake Peissig – JTP Farms)

This comment really summarizes all of the others and stresses the importance of the process. Everything that happens in the barn is part of a process. Each part of the process affects every other part of the process. Think about how feeding, bedding, and fetching activities interact with system washes. Jim Salfer calculated that saving 15 minutes of labor per robot per day would have an annual impact of $5,532 per year. Refining the process to save a little labor each day adds up to a lot of dollars over time.

Thank you to Minnesota and Wisconsin extension for presenting the program, and to all the sponsors who made the program possible. Thank you to the presenters and panelists for the information you shared. And, thank you to everyone who attended for the insightful discussion during the sessions and during the breaks.