Are you comfortable running your gas gauge to empty before you even look for a gas station or do you fill up when you get below half a tank? I use my GPS even when I know where I am going because I have this irrational need to always compare my distance to empty to my distance to destination. In robotic milking, if we compare the number of milkings per cow per day to the distance to destination, then gate passages, rejections and refusals compare to the distance to empty. Gate passages, rejections and refusals measure activity in the barn, and we need to know there is enough activity to get the milkings we need, just like we need to know there is enough gas to get the miles we need.
Rejections and Refusals
Rejections and refusals are visits to the milking station when the cow is released unmilked because she does not have milking permission. If a free flow barn averages one rejection or refusal per cow per day, we can be confident that the cows are coming to the robot enough times to get the milkings we want. If rejections or refusals drop, milkings are likely to drop soon after. If rejections or refusals are low, it may be necessary to adjust the balance between the PMR and the pellets, adjust milking permission, or review stocking density. If refusals are more than 2, and the goal for milkings is not being met, consider adjusting milking permission to use more of the trips to the robot for milking.
Gate Passages
Gate passages measure cow flow in in a guided flow barn much like rejections and refusals do in a free flow barn. Cows go through gates to get to feed or milk. The software counts the total number of times a cow is identified at a gate. This includes entrance gates and exit gates. If a cow comes to the gate and the gate moves to send her to the right place, but she doesn’t go through, that is still a gate passage, even when it happens 30 times a day. It also includes going through sort gates that are connected to the robot. That’s the only time going through the robot is a gate passage. Gate passages are easy to find in the software, but they get a little complicated, a little farm specific, and a little unreliable.
Passes to Feed, Passes to Milk, and True Passages
I decided the Cow Corner weekly report needed a measure that is more reliable, less complicated, and easier to compare between farms. I dug a little deeper to count the gate passages that matter. Passes to feed measures the number of times per day an average cow comes to the gate and is sent to feed because she does not have milking permission. One pass to feed, like a rejection or refusal, ensues there are adequate opportunities for milking. 2 to 3 passes to feed indicate that the cow is making extra trips to the bunk to maximize dry matter intake. The number of passes to milk will be close to the number of actual milkings. The relationship between passes to feed to passes to milk helps evaluate milking permissions and gate decisions. The total true passages are the sum of passes to milk and passes to feed. Passages to feed, passes to milk, and true passages count the same thing on every farm regardless of how many gates there are, or how the gates are configured. Photocells on the gates do have to be cleaned and adjusted for gates to count accurately. It is usually not a good idea to keep the gate in manual for extended periods because counts and cow flow can be affected.
The Cow Corner Peak Performance Program
Passes to feed, passes to milk and true passages are part of the Cow Corner Peak Performance program. Contact me at Cow Corner to learn more about a better way to measure cow traffic in your barn.
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