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CONSULT CORNER
Robotic Milking Resources from John Gerbitz
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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
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WHERE DO HIGH OLEIC BEANS FIT IN ROBOTIC MILKING?
The decision to feed roasted high oleic beans in robots will depend on availability, feeding system, and cost.
Jul 103 min read
HOW REPRO PERFORMANCE IMPACTS ROBOT UTILIZATION IN ROBOTIC MILKING
The 65-cow group with 30% over 200 DIM had over 200 pounds more milk per robot per day, as compared to the same number of cows in the 45% group.
Jun 213 min read
FREE FLOW OR GUIDED FLOW ROBOTIC MILKING?
Choosing between free flow and guided flow starts with the forages. In a guided flow barn, cows have to go past the robot to get to the bunk. Every time they go to the bunk there is an opportunity to milk them. Most of their motivation to move around the barn can come from the feed bunk. In a free flow barn, cows can choose whether they will go to the robot or to the bunk.
Jun 192 min read
ROBOTIC MILKING STARTUP STORIES
True stories about robotic milking startups with tips for future startups.
Jun 123 min read
COOLING COWS WITH SPRINKLERS IN THE ROBOTS
Here are some things to consider when using sprinklers in the robots to cool dairy cows.
Jun 52 min read
IS A FRESH COW PEN RIGHT FOR YOUR ROBOTIC DAIRY?
Fresh pens can allow more robot time for fresh cows. They can also improve labor efficiency by concentrating the training and monitoring of fresh cows in one place.
May 293 min read
EVERYTHING IS INTERCONNECTED WHEN YOU MILK WITH ROBOTS
Paul Windemuller and I visited about robotic milking on his Agculture podcast. We covered everything from feeding to fetching, and from barn design to cow comfort. Paul’s comment about his own experience summed up the episode, “I’ve been fascinated by it (robotic milking) because you really see how interconnected everything is on a dairy farm, and with a dairy cow, when you milk with robots.” In other words, it’s important to use a system approach to problem solving, rather t
May 222 min read
COW CORNER ROBOTIC MILKING ON THE AGCULTURE PODCAST
Paul Windemuller and I talked about Cow Corner and the relationship between dairy management and robotic milking on his AgCulture...
May 221 min read
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM HEIFERS MILKED IN ROBOTS
A few years ago, a farmer told me they liked their robots but they weren’t sure robots were the best way to milk heifers. They were disappointed with the milk yield. Another farmer told me he moved an 80-pound fresh heifer from the parlor to the robots and within 3 weeks that heifer was over 130 pounds. The Dairy Records Management Systems average for first lactation heifers, from 1-40 days in milk (DIM), is 70 pounds per day. 95% of the heifers in that data set averaged betw
May 153 min read
FIELD EXPERIENCE WITH REDUCING FEED IN MILKING ROBOTS
It’s been a little more than a year since robotic dairies began having serious conversations about taking away all of the feed in the robot. That’s enough time to accumulate some field experience. That field experience has helped us understand why we might be reducing feed in milking robots, when it is likely to work, and how to make adjustments.
May 83 min read
MANAGING THE COMMITMENT PEN IN GUIDED FLOW ROBOTIC MILKING
In fully guided flow robotic milking, cows receive access to the robot through a commitment pen, where they are held until a robot is available. A sort gate determines whether cows go to the commitment pen or the feed bunk. At the simplest level, cows with milking permission go through the commitment pen, to the robots, and cows without milking permission go to the feed bunk. It’s actually more complicated than that. Sort gate decisions in the software can also limit the numb
Apr 303 min read
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 243 min read
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FOR MANAGING ROBOTIC-MILKED TRANSITION COWS
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is the title of a 1966 Clint Eastwood western. I must admit that I have never seen the film. The title is cliché, and it came to mind after some recent conversations about managing the transition period for robotic-milked cows. We have the good – the industry standards for transition management relating to stocking density, feed availability, pen moves, cooling, and body condition. We have the bad – real life limitations like existing buildings
Apr 173 min read
USING PEAK PRODUCTION TO EVALUATE ROBOTIC MILKING
Every dairy producer likes to look at peak production numbers, especially with the availability of that metric in robotic milking software. It is truly amazing how much milk the modern dairy cow can make in a day, when she is at the top of her lactation curve. Peak production is even more impressive when you remember that each extra pound at peak will result in 200 to 250 more pounds over the whole lactation. If peak milk increases 5 pounds per cow in a 300-cow herd that’s 30
Apr 102 min read
HOOF CARE IN ROBOTIC MILKING
Is hoof care different in robotic milking, as compared to parlor barns? I asked that question of Brett Illies. Bret was a professional hoof trimmer, and now he works as a Hoof Care Specialist for AgroChem. * The principles of hoof care are the same in all barns. There are some characteristics of robot barns that make the application different.
Apr 33 min read
COW-SPECIFIC SETTINGS IN ROBOTIC MILKING
Your robotic milking system can be micromanaged by assigning special milk access, feed, and milking settings to individual cows or small gro
Mar 273 min read
RETHINKING MILKING PERMISSION IN ROBOTIC MILKING
What if you have unused robot capacity? Can less restrictive milking permission improve cow flow and decrease free time or idle time? The short answer is, no.
Mar 202 min read
OVER-HERD AT AN AMS PANEL DISCUSSION
In February of 2025 Minnesota and Wisconsin University Extension hosted workshops titled “Milking Robots: Are they the future?”. The presentations and informal conversations were great learning opportunities. But the producer panels were the highlights of both meetings. You just can’t beat learning from those who work hands-on with robotic milking systems every day. Here are a few quotes from the panelists, and my comments on why they resonated with me.
Mar 133 min read
BALANCING THE BUNK AND THE PELLETS - PART 3 - ADJUSTMENTS
Part 2 suggested 2 similar rules of thumb for balancing the bunk and the pellet in free flow barns. One suggestion was to balance the bunk to support 15 pounds less milk than the herd average. The other was to balance for 80% of herd average. Those are more guidelines than actual rules. Part 3 covers 2 more questions. How do you tell if the bunk and pellet are balanced correctly? And what do you do if they are not?
Mar 62 min read
BALANCING THE BUNK AND THE PELLET - PART 2 - THE WHOLE
Part 1 covered the roles of PMR and pellet in meeting the energy needs of the cow and making the barn flow. Part 2, covers balancing...
Feb 273 min read
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