Opportunities when milking with robots
Using robots for milking focuses on reducing labor costs; however, it can also increase precision in herd management, according to Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph. He presented “Harnessing Individual Cow Traits & Responses in Automated Milking Systems” at the recent Herd Health & Nutrition Conference hosted by Cornell PRO-DAIRY and Northeast Agribusiness & Feed Alliance.
He believes milking with robots can encourage voluntary milking visits throughout the day. That can increase milk yield and feed efficiency in a herd overall.
DeVries said milking with a robot can also increase cow comfort through improving the herd’s environment and responding to cows’ behaviors. But the maximum positive outcomes are only seen when the facility can adequately accommodate an automated system.
“Robot herds have greater milking frequency, less lameness, better milk quality and higher milk yield with greater stall width, deep sand bedding, less stocking density, more bunk space, wider and cleaner alleys and better ventilation,” he said. Cow comfort affects her health and behavior.
DeVries shared research from 75 robotic herds in Ontario. For every five percentage points of clinically lame cows, the herd produced 2.2 fewer pounds of milk per cow. DeVries conceded that health issues aside, not every cow behaves the same. Some experience a more difficult time adapting to robotic systems than others.
These cows are less efficient while eating, for example. Some exhibit differences even before calving. He calls this “cow personality,” meaning that for unknown reasons, some cows don’t seem to understand how to participate with robotic systems.
“Cows that are more social and explorative give more milk,” DeVries said.
He shared research that explored the question of whether operators can influence and select animals for favorable behavior in dairy cattle, such as early life experience, socialization or other housing and management experiences can make a difference. Perhaps selecting the right genetics can improve cow behavior with robots.
“The research showed that more fearful cows didn’t eat the same amount of feed with the robot,” DeVries said.
Worried cows raise their heads more and as a result, consume less feed. More confident animals feel at ease to eat with their heads lowered more, meaning that they eat more.
He believes that cow socialization is “probably the most important factor” for positively influencing favorable behavior. As young cows gain confidence and experience interacting with other cows, they could enhance their natural tendencies to belong with the herd.
“Group or pair raising calves helps them learn about feed quicker and maybe it will carry over to later in life,” DeVries said.
Some producers work on training cows to the robot to help stimulate voluntary visits. Typically, this starts a couple of weeks before first calving. However, DeVries said some farmers resist this strategy.
“It takes time and effort and they don’t see the benefits for their efforts,” he said.
Some train their heifers using decommissioned equipment that offers the same sound and movement. This can condition the animals to accept the equipment as a normal part of their environment. But researchers found that the most effective training included exposure to the automated environment and equipment along with a feeding of pellets. This strategy resulted in the highest milk yield in those animals after they calved.
“Training can make a difference,” DeVries said. “The more effort we put in, the more benefit we see.”
He believes that reduction in regrouping and reduction in stress is what makes training effective.
“In robot herds, we can use feed tables of robot concentrate based on stage of lactation and production level,” DeVries said. “In TMR herds, we create their nutritional grouping.”
He believes this may help farmers deliver more precise nutrition based upon individual cow needs.
Glycerol supplementation in robotic feeding was shown to reduce risk of elevated BHB in over-conditioned cows. Across all cows, it showed less body condition loss to peak lactation and improved milk yield.
“You have your head in the sand if you haven’t had discussions with people regarding inflammation, immune competence and energy balance between good and poor adapting cows,” DeVries said. “How much of that carries through the dry off into the next lactation?”
Robots can be programmed to allow for more gradual dry off for high-producing cows through milking and feeding settings.
“Robotic milking presents many opportunities and there are challenges for dairy producers and their cows when we harness individual cow traits and responses,” DeVries said. “We need to ensure cows are motivated to milk voluntarily through cow comfort, health and training. There are opportunities for precision management at cow level through feeding and health management. When we don’t let the cows be cows, that’s when we have more problems.”
He advocates training cows prior to calving instead of spending three to four weeks walking them to the robot afterward.
