This does require strict attention to detail - as accurate information must be input into the computer system as to what the cow has been treated with, how long the withdrawal period is etc. When the cow comes in to be milked next, her milk will be automatically diverted into a separate holding area or disposed of.
The same can be done for colostrum, for example, when a cow has recently calved as it may be beneficial to retain the colostrum for a couple of days. Entering all information on the system will allow this milk to be stored separately and after two days, her milk will return to the bulk tank. By checking the computer twice a day, the stockman can identify cows that are overdue milking or can treat illnesses identified immediately and the accessibility to such detailed data can allow accurate management decisions to be made.
Dynamic feeding looks at an individual cow's feed requirements in relation to her yield. The programme takes into account milk yield, the cost of feed and the milk price received to work out the most economical feed rate for each individual cow. For Max Warren in Australia, this is particularly useful in a drought situation, where extra feed may have to be bought, but when milk prices are particularly low. On average in the UK, for every litre of milk produced per cow, 0. This is standard regardless of whether they are high yielders.
He believes he has saved one kilo of dry matter per cow per day, which with cows equates to more than 51 tonnes of dry matter a year — in other words, a lot of money!
John Wolf and Doug Heintz from the US say that they now have the ability to feed a higher concentrate diet to higher yielding cows and they believe they have reduced feed costs. The dynamic feeding programme allows optimum energy conversion efficiency.
This unique and efficient system would not be possible without automatic milking machines. All four farmers have cut back labour units. In Australia, Mr Warren believes he would require double the number of staff to milk cows on a rotary system. Mr Wolf is saving hours of labour a week, whilst Mr Gibson and Mr Heintz have cut back by almost one labour unit each. Adding up the cost of current labour, it is not hard to see how much money can be saved.
Lely estimate that for every one machine milking 70 cows, half a labour unit is saved. Two robots would milk cows and save three-quarters of a labour unit, whilst three machines would milk plus cows and save one full labour unit.
The flexibility has changed my life allowing me to spend more time with my family," says Mr Heintz. Mr Gibson recommends that an area of approximately 15ft by 12ft is needed. The machines, however, are only 15ft by 6ft; the extra space takes into account a clean area behind the machine. With so little space required per machine, customers have the opportunity to increase indoor housing. Both Mr Wolf and Mr Heintz keep cows housed all year round; only dry cows and heifers may be put to grass.
Mr Gibson allows his cows to graze outside during the summer with controlled grazing. Unlike the other farmers, Mr Warren's cows are grazed outdoors all year around on a three-way grazing system. Previously, Mr Warren operated a two-way grazing system, where cows moved paddocks every 12 hours. He found with this system that cows were hanging around the parlour and so he changed the process to a three-way grazing system.
Now, cows move fields every eight hours, each time passing through the parlour. Cows are fed a wagon mix in the shed and fed concentrates when milked. All pasture is irrigated. Training herd to use machine Mr Wolf said that it takes about three to four days to train heifers to use the machines. However, when the machines were introduced, it took about three weeks before things were running smoothly.
He believes that there will be about 0. Mr Heintz says that he spent three weeks pushing cows up to the machines, but it probably took about three months until the machines were working at full efficiency. Over in Australia, Mr Warren says that it took two to three weeks to train the herd to walk into the robots but he felt it was probably twelve months until he was fully trained to use the system, the technology including computers was completely new to him!
The Lely Astronaut has a refined udder preparation procedure. Teats are cleaned individually and sprayed. The machine also automatically washes three times a day as well as washing in between each cow. This on-going networking is helping to identify and solve issues and generate knowledge and could lead to further research in the future.
DairyNZ also has a section on its website to disseminate knowledge to help farmers who are using or considering adopting automatic milking. The first farmers to adopt automatic milking in New Zealand have been motivated by various factors, including:. For farmers considering upgrading or replacing their existing facilities in the future, robotic milking offers another option as well as the potential to change the traditional lifestyle of New Zealand farmers.
Find out about the latest options for robotic milking on the DairyNZ website. Watch this programme from Rural Delivery that shares Alvin and Judith Reid's experience with their robotic milking system. Fielding High School is the first high school in the southern hemisphere to have a robotic milking system: Robot to give kids' thumbs a rest. Add to collection.
Over the last 65 years, New Zealand dairy farming has developed from hand milking in walk-through dairy sheds to machine milking to the use of massive herringbone and rotary sheds. Robotic milking is when a type of robot called an automatic milking system AMS replaces a person to do all the jobs involved in milking a herd of cows.
The system is set up to:. Useful links Find out about the latest options for robotic milking on the DairyNZ website. Go to full glossary Add 0 items to collection. Download 0 items. Twitter Pinterest Facebook Instagram. Milking cows with robots, obviously. But stop imagining your stock sci-fi film robot bumbling around your milking parlour.
Robotic milking is done via small automated machines, not dissimilar to the milking machinery you most likely use already. Robotic milking systems has been commercially available since the early nineties. Yet thanks to increasingly reliable systems the technology is now undergoing something of a growth period with installations on dairy farms across the globe. There are several different types of robotic milking systems. But broadly speaking the process runs thus.
As the cow enters the pen, an ID tag is scanned that tells the system when the cow was last milked, how the udder is shaped and the rate at which each teat dispenses milk. Robotic arms simultaneously sanitize and stimulate the teats, prompting the cow to let down her milk. Lasers then guide suction tubes onto each teat and the milking begins. Consistency is what gives them comfort. That explains why many dairy farmers report that - after a period of readjustment - cows seem to be calmer and happier with robotic milking.
They can choose when they are milked and the process is identical each and every time. No frenzied herding into the parlour. No stress.
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