FREE FLOW OR GUIDED FLOW ROBOTIC MILKING?

Which do you like better, free flow or guided flow? People ask me this question about robotic milking more frequently than any other. Answering is like when my wife asks, “Is this to tight?” or “Do these go together?” or best of all, “How do you like this new recipe?” So, let me tell you about my favorite cow traffic system, with only a little less diplomacy than I use to answer my wife’s questions.

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. They have to get something in the robot that they cannot get in the bunk or they have no reason to go to the robot. If you prefer to provide most of the nutrients at the bunk, you should consider a guided traffic system. It follows that you must be willing and able to remove nutrients from the bunk, and replace them in the robot, to get cows milked in a free flow system.

Willing, and able, to remove nutrients are equally important. Willing, because nutrients

provided as concentrate in the robot are generally more expensive than nutrients provided through forages at the bunk. Able, because it may be difficult to limit nutrients in the bunk when forage quality is extremely high. It may not be practical to dilute high quality forages to create a need at the robot. On the other hand, when cropping practices and climate limit forage quality, robots are convenient places to provide supplemental concentrates. Nutrients provided in the robot can be customized for different levels of production and different stages of lactation so that each cow gets exactly what she needs.

Traffic in free flow systems is sensitive to forage changes. Adjustments are often required when switching between crops and cuttings. But feed is a powerful tool to make cows move, and free flow systems allow us to challenge cows for top production and milkings. Concentrate offered in the robot can provide extra nutrients in early lactation when forage dry matter intake may be limiting.

Gate settings are equally sensitive in guided flow barns. They must be balanced betwe

en allowing cows access to the bunk, and retaining them for milking, as movement in the barn varies through the day. Allowing too many cows access to the commitment pen results in long wait times. Allowing too few cows into the commitment pen means missed opportunities for milking. Some guided flow barns have been successful with no feed offered in the robot because cows come to the robot to get to the feed bunk.

My preference between free flow and guided flow is about as clear as Gydo de Vries’s. De Vries built a barn that has one free flow pen and one guided flow pen. He is happy with both. (See https://www.cow-corner.co/post/my-new-comparison-farm) Contact Cow Corner for help planning your facility and deciding which traffic system is best for you.