Factors associated with increased milk production for automatic milking systems

Abstract

Automatic milking systems (AMS) are increasingly popular throughout the world. Our objective was to analyze 635 North American dairy farms with AMS for (risk) factors associated with increased milk production per cow per day and milk production per robot per day. We used multivariable generalized mixed linear regressions, which identified several significant risk factors and interactions of risk factors associated with milk production. Free traffic was associated with increased production per cow and per robot per day compared with forced systems, and the presence of a single robot per pen was associated with decreased production per robot per day compared with pens using 2 robots. Retrofitted farms had significantly less production in the first 4 yr since installation compared with production after 4 yr of installation. In contrast, newly built farms did not see a significant change in production over time since installation. Overall, retrofitted farms did not produce significantly more or less milk than newly constructed farms. Detailed knowledge of factors associated with increased production of AMS will help guide future recommendations to producers looking to transition to an AMS and maximize their production.

The impact of installation of automatic milking system on production and reproduction traits of dairy cows

“…However, it requires the analysis of reports on herd's condition, coming from the software of the milking robot (Piwczynski, Sitkowska, Aerts, & Kolenda, ). There are scientific publications (Tremblay et al., ) concerning the impact of the introduction of the AMS on the improvement of production traits. The research indicates that the installation of the AMS can result in the increase in milk yield.…”

Robotic milking: Feeding strategies and economic returns

“…In addition, large concentrate allowances in the AMS are typically coupled with feeding a PMR with a low nutrient density; thus, if cows do not consume all concentrate allocated in the AMS, their nutrient supply is compromised, which could hamper milk production and profits. In fact, Tremblay et al (2016) found a negative association between concentrate allowance in the AMS and milk yield, although the same study also reported a positive association between the percentage of feed allowance that was not consumed and milk production. This emphasizes that the potential advantages of feeding cows more closely to their nutrient needs are only achieved if the precision at which these nutrients are offered is high.…”

“…Imposing a forced or guided traffic to cows milked in an AMS improves milking frequency and reduces variation in milking intervals, but it has been reported to reduce the time that cows have access to the feed bunk (Hermans et al, 2003;Woolford et al, 2004;Melin et al, 2007) and compromise feed intake (Bach et al, 2009). In fact, a recent multivariate analysis of field data (Tremblay et al, 2016) reported that forced traffic was associated with decreased milk production compared with free traffic conditions. Therefore, the ideal situation would be free traffic and nutritional approaches that would reduce variation in the number of visits to the AMS.…”

“…Milk harvested per cow and milking is related to the time elapsed since previous milking, with this relationship being more or less linear until 16 h and becomes constant thereafter (Delamaire and Guinard-Flament, 2006). Tremblay et al (2016) showed that, as the number of cows per AMS increases, the number of milkings is reduced (i.e., milking interval increases) and the time that cows occupy the AMS increases. Despite the fact that both milking frequency and time spent in the AMS per milking increase milk production, these 2 aspects rarely increase simultaneously (Tremblay et al, 2016).…”

“…Tremblay et al (2016) showed that, as the number of cows per AMS increases, the number of milkings is reduced (i.e., milking interval increases) and the time that cows occupy the AMS increases. Despite the fact that both milking frequency and time spent in the AMS per milking increase milk production, these 2 aspects rarely increase simultaneously (Tremblay et al, 2016). It is commonly recommended that the number of animals per AMS should be around 60 to 70 cows.…”