It is estimated that 10% of UK farms already use robotic milking, but they also constitute 35% of all new milking systems being purchased. In Holland 40% of dairy farms are automated, with some Scandinavian countries as high as 50%. The number of cows milked in robots is expected to more than double in the next 5 years.
The 3 biggest reasons for choosing automated milking continue to be:
Improved lifestyle and flexibility with working routine
Desire not to have to manage as much employed labour
Improved cow health – earlier detection of illness due to robot data, less standing time and improved hoof health
Nutritional Considerations
which many nutritionists fall into. Careful consideration should be taken to balance the energy provided both in the base ration and through the robot feeds. 80% of the energy required for the average yield cow should be met in the base ration to encourage visits to the milking station.
Q. What were the biggest reasons for choosing robots?
A. We wanted to expand the herd, but this meant we would need to employ labour and add costs to what had been a low input system – robots gave us the solution of expansion without employing additional labour.
Q. What has been the biggest benefit of milking with robots versus a milking parlour?
A. Robots have allowed me to spend more time with my wife and three young children which was another reason for installation. The system also allows us to milk three times per day which has improved our cow's milk production. Another benefit is that most of our fieldwork is done by ourselves and during the silaging time, by having the robots we don’t need to stop and go milking and miss out on crucial time in the field, it has given us more flexibility.
Q. Would you do anything differently thinking back to the building work?
A. I would not change anything with the robot layout itself and robot installation, however, I would put wider passages between the feed fence and cubicles and between cubicle rows – currently 12ft but we would have preferred 16ft to improve cow flow in the shed.
Q. Any plans for expansion in the future?
A. We would consider installing a 3rd robot and milking another 60 cows to expand the herd further as well as renting more land to support this.
Q. What advice would you give to anyone considering robots?
A. We designed our system to include a separation area behind the robots to which the robots can segregate cows for vet routine visits or routine foot trimming. This has proved invaluable from a labour efficiency point of view and I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about installing it.
