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.

Why and why not?

The cash cost of pellets is pretty clear when the feed bill comes each month, so many conversations about eliminating pellets begin with saving money. Remember that dry matter intake and nutrient requirements won’t change. If something is not being provided in the pellet, it will need to be put in the partial mixed ration (PMR). A PMR balanced for a higher level of production may overfeed lower producing, late lactation cows, resulting in higher costs for that group. On the other hand, if forage quality is high, eliminating pellets can allow a higher forage ration. As one customer correctly said, “There’s more milk in my forages than there is in my pellets.” If forage quality is low, concentrate supplementation will be needed, and pellets may be the best way to do it. Another customer observed that actual pellet intake varied a great deal between cows and from day to day. For him, moving nutrients and dry matter from the pellet to the bunk resulted in more consistent feeding across the herd. More consistent feeding allows for more accurate ration balancing. Cost can be a factor, but the nutritional aspects of eliminating pellets may be more important.

When will it work?

Successfully eliminating robot feed depends on 3 factors. First, the barn must have guided

flow traffic. Each traffic system has its own merits and I work with top producing herds that use each system. Robot feed motivates cows to move to the robots in a free flow barn so you can't take the robot feed away. PMR motivates cows to move to the robots in a guided flow barn. Second, the forage must be excellent quality. Highly digestible forages are the basis of high production on a high forage ration. Highly digestible forages move through the cow quickly so she comes back to the bunk sooner. Third, someone on the farm has to take ownership of training cows to move through the guided flow system. Cows need to know that they can go to the bunk after they go through the robot. Once those 3 factors are in place, choose a time when the herd is in a stable state. When one of my customers started reducing robot feed, unrelated problems kept cows from peaking as expected. We held the robot feed at the same level for several months until the other problems stabilized. Then we resumed the reduction.

How to do it?

Make all adjustments gradually and monitor for complications. Some farms have had good results by reducing the rate at which feed is dispensed. I prefer to reduce the max per visit. Max per visit provides the same reduction for all cows, regardless of their milking speed. After the herd average consumption is reduced below 1.5 pounds per day, you can begin completely eliminating feed for the fresh cows. We continued reducing max per visit to keep the total ration consistent between cows that freshened with no pellet and cows that were still being weaned away from pellet.

I am involved with monitoring and making adjustments for farms that are eliminating feed in the robot. I can help you decide whether it will work on your farm, and I can help you through the process. I will share more customer results in future newsletters.