My son and his wife gave us tickets for the Packer game last weekend. Lambeau Field is always a great experience, and my wife and I had a great time, but it was clear that this is a rebuilding year for the Packers. In some positions, they don’t have the players they would like to have on the field. In other positions, they have the right people, but those people are still learning. The coaches have to develop a game plan that works with the players they have. Sometimes robotic milking puts us in a similar situation. This week one of my customer conversations was about managing the inefficient cows we have – while we work towards having the cows we want. The conversation came down to 3 questions: What is an inefficient cow? Closely related, how do you find the inefficient cows? And, after you find them, how do you manage them? How do you minimize the impact of the inefficient cows to make more milkings available to the best cows.
FINDING THE PROBLEM
Robotic milking software gives us lots of metrics for comparing cows. In Lely Horizon, I like report “41 – Milking-Cow Robot Efficiency.” In DelPro, the “Milking Performance” report in the “Milking Info” folder works well. Focus on yield per milking, milking duration, and incomplete/failed milkings. Don’t worry about cows that are less than 20 days in milk. Give them some time. 7-day average yield per milking should be over 20 lbs – higher for top herds. Next, evaluate individual cows that average more than 10 minutes per milking. Finally, averaging more than one incomplete milking per day for a week is a red flag.
LOW YIELD PER MILKING
To manage cows with low yield per milking, consider stage of lactation, age, days to dry off, milking frequency, and potential. Whole herd problems should be addressed with milking permission/access. Cows that have not reached peak production should be kept on automatic milking permission/access until they peak. Late lactation cows with low yield per milking because of low daily yield should be dried off or culled. Cows at any stage of lactation that are not covering their feed cost, and are not expected to cover feed cost should be culled. Consider using individual milking permission for cows that are generating income over feed cost but milking more frequently than needed. Be sure to put them back on automatic milking permission/access next lactation. The goal is to eliminate as many low-yield milkings as possible and give that box time to cows that need it.
INCOMPLETES/FAILURES
Trouble shooting incomplete milkings or failures always starts with the milking equipment. After that, for individual cows with high incompletes/failures, you have to watch them milk. Watch how the cow stands in the stall. Setting the milking stall too small will result incomplete milkings. In some cases, extending milking permission puts more milk in the udder making it easier for the robot to attach. Make sure blind quarters are marked as such. Make sure there is not too much hair on the udder – especially at the beginning of winter. Cows with poor udder conformation may need a new career. Incomplete milkings waste time in the robot.
SLOW MILKING
There are not many options to manage cows with long milking durations. It is important to know who they are and evaluate whether they are paying for the time they use in the box.
The Cow Corner weekly report includes lists of inefficient cows. There are many reasons why those cows might need to stay in the herd, for a while at least. If you are in a rebuilding year, I can help you evaluate and manage the cows you have, to minimize their impact on the system.
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