top of page
CONSULT CORNER
Robotic Milking Resources from John Gerbitz
FEATURED ARTICLES
IT MATTERS MORE IN ROBOTS
What matters more in robots? In some respects, almost everything. Some robot farmers complain that they cannot maintain the consistent...
WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK IN ROBOTIC MILKING?
There are 3 primary physical limitations on production in robotic milking systems. The first is milking capacity, or the number of...
EVALUATING HERD PERFORMANCE BY PARITY AND STAGE OF LACTATION
Robot herds are unique in that there are management changes built into the system for different stages of lactation. In most parlor herds, once cows leave the fresh pen, they stay in the same pen, get milked the same number of times, and eat the same ration throughout the lactation. Robotic milking systems can be set to adjust the milking frequency and pellet feeding according to milk production and stage of lactation. It makes sense to group data by lactation number and stag
ALL RESOURCES
Search
NOTES FROM A ROBOTIC MILKING PEER GROUP
Last month I was invited to gather data, and participate in a meeting of several farms. The group included a cross section of brands, traffic types, herd sizes, and management styles. Both the data and the discussion were thought provoking. Here are some of the take-away points.
2 days ago2 min read
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR ROBOTIC MILKING PROJECT
Calculating the real return on the project begins with accurate expectations for system capacity, cost of service, and capital investment.
Jan 83 min read
THE ROLE OF LIQUID FEED IN ROBOTIC MILKING
Most robotic milking systems can be equipped to dispense at least 2 feeds in either meal or pellet form. Dispensing liquid feed directly into the feed bowl can also be an option. Liquid feed in robotic milking is much less common than solid feeds, but it does have a place. It can change the physical characteristics of what is offered in the robot, or satisfy a nutritional requirement. The most common product for changing the physical characteristics of the robot feed is molas
Jan 13 min read
ROBOTIC FARM FEATURE: FOUR CUBS FARM
They believe in comparing themselves to the best and never allowing themselves to become comfortable with their success. They are meticulous about record keeping, and those records give them confidence to accurately forecast the impact of changing markets, new management practices, and facility improvements.
Dec 25, 20253 min read
ESSENTIAL COMMUNICATON FOR SUCCESSFUL ROBOTIC MILKING
“Nothing else matters until we get their buy in and trust.” Brandon Thesing, of Select Sires Member Coop made that statement during a panel discussion at the Dairy Cattle Reproductive Council annual meeting. He was talking about customers learning to use cow monitoring systems. His statement is just as true for successful communication with any new dairy farm technology – including robotic milking.
Dec 18, 20253 min read
START WITH A ROBOTIC MILKING READINESS AUDIT
Through all this, be sure to include some introspective time evaluating your strengths and weaknesses at home. How will they influence your design choices? What needs to be improved before the robots go online? How will your labor supply, feed quality, milk quality, and transition health work in a robotic milking environment? Do a robotic milking readiness audit on your farm to find out.
Dec 12, 20253 min read
USING CAMERAS TO IMPROVE ROBOTIC MILKING
The cameras are strapped to a post in the barn, and take a snapshot every 15 minutes for a week or more. Snapshots can be reviewed quickly and it’s not necessary to have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. We have learned a lot about bunk management, cow behavior, and human interaction.
Dec 4, 20253 min read
PROGESTERONE MONITORING IN ROBOTS
DeLaval’s V310* robot automatically collects regularly scheduled milk samples, and tests them for progesterone. Success depends on understanding progesterone, understanding the system, and adjusting your program to use the information.
Nov 27, 20253 min read
ROBOTIC FARM FEATURE: ZWIEG'S MAPLE ACRES
Since Kyle and Rachel Zwieg moved from the tie-stall barn to their robotic facility in 2020, their single DeLaval V300 has frequently been the highest producing DeLaval robot in the world.
Nov 19, 20252 min read
WHAT’S THAT COW DOING IN YOUR ROBOT?
This example is extreme, but with high beef prices and low heifer inventory, it is not unusual to have a marginal cow in the robot because there is no heifer to take her place. Ultimately, this is often the result of a reproductive management decision.
Nov 13, 20252 min read
MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY: PER ROBOT, PER COW, TOTAL MILK SOLD
Total milk, milk per robot, and milk per cow are all useful measures of production.
Nov 6, 20253 min read
MIXING ROBOTIC MILKING AND PARLOR MILKING
Using robots with your parlor gives you more than one way to milk a cow. Not to “Beat a dead horse,” – redundancy can be a good thing. There are some good reasons to keep the parlor going after the robots come online.
Oct 23, 20253 min read
STRATEGIES FOR CREATING REPLACEMENTS TO KEEP THE ROBOTS AT CAPACITY
Many farms unintentionally trend towards seasonal calving. A herd might become semi-seasonal if a large group of springers is purchased to populate after an expansion. Breeding challenges associated with hot weather can also create seasonal highs and lows. Once a seasonal trend is started, it will continue because calves born during peak times enter the herd as cows 2 years later during peak times, and their calves accelerate the cycle.
Oct 16, 20253 min read
REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY TO GENERATE REPLACEMENT HEIFERS
All of these combined for a surplus of heifers. Eventually, dairy farmers realized it was expensive to raise heifers they didn’t plan to milk, and started producing crossbred beef calves. More recently, the beef herd has gotten smaller, the value of beef calves has skyrocketed, and we have come full circle, with dairy heifers in short supply again. Once again, reproductive efficiency is critical to maintaining a steady supply of replacements.
Oct 8, 20253 min read
ROBOTIC FARM FEATURE: ROLINDA ACRES
Rolinda Acres maximizes production per cow by providing extra robotic milking capacity.
Oct 2, 20252 min read
HOW MANY REPLACEMENTS DO YOU NEED?
The right number of replacements is important. Raising replacements is expensive, but not having enough replacements to maintain the milking herd is even more expensive.
Sep 25, 20252 min read
CULL RATE CONSIDERATIONS
Cull rate is an essential tool for managing future herd size. You need to know how many cows are leaving the herd in order to determine how many replacements will be needed to take their place.
Sep 11, 20253 min read
CULL RATE CALCULATIONS
This article will discuss the cull rate calculations for monitoring culling in your herd. The next article in the series will deal with interpretation and application of those metrics.
Sep 4, 20253 min read
HOW FAST SHOULD FEED BE DISPENSED IN MILKING ROBOTS?
Dispense rate is a simple setting. Be sure to consider the form of the feed, the milking speed of the cows, and the behavior in the barn. The right rate will keep the barn moving and ensure that cows are neither overfed nor underfed.
Aug 27, 20252 min read
TROUBLESHOOTING LOW MILKINGS IN ROBOTS - PART 3
This is the final installment of a 3-part series on trouble shooting low milkings in robots. Part 1 covered herd management factors that apply in all barns. Part 2 addressed feed factors that are specific to free flow barns. Part 3 is about managing the commitment pen in guided flow farms. Recently, I have visited a few farms that switched, or considered switching, from guided flow to free flow, or free flow to guided flow. I wrote this series to offer some food for thought,
Aug 21, 20253 min read
bottom of page