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SUMMER 2013 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
14
Each robot also needs a certain minimum
amount of free or ‘idle’ time - at least 2.5
hours per day. In a given 24 hour period,
there will be quiet times when few cows
visit the robots - so set the wash cycles to
these times to maximise the availability of
the robot to cows in busier times.
Allowing for free time on a robot is
always necessary because time is always
going to be needed for servicing it.
For every one hour that the machine is
‘down’ it will take a day to catch up
with milkings.
Bas stressed that in every visit to the
robot by a cow, every second counts.
He suggested some targets for efficiency
(see panel). By making the changes
described above, to cow management
and to the machine, one farm had
improved milk output in robots from
1800kg/day to 2160kg/d.
Robot factors
Targets for efficiency
At least 2.5 milkings per cow per day
1 refusal per cow per day
Less than 5 failed milkings per robot/day
More than 10% (2.5hrs) of free time on
the robot
Getting more milk
from robots
Ian Cure
Lamber t, Leonard & May
For farms which already had automatic milking
systems, Bas van Santen of Lely Atlantic discussed
the key factors affecting efficiency, and advised on
strategies to increase the amount of milk from the
robot systems. And Ian Cure also gave his ‘top tips’.
With robot systems, increasing the number of cows
in a herd does not necessarily mean more milk
will be produced. Instead, there are two areas to
consider to increase milk output in robot systems:
cow management and machine factors.
Cow management
Ian Cure’s Top Tips
Robots
●
Use clear drums for chemicals to
easily monitor levels
●
Think about false alarms (3 per 100
cows per day) - so don’t overtreat
●
Regularly screen milk for mastitis
cases and monitor SCC
●
Have a back-up system for milking
●
Robot idle time is key
Cows
●
Clip udders, flanks and tails regularly
- keep them clean!
●
Accept that ‘favourites’ may not fit
the robot system
●
Keep all areas clean and scraped
●
Don’t keep slow milkers
Bas advised farmers to monitor the visit
behaviour of cows to the robots, using the
computer reports. Certain cows will always
go to the robots at the same time of day.
For instance, when the forage wagon is
putting out fresh ration along the feed barrier,
this tends to be the time when the more timid
cows choose to go to the robot, as the
dominant cows will be distracted by the feed.
During the night, expect to have 6-9 cows
per hour being milked. Farmers should
check that this was the case, and if not,
then look at improving the lighting.
Ideally, robots will be milking cows 160-
180 times per day. But cows vary in their
milking rates – the difference can range from
1kg to 3kg per minute. When a robotic
system is fully utilised but under-performing
in production, efficiency can be improved
by culling out the slower milkers.
On free access systems, some intervention
is usually needed for a few cows who do
not visit the robot as often as they could. It’s
a good idea to vary the time that these are
fetched to the robot, so that they do not
become used to waiting to be taken to the
machine. And when picking up these cows,
only fetch 4 or 5 at a time, otherwise they
will just have to wait for each other. When
more cows need to be fetched, it is an
indication of over-feeding at the feed fence.
Also identify the cows that frequently have
a failure - those cows that visit the machine
and for different reasons do not have a
successful milking. This takes up a certain
amount of time and it all adds up: each
failure is taking up 6 minutes of robot-milking
capacity. By limiting these cows to only a
twice per day milking routine, and clearing
the failure, it will help break the cycle and
ensure a successful visit.
Ideally, each visit should result in 8-10kg
of milk. If cows visit too frequently, and give
less than this, then it not only increases the
chemicals cost but can damage the udder
and lead to more mastitis.
Another factor to consider is the time taken
for the robot to find and attach to each
teat: in cases where this teat attachment
is regularly taking longer than average,
perhaps due to the shape of the cow’s
udder. When the system is up to capacity,
then culling the cow may be beneficial in
improving the efficiency of milking.
THE ROBOT EVENT