NEAR PERFECT PERFORMANCE IN BASEBALL AND ROBOTIC MILKING

The average robotic milking unit in the United States harvests about 5,000 pounds per day. High performing robots harvest over 7,000 pounds. What does it take to harvest 7,000 pounds of milk per robot per day? The math provides some perspective. It could be 70 cows averaging 100 pounds per day, 65 cows at 108, or 75 cows at 93 pounds. None of those scenarios has much margin for error. It is a tremendous accomplishment, and since it is October, it seems appropriate use the analogy of a major league baseball pitcher throwing a no-hitter. Here are some other similarities between a no-hitter and 7,000 pounds per robot.

You have to be at the top of your game

In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds threw no-hitters in 2 consecutive starts

– one on June 11 and another on June 15. That’s a great example of being at the top of your game. Being at the top of your robotic milking game includes top performance from your robots. Start by keeping up with routine maintenance. Follow up with daily routines to anticipate problems and minimize downtime. Choose reports to monitor robot performance KPI’s like box time, prep time, milking speed, and incomplete/failed milkings. Watch every robot milk at least 1 cow every day – more if you suspect a problem. Monitor the alarm lists, determine the cause, and follow up with corrective actions. Review milkings that yield less than 25 pounds and decide whether they are necessary.

You need a great team behind you

In 2003, 6 Houston Astros pitchers collaborated for a single no-hitter (Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel, and Billy Wagner, in case you were wondering). That’s a great team working together. Think of your cows as your robotic milking team. Mobile and healthy cows with clean, correct udders make robots perform better. You need to be willing and able to remove inefficient cows from the barn, and have adequate replacements to take their place. For top performance, the cow has to fit the system – not the other way around.

You can be very good without achieving it

5 of the best pitchers in baseball never threw a no hitter. My list includes Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, and Grover Alexander. You might be able to add a few names. The point is, your business model might prioritize other key performance indicators. For example, several farms have added robots without expanding the barn, and focused on maximizing milk per stall, while giving up some milk per robot. Other farms might keep inefficient robot cows because of their genetic value. That makes it harder to get to 7,000 pounds per robot, but the income from sale of embryos or replacements might offset the production per robot. Low input business models like grazing might justify lower milk yield per robot.

It doesn’t guarantee success

On April 23, 1964, Ken Johnson became the only pitcher in major league baseball to lose a complete game no-hitter. There were 2 errors in the ninth inning – including one by Johnson. Just as it is possible to profitably milk cows profitably in robots without making 7,000 pounds, it is also possible that producing 7,000 pounds per robot isn’t the most profitable approach for your farm. You need to do the math to determine whether an extra hour fetching produces enough extra milk to cover the expense. The same math applies for an extra pound of feed in the robot. Producing extra pounds of fluid milk, without maintaining components, can boost the yield per robot, but it’s probably not more profitable.

You have to go 9 innings

Nolan Ryan pitched 7 no-hitters in his career, which is the major league record. There is no disputing that this accomplishment puts him among the elite pitchers in the game. Similarly, producing 7,000 pounds per robot per day is an elite accomplishment. All of us can find things to learn and apply from the producers who have done it. Ryan also holds the record for the most no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning. You have to go the distance. In robotic milking, going the distance means getting all of these right: healthy cows, efficient reproduction, quality forages, comfortable facilities, precision equipment, and overall attention to detail.

Congratulations to all of the members of the 7,000 pound club!