THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FOR MANAGING ROBOTIC-MILKED TRANSITION COWS

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is the title of a 1966 Clint Eastwood western. I must admit that I have never seen the film. The title is cliché, and it came to mind after some recent conversations about managing the transition period for robotic-milked cows. We have the good – the industry standards for transition management relating to stocking density, feed availability, pen moves, cooling, and body condition. We have the bad – real life limitations like existing buildings, seasonal demands on labor, forage harvesting challenges, and inconsistent calving patterns, which make it difficult to achieve the good. We have the ugly – DA’s, ketosis, infertility, mastitis, low peak yield, and general unthriftiness – when attempts to resolve the difference between the good and the bad are unsuccessful. It all comes down to working towards the good, minimizing the bad, and preventing the ugly.

Working Towards The Good

Maintaining dry matter intake is critical for transition cows as they work through extreme changes in energy balance before and after calving. The Dairyland initiative recommends 30 inches of bunk space per cow. If headlocks or other dividers define the feeding space, there should be 10 spaces for every 8 cows. Fresh feed should be within the cow’s reach at least 22 hours per day. Consistent dry matter intake is even more important if transition rations include precision-fed ingredients. Provide at least 1 stall per cow, or 120 square feet of bedded pack - that's 30 by 40 for 10 cows, not including the feeding space. Avoid regrouping within 2 to 7 days of calving because maintaining dry matter intake is critical during that time. In simple terms, pre-fresh and post-fresh cows need to be more comfortable, and better fed, than the lactating cows.

Minimizing The Bad

Maintaining adequate space for transition cows is complicated because the number of transition cows varies seasonally. On many farms, the labor available to feed, sort, bed, and clean also varies seasonally. Farms that use a combination of parlor and robot milking can absorb some variation in the parlor. Pure robot farms need choose between managing post-

fresh cows in special needs pens, or with the rest of the herd. Special needs pens provide an opportunity for monitoring and training fresh cows. Ideally, special needs pens should allow free access to the robot for milking. Some retraining will be required when cows move from the special needs pen to the rest of the herd. Again, the special needs pen should be more comfortable, and have feed more available, than the rest of the lactating groups. Transition cows can be kept with the main herd, but they must be monitored, and trained for the traffic system – especially in guided flow barns.

Preventing the Ugly

There is no substitute for “The Good” transition management practices and facilities. Those practices and facilities should always be the goal. When existing facilities, or seasonal labor challenges require compromise, the rest of the game has to get better. Monitor cows more carefully during transition so problems can be resolved sooner. Rumination and activity are excellent tools. Manually monitoring temperature and BHB are alternatives if precision technology is not available. Track robot feed intake and compensate in the PMR, or with a top-dress, if the number of milkings does not support the desired pellet consumption. Consider using direct-fed microbials, or other supplements, to support, prevent, or treat compromised transition cows.

Work with your nutritionist, veterinarian, robotic milking consultant, and dairy management team to create a plan to work towards the good, minimize the bad, and prevent the ugly.