When you consider that milk is a dairy’s top revenue source, milking technicians have a huge impact on the operation’s profitability. If parlor performance lags or procedures drift, the entire enterprise may be at risk.

Efficiency is key to making the milking system as profitable as possible. Parlor turns can greatly impact milk collected per stall, and milkabilty measures of individual cows, like milking speed and milking duration, will impact how quickly cows make their way through the parlor.

Are you as profitable as you could be with your current cow numbers? Cutting labor to the bone is not a path to profitability. Allowing the cow to be a cow is a much better move.

The first year of milking cows in a rotary can be both a dynamic and humbling experience; the learning curve is different for every individual farm. 

The key to being the best manager is making the most of your time and the robot’s time. Here is how to be an effective herd manager with robots.

Let’s be very clear – we do not use vacuum to “suck” the milk out of the cow. She must give it to us voluntarily. If we want to milk cows more gently, quickly and completely, the goal must be to improve milk flow rates through better stimulation and milk letdowns.

How often should you do an audit in your milking parlor and adjust your protocols? Let's analyze a few different dairies around the country and consider the success they saw when conducting an audit.

Whether your parlor is five or 25 years old, there is always room to improve. Data can help unlock parlor potential and take performance from good to great. The key is understanding the data and reviewing it routinely.