Consistent daily and weekly owner maintenance is necessary to get the most from automated milking, feeding or cleaning systems. Regular cleaning, inspecting and checking components prevents costly downtime, protects milk quality and reduces stress on cows and farmers.

They say football is won and lost in the trenches with fundamentals like blocking and tackling. The fundamentals of automated milking systems are monitoring performance and completing maintenance.

Few things reflect a well-run dairy like relaxed, happy cows chewing their cud in the milking parlor. Rotary parlors are designed to support that kind of consistency. They bring comfort and efficiency to the milking process through steady movement and streamlined routines.

Like the speedometer, the dry-off list may include cows that are milking more than expected, and it might be necessary to pump the brakes hard to dry them off successfully. Or, like the blind spot, life happens, holidays and time off intervene, and suddenly, there are more cows on the dry-off list than expected. Automated milking systems and milking system software have some options for managing cows going into the dry period.

I asked ChatGPT whether farmers should upgrade their automated milking systems. The artificial intelligence (AI) answer was, “If the current system is outdated and requires frequent repairs; if newer technology offers clear efficiency, milk yield or labor savings; if financing options make the investment viable.” Those are good answers. I talked to several real farmers and got better answers.