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.

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.

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.

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.

Efficiency is the key to success in the dairy industry. There are never enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do, so maximizing those hours, minutes and even seconds is the hallmark of a good operation.

While it is impossible to eliminate cases of mastitis in a dairy herd, automation can help producers save time, money and resources, ensuring their cows get the best and most timely care possible.

Is your robot feed bin a place that you avoid until the cows stop eating? Here are some tips to help monitor and manage feed in the bin, before the cows run out of pellets or stop visiting.

It might seem counterintuitive to work on something that isn’t broken, but a small amount of effort can prevent major disruptions down the line. By dedicating a small amount of time to maintenance tasks now, you can avoid costly downtimes and ensure your dairy operation runs smoothly and efficiently.

At the heart of the approach of harvesting high-quality milk is ensuring farmers have a thorough understanding of key milk quality parameters, including milk composition, somatic cell count (SCC), bacterial count and the absence of contaminants.