MEASURING PROGRESS ON A ROBOTIC DAIRY

Long ago, when I learned to drive, there were gauges on the instrument panel. Today we have a check engine light instead. The check engine light is nice, because it tells you something is wrong, but it does not tell you what is wrong. Your robotic milking dashboard is a little like that. If the average yield per cow or average milking frequency is low, you know there is a problem, but you need to dig deeper to solve the problem, and you need to use other metrics to determine whether you are making progress. Here are a few farm stories to illustrate goals and metrics to use for measuring progress at different points in the life cycle of a robotic dairy. Any resemblance to actual farms is coincidental.

Fetching had become a recurring and discouraging chore for Clarence in the months

following a startup that should have gone more smoothly. The barn was bogged down with late lactation cows that didn’t transition well to robots. Average milk yield was lower than it had been in the parlor, and cows averaged less than 2.5 milkings per day. We needed to refocus on a single simple goal – milk the fresh cows 3 times every day. We created a schedule that prioritized getting fresh cows to the robots, even if it meant sacrificing some milkings for those late lactation cows. We also focused on less time in the barn, to allow more opportunities for fresh cows to milk voluntarily. Getting the barn to flow better in the future had to start with training fresh cows today. The only short term goal was 3 milkings per day for all cows less than 20 days in milk.

Harold’s situation was a little different. After several years with robots, the cows were well trained, and milking 2.8 times per day. The fresh cows actually averaged 3.2 milkings. But average daily yield was disappointing. We dug deeper and realized that peak production for fresh cows was not what it should have been. We focused on the transition program, and resolved some problems, but average daily yield was slow to respond. Fixing a transition problem does improve production for late lactation cows until the beginning of the next lactation. We focused on yield and milking frequency trends each week, for cows under 50 days in milk. We called it a win when that group improved from week to week. Over time, fresh cows that got a better start performed better later in lactation and the whole herd improved.

Eugene needed another set of metrics. He had an excellent herdsman. Eugene was accustomed to being involved in management of the robot barn, but other responsibilities were placing new demands on his time. He wanted to continue tracking the herd’s progress, but it was difficult as he spent less time in the barn. Meanwhile, the herdsman was frustrated because Eugene would suggest management changes based on very limited information. We identified a group of metrics to help Eugene and his herdsman work together. We summarized yield and milking frequency for different lactation groups and stages of lactation. We tracked trends over time to emphasize consistency. Eugene became confident that the herd was making progress towards his goals, and the herdsman was empowered to achieve them. The right metrics facilitated communication to help them work together.

Different gauges and different metrics are important in different situations. If you are trying to get home with a car that is overheating, all your focus should be on the heat gauge. Fine tuning for top performance will require more information. What metrics are you monitoring? Cow Corner can help you identify the right metrics to meet your goals, and work with your team to achieve them.