TROUBLESHOOTING LOW MILKINGS IN ROBOTS - PART 2

Frequent milking starts with healthy, well-trained cows, that have PMR available 22 hours a day, and breed back on time. That was part 1 of troubleshooting low milkings. The feed that is offered in the robots is equally important in free flow barns. Guided flow barns feed differently. If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. Do not change anything! If you think there is room for improvement, get input from your nutrition consultant and your robotic milking advisor. There is no one-size-fits-all feed table. Here is a starting point for new installations, or a reset point for barns that are not moving.

Start with the right feed. Many barns achieve high production and excellent cow flow with meal or corn gluten pellets in the robots. Those feeds can be less expensive and more flexible than manufactured pellets, but they do have limitations. Cows cannot consume them as quickly as pellets, and fine material can sift through coarse material creating inconsistency. If cows are not coming to the robots, consider a manufactured pellet because it is a known quantity – a consistent, palatable product that flows through the system uniformly. The known quantity can serve as a benchmark. Once the barn is moving with a manufactured pellet, you have a standard to evaluate the cost and benefit of other options.

Construct feed tables with a baseline of 1 pound of feed per 10 pounds of milk. Modify that

baseline for cows that have not reached peak production. Allow 5 pounds of feed at freshening. Use a days-in-milk feed table for cows that are less 25 days in milk to gradually lead all cows to enough pellets to support the herd average production. In a 100-pound herd, the fresh cow feed table would take cows from 5 pounds to 10 pounds in 25 days. Use a milk yield feed table from 25 days in milk until peak production at about 90 days in milk. Challenge cows from 25 days in milk until peak by feeding them for 20 pounds more milk than they are producing. Rather than 10 pounds of feed for 100 pounds of milk, feed 12 pounds. Lower producing cows should be fed pellets for 80% of the herd average, until peak production, to give them an opportunity to reach their potential. In a 100-pound herd, all pre-peak cows should get at least 8 pounds of pellets. After peak milk production, feed all cows according to actual yield, or 1 pound of feed per 10 pounds of milk. Provide the lowest producing cows a minimum of 4 to 5 pounds to keep them interested.

Allow cows to eat 6 pounds per visit and dispense feed at 1 pound per minute to make sure they have an opportunity to eat everything that is offered. As a starting point, balance the PMR for 15% less than the average production of the herd. This allows cows to eat as much as they want at the bunk, while it motivates them to go to the robot to meet the rest of their needs.

These guidelines are only a starting point. Adjustments need to be made for pellet composition, forage quality, and cow behavior. The ration still needs to balanced. Lower quality forages will need to be supplemented with higher levels of pellet feeding. Less feed might be needed as milkings, and rejections or refusals increase. Change one thing at a time and allow time to measure the results before changing the next thing. Set realistic goals and expectations for milk production and milkings. Contact Cow Corner for help creating a plan and measuring the results.