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

THE IMPACT OF DAYS IN MILK ON ROBOTIC MILKING

According to Dairy Records Management System (DRMS), US herds average 177 days in milk (DIM). Average DIM depends on when cows become pregnant. The sooner cows get pregnant, the lower the average days in milk will be. The lowest herd in the DRMS dataset averaged 123 DIM. The majority of herds are between 158 and 196 DIM. Days in milk are even more important in robotic milking.

Apr 24, 20253 min read

HOW SOON TO BREED AFTER CALVING

This week I had one conversation with someone who waits 80 days after calving to start breeding cows and another conversation with someone was considering starting 45 days after calving. That’s quite a range. Who was right? And, does the right answer have anything to do with whether or not cows are milked in robots?

Aug 22, 20243 min read

THE COW CORNER REPRODUCTION AND HEALTH REPORT

The Cow Corner Reproduction and Health Report summarizes several reproductive key performance indicators in one place. It saves the time and trouble of looking in several places for the management information you need. It makes it easy to share information with your veterinarian, nutritionist, or AI specialist who may or may not be familiar with your milking system software. It also provides a side-by side comparison to each of the 2 previous months, the farm goal, and the in

Feb 22, 20242 min read

THE COW CORNER GLOSSARY OF DAIRY REPRODUCTION KPI’S

There is no single metric that fits every farm’s goals, and there is no single metric that covers every aspect of any farm. This guide...

Dec 7, 20234 min read