The successful integration of automatic milking (AM) systems and grazing has resulted in AM becoming a feasible alternative to conventional milking (CM) in pasture-based systems. The objective of this study was to identify the profitability of AM in a pasture-based system, relative to CM herringbone parlors with 2 different levels of automation, across 2 farm sizes, over a 10-yr period following initial investment. The scenarios which were evaluated were (1) a medium farm milking 70 cows twice daily, with 1 AM unit, a 12-unit CM medium-specification (MS) parlor and a 12-unit CM high-specification (HS) parlor, and (2) a large farm milking 140 cows twice daily with 2 AM units, a 20-unit CM MS parlor and a 20-unit CM HS parlor. A stochastic whole-farm budgetary simulation model combined capital investment costs and annual labor and maintenance costs for each investment scenario, with each scenario evaluated using multiple financial metrics, such as annual net profit, annual net cash flow, total discounted net profitability, total discounted net cash flow, and return on investment. The capital required for each investment was financed from borrowings at an interest rate of 5% and repaid over 10-yr, whereas milking equipment and building infrastructure were depreciated over 10 and 20 yr, respectively. A supporting labor audit (conducted on both AM and CM farms) showed a 36% reduction in labor demand associated with AM. However, despite this reduction in labor, MS CM technologies consistently achieved greater profitability, irrespective of farm size. The AM system achieved intermediate profitability at medium farm size; it was 0.5% less profitable than HS technology at the large farm size. The difference in profitability was greatest in the years after the initial investment. This study indicated that although milking with AM was less profitable than MS technologies, it was competitive when compared with a CM parlor of similar technology.

The effect of poultry manure on yield and growth of corn was studied on an Elkton sandy loam, typic ochraquults clayey mixed mesic, in southern Delaware. Plots with six levels of manure 0, 22, 56, 90, 168, and 224 metric tons/ha and a fertilizer treatment 224‐5‐186 kg/ha (N‐P‐K) and 22 metric tons/ha manure plus 224‐5‐186 kg/ha (N‐P‐K) were laid out in a randomized block design with four replications in 1971.Germination and yield of corn (Zea mays L.) were reduced by higher rates of poultry manure. Leaf mineral nutrition, the nitrogen fraction, organic acids, total ethanol soluble sugars, leaf water potential, leaf area index, soil salinity, and soil test data were determined to find the factors that contributed most to the yield reduction. Excessive soil salinity was considered to be the most important cause of the yield reduction following the application of high rates of poultry manure.

The objective of this study was to identify the major electricity and water-consuming components of a pasture-based automatic milking (AM) system and to establish the daily and seasonal consumption trends. Electricity and water meters were installed on 7 seasonal calving pasture-based AM farms across Ireland. Electricity-consuming processes and equipment that were metered for consumption included milk cooling components, air compressors, AM unit(s), auxiliary water heaters, water pumps, lights, sockets, automatic manure scrapers, and so on. On-farm direct water-consuming processes and equipment were metered and included AM unit(s), auxiliary water heaters, tubular coolers, wash-down water pumps, livestock drinking water supply, and miscellaneous water taps. Data were collected and analyzed for the 12-mo period of 2015. The average AM farm examined had 114 cows, milking with 1.85 robots, performing a total of 105 milkings/AM unit per day. Total electricity consumption and costs were 62.6 Wh/L of milk produced and 0.91 cents/L, respectively. Milking (vacuum and milk pumping, within-AM unit water heating) had the largest electrical consumption at 33%, followed by air compressing (26%), milk cooling (18%), auxiliary water heating (8%), water pumping (4%), and other electricity-consuming processes (11%). Electricity costs followed a similar trend to that of consumption, with the milking process and water pumping accounting for the highest and lowest cost, respectively. The pattern of daily electricity consumption was similar across the lactation periods, with peak consumption occurring at 0100, 0800, and between 1300 and 1600 h. The trends in seasonal electricity consumption followed the seasonal milk production curve. Total water consumption was 3.7 L of water/L of milk produced. Water consumption associated with the dairy herd at the milking shed represented 42% of total water consumed on the farm. Daily water consumption trends indicated consumption to be lowest in the early morning period (0300-0600 h), followed by spikes in consumption between 1100 and 1400 h. Seasonal water trends followed the seasonal milk production curve, except for the month of May, when water consumption was reduced due to above-average rainfall. This study provides a useful insight into the consumption of electricity and water on a pasture-based AM farms, while also facilitating the development of future strategies and technologies likely to increase the sustainability of AM systems.

No abstract

The effect of dairy cow breed on milk production, cow traffic and milking characteristics in a pasture-based automatic milking system, Livestock Science,

The objective of this experiment was to establish the effect of low-concentrate (LC) and high-concentrate (HC) supplementation in the early and late periods of lactation on milk production and cow traffic in a pasture-based automatic milking (AM) system. In total, 40 cows (10 primiparous and 30 multiparous) were randomly assigned to one of the two treatments. The experimental periods for the early and late lactation trials extended from 23 February to 12 April 2015 and 31 August to 18 October 2015, respectively (49 days in each trial period). The early lactation supplement levels were 2.3 and 4.4 kg/cow per day for LC and HC, respectively, whereas the late lactation supplement levels were 0.5 and 2.7 kg/cow per day for LC and HC, respectively. Variables measured included milking frequency, milking interval, milking outcome and milking characteristics, milk yield/visit and per day, wait time/visit and per day, return time/visit and the distribution of gate passes. As the herd was seasonal (spring) calving, the experimental periods could not run concurrently and as a result no statistical comparison between the periods was conducted. There was no significant effect of treatment in the early lactation period on any of the milk production, milking characteristics or cow traffic variables. However, treatment did significantly affect the distribution of gate passes, with the HC cows recording significantly more gate passes in the hours preceding the gate time change such as hours 7 (P<0.01), 15 (P<0.05), 20, 21 (P<0.001), and 22 (P<0.05), whereas the LC treatment recorded significantly more gate passes in the hours succeeding the gate time change, such as time points 2 (P<0.01) and 10 (P<0.05). There was a significant effect of treatment in late lactation, with HC having a greater milk yield (P<0.01), milking duration and activity/day (P<0.05), while also having a significantly shorter milking interval (P<0.05) and return time/visit (P<0.01). The distribution of gate passes were similar to the early lactation period, with HC also recording a significantly greater number of gate passes during the early morning period (P<0.01) when visitations were at their lowest. Any decision regarding the supplementing of dairy cows with concentrates needs to be examined from an economic perspective, to establish if the milk production and cow traffic benefits displayed in late lactation outweigh the cost of the concentrate; thereby ensuring that the decision to supplement is financially prudent.

Increased economic, societal and environmental challenges facing agriculture are leading to a greater focus on effective way to combine grazing and automatic milking systems (AMS). One of the fundamental aspects of robotic milking is cows' traffic to the AMS. Numerous studies have identified feed provided, either as fresh grass or concentrate supplement, as the main incentive for cows to return to the robot. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of concentrate allocation on voluntary cow traffic from pasture to the robot during the grazing period, to highlight the interactions between grazed pasture and concentrate allocation in terms of substitution rate and the subsequent effect on average milk yield and composition. Thus, 29 grazing cows, milked by a mobile robot, were monitored for the grazing period (4 months). They were assigned to two groups: a low concentrate (LC) group (15 cows) and a high concentrate (HC) group (14 cows) receiving 2 and 4 kg concentrate/cow per day, respectively; two allocations per day of fresh pasture were provided at 0700 and 1600 h. The cows had to go through the AMS to receive the fresh pasture allocation. The effect of concentrate level on robot visitation was calculated by summing milkings, refusals and failed milkings/cow per day. The impact on average daily milk yield and composition was also determined. The interaction between lactation number and month was used as an indicator of pasture availability. Concentrate allocation increased significantly robot visitations in HC (3.60 ± 0.07 visitations/cow per day in HC and 3.10 ± 0.07 visitations/cow per day in LC; P < 0.001) while milkings/cow per day were similar in both groups (LC: 2.37 ± 0.02/day and HC: 2.39 ± 0.02/day; Ns). The average daily milk yield over the grazing period was enhanced in HC (22.39 ± 0.22 kg/cow per day in HC and 21.33 ± 0.22 kg/cow per day in LC; P < 0.001). However the gain in milk due to higher concentrate supply was limited with regards to the amount of provided concentrates. Milking frequency in HC primiparous compared with LC was increased. In the context of this study, considering high concentrate levels as an incentive for robot visitation might be questioned, as it had no impact on milking frequency and limited impact on average milk yield and composition. By contrast, increased concentrate supply could be targeted specifically to primiparous cows.