For TMR feeding, nutritionists talk about the ration they calculated, the ration the feeder mixed and delivered, and the ration the cow ate. The 3 rations don’t always match. Robots are no different. The Cow Corner Feed Monitoring Report is a tool to monitor the robot settings and performance so that what the robot dispenses, and what the cow eats, are as close as possible to what the nutritionist calculated. In my years with robotic milking, I have spent more time with feed settings and feed tables than any other part of the system. This report is designed to proactively find the common problems I have seen. Here are the specific questions that the report can answer.
Ration/Programmed Feed – How much feed is the cow supposed to get? This is what the feed table says can be dispensed for the average cow.
Consumption/Average Intake – How much feed was dispensed? This displayed in pounds but it is really how many times the feed delivery auger turned. We do not verify that the turning auger moved feed, nor do we verify that the dispensed feed was eaten. This is our best approximation of what the cows consumed.
Consumed Percent – How much of the allowed feed was actually dispensed? Divide the consumption by the ration. Lely systems are expected dispense over 90% because when the cow comes to the robot, feed is dispensed. DeLaval may only dispense 80% because when the cow comes to the robot, it dispenses at a fixed rate, while the cow has her head in the bowl, until 2 or 3 cups have been removed.
Consumption by Days in Milk and Parity – Is each group of cows eating as expected? Low visits might limit pellets for first lactation under 40 days in milk. Mature cows over 200 days might be getting pellets they don’t need. Breaking it out by lactation group is much more useful than a whole herd average.
Dispensed Per Robot – Is each robot dispensing feed consistent with the number of milkings and the amount of milk harvested? The report monitors each feed for each robot. It is an early detection system. If a robot is delivering less feed than expected, cows will not get what they need, or they will favor a different robot.
Pellets per CWT of Milk – Does the pellet feeding match the production? No one value will work for every farm. The value should be consistent with your goals for your farm.
Max/Visit and Dispense Rate – Is the system set the way we intended? Recording these settings every week provides a reference point. If something is changed – intentionally or unintentionally – the report has a record of the correct setting and a time stamp for when it changed.
Average Max Consumed – Can the cows eat as much as we think they can? Multiplying the dispense rate by the average stall time shows us the most the average cow can eat during a visit. It tells us whether the expectation of the feed table is realistic.
Last Calibration – How long has it been? Some calibration recommendations are more realistic than others. Feed dispensing should be calibrated quarterly or when pellet formulation changes.
It’s a lot to keep track of. This report is provided weekly for full-service Cow Corner customers. Each report includes weekly results for the 3 most recent weeks and a 3-month average for comparison. Contact Cow Corner to learn more.
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