Cows, buildings and equipment get a lot of attention when a farm is getting ready to transition to robotic milking. It’s a big change for the cows, and milking can’t start until the roof is on the building and the robots are plumbed and wired in. With everything going on, it’s easy to forget that there are big changes in store for people too. The whole team needs to work together so everyone can adjust to new roles. Here are a few examples.
The nutrition consultant certainly has big changes ahead. The total mixed ration (TMR) changes to a partial mixed ration (PMR) to make room for the feed provided in the robot. That’s more complicated than it seems. The feed in the robot is a moving target. Different animals are offered different amounts of feed. Animals may or may not eat what they are offered. Feed settings are interdependent and it is like a chess game to sort them out. The relationship between feed at the bunk and feed at the robot affects how the barn moves – but it’s not just the nutrient composition – bunk management is important too. It’s complicated, to say the least.
The veterinarian has new challenges too. Consulting about people and protocols in the parlor is replaced by consulting about data and sensors in the robot. New mastitis pathogens may become more common in the new milking environment. Veterinarians may still do pregnancy diagnosis, but it may take place in a sort pen instead of headlocks, or lock up time may be much more limited. They may need to become familiar with new tools like activity or progesterone monitoring systems. Synch programs may need to be adjusted to fit new cattle handling challenges.
The milk hauler will need to learn new controls in the milkhouse which allow the milk to be pumped. More than that, systems on some farms may have to shut down for an hour or more if they cannot receive milk while the bulk tank is being emptied and cleaned. For those systems, it is less disruptive if milk is picked up at a consistent time so feeding, fetching and other work can be coordinated with the downtime for milk pickup and cleaning.
AI technicians may find it more convenient when the system sorts cows to a treatment pen for breeding. It is much less convenient if cows don’t sort as expected. Technicians need opportunities to learn how the sort system works and what it can and cannot do. Different people may be using the sort system and treatment pen at the same time for different reasons. Clear communication needs to be established so everyone knows which cows need to be sorted, how to sort them, and when they can be returned to their groups.
Things change for the hoof trimmer too. Hoof problems related to cows being on their feet in the holding area for a couple of hours every day might become less common. At the same time, there might be new problems related to inconsistent feed intake as cows eat more, or less, than expected in the robot. Parlor cows can be removed from the pen for hoof trimming with minimal impact on their time budget. It takes more planning to keep the robot full, and the cows milked, while some of them are removed from the pen for trimming. And, the footbath needs a new location.
These are just a few examples. There are many more. People who are not directly involved with milking cows can still affect the robotic milking process, and their roles can change with the transition to robotic milking. Communication and planning are critical to help everyone adjust to their new roles. I have been involved with a lot of startups and I am available to help with yours. I might even push cows.
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