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
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
TROUBLESHOOTING LOW MILKINGS IN ROBOTS - PART 2
Frequent milking starts with healthy, well-trained cows, that have PMR available 22 hours a day, and breed back on time. That was part 1 of troubleshooting low milkings. The feed that is offered in the robots is equally important in free flow barns. Guided flow barns feed differently. If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. Do not change anything! If you think there is room for improvement, get input from your nutrition consultant and your robotic milking advisor. Th
Aug 14, 20253 min read
TROUBLESHOOTING LOW MILKINGS IN ROBOTS – PART 1
Most farmers would be concerned if the herd averaged less than 2.5 milkings for an extended period of time, regardless of how often the fresh cows are milked. This first article, of a 3-part series, will explain how herd health, reproduction, bunk management, and training affect the average number of milkings in all robotic systems.
Aug 7, 20253 min read
ADDING ROBOTIC FEEDING TO ROBOTIC MILKING
For some producers, a robotic feeding system is the next logical step after adopting robotic milking. Robotic feeding systems make feeding more flexible in the same way milking robots make milking more flexible. Robotic feeding systems can mix, deliver, and push up feed. They can also monitor intake, and adjust batch size and feeding frequency as needed. Robotic feeding systems can save labor, allow more flexible time management, and facilitate more frequent feeding, as compa
Jul 30, 20252 min read
MANAGING INCOMPLETE MILKINGS AND FAILURES IN ROBOTS
An introspective question that comes up periodically in the Gerbitz family is, “What were you pretending not to know?” It implies that ignoring a small problem has resulted in a bigger problem. Incomplete and failed milkings can be like that. Incompletes and failures are DeLaval and Lely’s terms for milkings that did not harvest all of the milk that was expected to be harvested. There are many reasons for a cow to have an incomplete milking. It may be that all the milk was h
Jul 24, 20252 min read
SYSTEMATIC COW MONITORING IN ROBOTIC MILKING
This article describes how different technologies work together to monitor cow health in robotic milking.
Jul 17, 20252 min read
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 10, 20253 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 21, 20253 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 19, 20252 min read
ROBOTIC MILKING STARTUP STORIES
True stories about robotic milking startups with tips for future startups.
Jun 12, 20253 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 5, 20252 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 29, 20253 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 22, 20252 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 22, 20251 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 15, 20253 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 8, 20253 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 30, 20253 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 24, 20253 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 17, 20253 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 10, 20252 min read
bottom of page