This question came up in a discussion today. Those who work with robotic milking everyday know the differences and take them for granted. Clarity on these differences will be important for many things we will cover in future newsletters.
It has been said that a milking robot is just a machine that harvests milk. That is true to some extent. The foundations are the same. In a parlor or a robot, we won’t get top production if we don’t take care of transition cow management, cow comfort, forage quality, and efficient reproduction. There are differences in how these fundamentals are accomplished.
In a robotic milking system, anything that keeps cows away from the robot, when she needs to be milked, results in lost production that cannot be recovered. Our efforts in transition cow management, cow comfort, forage quality and efficient reproduction must maximize those goals – without keeping cows away from the robot.
Transition cow management must minimize fresh cow metabolic problems. And, we must use monitoring systems that don’t keep cows away from the robots. Fortunately, the robots provide a wealth of data that can help with fresh cow monitoring. We need to know how to use that data. The transition program also needs to include training cows to visit the robot frequently.
Cow comfort includes cleaning alleys and bedding stalls. It can also include managing the foot bath, water supply, ventilation, and heat abatement. Automation can keep people out of the pen for some of those tasks. We can also minimize the impact by coordinating these activities with milking system washes so human interference happens at times when cow flow is not affected.
Forage quality is the key to top production in a parlor. It is even more important in a robot barn. The faster feed moves through a cow, the more often she gets out of her stall to be milked and the more she eats. Fitting pellets into the ration is another challenge. Along with forage quality, we also need to think about frequency of feed delivery and feed push up and how that keeps cows moving.
Efficient reproduction is important because cows with long lactations lose their will to visit the robot and they become fetch cows. At the same time, heat detection and synchronization programs need to be adjusted because cows are milked at different times and cannot be locked up for extended periods.
I can help you manage all of these adjustments and more. Contact me by email at john@cow-corner.co or contact me here.
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