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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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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 13, 20253 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 6, 20252 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 those in specific situations. Most farms will prefer to minimize the amount of pellet and maximize the amount of PMR. That’s simple economics. It is less expensive to meet a cow’s nutrient requirements with forages, like corn silage and alfalfa, than with concentrates like corn, soybean meal, and manufactured pellets. The more uniform the group
Feb 27, 20253 min read
BALANCING THE BUNK AND THE PELLET - PART 1 - THE PIECES
We give up a lot of control when we stop taking cows out of the pen for milking and expect them to come to the robot on their own initiative. How do we regain control? Some say it is pressure on the udder – but how much pressure? Some say training – but what reinforces the training? Some say cows like pellets – but they like PMR too. The one thing that we can control, and in turn control where cows spend their time, is where cows go to get nutrients. In free-flow barns, that
Feb 20, 20252 min read
MIDWEST DAIRY CHALLENGE GRAB BAG
I spent much of my week at the Dairy Challenge Midwest Regional contest in Brookings, South Dakota. I caught up with old friends, made new friends, and learned a few new things about our industry. Here are some of the random highlights.
Feb 13, 20252 min read
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...
Feb 6, 20253 min read
HOW LONG WAS SHE DRY? AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR ROBOTIC MILKING
How long does a cow need to be dry? Everyone has a slightly different idea. Most people agree that a cow should have a dry period between 40 and 60 days. Research consistently shows that second lactation cows will produce more milk and have lower cell counts with a 55-to-60-day dry period. Older cows with longer calving intervals can maintain productivity with shorter dry periods. Too long can be as bad as too short. Long or short dry periods may result in more days open in s
Jan 30, 20253 min read
SHE JUST STOPPED COMING TO THE ROBOT
In general, we expect cows to be more persistent in robot barns than in conventional milking. Heifers tend to start their lactations more slowly than in parlors but can maintain near-peak production well beyond 200 days in milk. Getting high producers to dry off at the end of lactation is a more frequent concern in robot barns than in conventional barns. But, as Mark Twain said, “All generalizations are false, including this one.” Some cows are less persistent in robot barns.
Jan 23, 20253 min read
KEEP COWS COMFORTABLE TO KEEP THEM COMING TO THE ROBOT
Cow comfort gets a lot more attention now than it did in the days when I milked in a tie stall barn. And it should. Research shows that cows will prioritize lying time over eating time. Research also shows that more blood moves through the udder when a cow is lying down, facilitating more milk production. I find it ironic that we thought we were giving our cows the very best with deep straw bedding over a rubber mat in a spacious tie stall. Today’s freestall barns give us so
Jan 16, 20252 min read
GIVE YOUR HEIFERS A STRONG START
Last summer I participated in a tour at 4 Cubs Farm near Grantsburg, Wisconsin. 4 Cubs is a 16-unit Lely barn. It is owned by Gary, Cris, and Ben Peterson. Nathan Brandt is the dairy herd manager. There are a lot of things to be impressed with at 4 Cubs, but what stuck in my mind was the strategy for starting fresh cows and training heifers. I checked back with Nathan a few weeks ago because a Cow Corner customer was considering using a fresh pen.
Jan 7, 20253 min read
COW CORNER NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR ROBOTIC MILKING
Social media and news outlets are bursting with ideas for New Year’s resolutions and strategies to keep them. There are tips for everything from saving money to losing weight or giving up a bad habit. Here are some good robotic milking habits that you could consider starting for the new year. And, Cow Corner can have your back if you need help keeping them.
Jan 2, 20253 min read
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...
Dec 12, 20243 min read
MY NEW ROBOTIC MILKING "COMPARISON FARM"
Dairy cattle judges talk about the ideal cow they picture in their minds as their standard for comparison. Why not have a robotic milking comparison farm? I have shared a lot of ideas about robotic dairying, and I have visited a lot of farms that execute many of those ideas extremely well. On my last trip to Canada, I visited Shamrock Dairy, at Panoka, Alberta. and it is has become my standard for comparison. They combine top notch cow comfort and bunk management to make thei
Dec 5, 20243 min read
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
Nov 21, 20243 min read
ASSIGNING MILKING PERMISSION TO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF COWS
One of the advantages of robotic milking systems is the opportunity to customize a milking schedule according to each cow’s age, production, and stage of lactation. The right milking frequency maximizes the cow’s production and comfort, and the robot’s efficiency.
Nov 14, 20243 min read
IN ROBOTIC MILKING, FEED THEM LIKE STEERS
Many sources, including the Cow Corner blog, advocate feeding dairy cows so that 5% of their feed remains to be removed each day before fresh feed is delivered to the bunk – 5% refusals. Research suggests that feeding for 6% refused feed results in 50 minutes more eating time than feeding for 3% refused feed. More eating time can mean more dry matter intake. More dry matter intake can mean more milk production. The last pound of dry matter intake just might be the most profit
Nov 8, 20243 min read
DRYING OFF COWS IN ROBOTS
Historically, abruptly discontinuing milking was the most common way to start the dry period. There were a few who milked the cow again a week later before administering dry treatment. Some milked once a day for a week. In tie stall barns we could take the concentrates away, and some even disabled the drinking cups. But frankly, drying off cows that milked 30 pounds per day was not that difficult. Times have changed. It is not uncommon for cows to finish their lactations at w
Oct 31, 20243 min read
WHICH COWS ARE EARNING THEIR TIME IN THE ROBOT?
I have spent many hours, in many different farm offices, discussing the fate of top producing cows that take too much time in the robot. Maybe they dance and kick so attachment takes longer, or maybe their teats restrict milk flow. If they take twice as long as other cows, they need to produce a lot more milk than other cows to earn their time. You can balance production, speed, and behavior, with a weighted index, much like the genetic indexes for TPI or Net Merit.
Oct 24, 20242 min read
HOW BORED ARE YOUR COWS?
Recently, customers have been asking about day-to-day and seasonal variation in their robot barns. They want to know why production, visits, and cow flow can’t be more consistent. In normal day-to-day operation, the five things most likely to change are environment, cows, feed, machines, and people. Each of those can affect how much cows eat, how much they rest, and in a robot barn, how often they are milked. The more consistent we can keep these five, the more bored our cows
Oct 17, 20243 min read
WAYS TO INCREASE MILKINGS/ROBOT
In previous articles, I suggested a general goal of 170 milkings per robot per day and an industry average of 140 milkings. What does it take to get from 140 milkings to 170 milkings?
Oct 10, 20242 min read
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