“I really think the growth
we’ll see going forward
with robotic dairies will be
because of the difficulty in
finding employees,” she says.
“Fewer actual workers are
needed with robots; instead,
supervisors are needed to
ensure everything is running
properly. A different kind of
labor is needed.”
Management continues to
be the foundation for success
when it comes to using
robotics, which Endres says
is the key to any successful
operation.
“An operation with the
right management using
robotic milking systems
can see an increase in milk
production,” she says. “Cows
tend to stay calmer when
they can choose when to be
milked – when they aren’t
forced.”
Feed management is also
important in the automatic
robotic milking systems.
EVOLVING AUTOMATION DESPITE TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES,
PRODUCERS CONTINUE TO TRANSITION TO ROBOTIC MILKING SYSTEMS.
T
wenty-five years ago, when the first milking robots
were introduced to dairy farmers, they seemed to be
from out of this world. Today, many dairy producers
worldwide appreciate the innovation.
Marcia Endres, University of Minnesota professor
of dairy cattle production, says that while growth of fully
automated dairy milking systems has been slower in the U.S.,
they have been common in Europe for many years. The first
robots were installed in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
By 1997, over 100 robots were used in barns around the
world and more companies were developing the innovation
and technology for their customers. As smart technology
continues to evolve, so have the technology and innovation
involved with automatic dairy milking systems. Besides
milking machines, companies have developed other
automation for feeding cows and calves.
larger operations adopting robots
W
hile most robots have been seen in dairies with 120 to 240
cows, Endres says, in the past four years, there has been
growth in larger operations.
“Of all new robotic milking systems going in, 35% are in
the herds of 500-plus cows,” she says. “Some are the typical
setups with the box robots. Others may be more batch
milking situations where people will bring cows to 10 robots.
While cows are being milked, the workers can clean the
barns.”
With the tough economic times in the U.S. dairy industry,
Endres is surprised producers are still transitioning to robots.
Photography: Lely
Endres says nutritional needs
are not necessarily the same
as in a conventional milking
system. Part of the cow’s feed
is fed in the robot, which is
also how cows are trained to
enter the robot. Cows in a
robotic system are generally
fed smaller amounts more
often than those on a
conventional dairy farm.
With robotic systems,
more tools are available for
tracking a cow’s activity and
health. At-risk lists can be
created for workers to find
and determine whether
a cow has a health issue.
Some producers will print
this more than once a day to
monitor a herd more closely.
“While there are some
challenges with robotic
dairies, the benefits of
flexibility of time and less
need for labor make the
change very attractive to
today’s dairy producers,”
Endres says.
BONUS Successful Farming at Agriculture.com |August 2019
d a i r y INSIDERª ROUNDUP
By Jennifer Carrico
