Whether dairy producers are making the switch to automation for the first time or adding to existing equipment, preowned systems offer access to the benefits of automation at significant savings from new pricing.

As roasted high-oleic soybeans gain more attention and adoption in the industry, consider how they may find a place on your farm. With an automated milking system, the producer has a unique opportunity to embrace the technology in their system. 

There is a trend toward increased stocking density in automated milking barns. Quite a few farmers have made it work and made it look easy. It has worked for them because they have the fundamentals right.

There has been much variation in the dairy industry in how nutritional management occurs on automated milking system farms. In a recent large benchmarking study of automated milking system farms from across Canada, we aimed to quantify that variation, describing the diets fed on those farms and also detecting associations of nutritional practices with productive metrics from those farms.

Milking technologies have changed over many decades, so have feeding strategies incorporated on the dairy farm. For those using automation to milk cows, providing feed at the robot was thought to be paramount to the system’s success. Recently, some automated milking producers have started to rethink this approach.

At the recent Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Field Day hosted by the Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference and allied industries, this topic took center stage. Speakers from various industry partners and academic institutions highlighted the promise and potential of technology in dairy farming.

Routines to maintain udder health change with the transition to automated milking. In a parlor, most of the monitoring of the cow, the equipment, and to some extent the environment, is part of the milking routine. It is completed by the workers in the parlor as they prep, strip and attach milkers. In automated milking, it is important to develop daily routines to monitor those milk quality control points in other ways. 

Milking automation represents not only a technological advancement but a fundamental shift in dairy farm management. While automation simplifies processes, the human touch remains indispensable. Successfully managing employees requires finding the right balance between leveraging the power of technology and nurturing a supportive, engaged work environment.

The best robot cows combine four factors – milk production, milkability, milking speed and trips to the robot. Each of these factors can be measured, and the measurements can be combined to rank the best robot cows.