USING CAMERAS TO IMPROVE ROBOTIC MILKING

When my grandchildren visit, they often talk me into reading to them. One of their favorites is a book called Barnyard Slam, especially if I attempt a different voice for each animal. In the book, the animals stage a poetry reading while the people are away, and they almost get caught when the people return. That story is a little far-fetched, but sometimes it is helpful to know what’s going on in the barn when nobody is looking. To that end, I recently purchased a couple of cameras for monitoring robotic milking customer’s barns. The cameras are strapped to a post in the barn, and take a snapshot every 15 minutes for a week or more. Snapshots can be reviewed quickly and it’s not necessary to have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. We have learned a lot about bunk management, cow behavior, and human interaction.

Bunk Management

Most farms do a great job tracking the feed that is delivered to the cows. Many do a good job

weighing back feed that the cows did not eat. Monitoring the bunk with a camera shows when feed is available, and when cows are active at the bunk. In a robot barn, it is important to have uniform feed availability at least 23 hours each day, so cows always have an incentive to get out of their stalls and move around the barn. If the camera shows more cows at the bunk after feed is pushed up, it might be helpful to push feed more frequently. In some cases, the cameras have identified opportunities. In many cases, they have made us more confident that feed bunks are well managed.

Cow Behavior

Robotic milking software shows when the robots are busy, and when there are opportunities to milk more cows. Cameras take that a step further by showing how many cows are waiting for the robot, and when. On one farm, we adjusted wash times to make better use of quiet times, and avoid making lines longer during the busy times, based on information from the cameras. On another farm, we verified that there were usually cows ready to use the robots, even during the very early morning hours, but there were never more than a couple cows in line. And, in one case, we found too many times when there were no cows in the robot, and no cows waiting to use the robot.

Human Interaction

Sometimes, what seems like the most efficient way to get a job done can have unintended consequences for cow behavior. More than once, the cameras have shown us times when

workers overloaded commitment pens and fetch pens. Crowded commitment pens can discourage timid cows from coming to the robot voluntarily. Crowded fetch pens can result in long wait times. Cameras are an excellent training tool. A time-stamped series of pictures not only shows how full the pens got, it also shows how long it took them to clear. Everyone involved can see the opportunity to make the barn flow better.

The cameras have helped us fine tune everything that goes on in the barn. We have found opportunities to improve cow flow and make more efficient use of space and robots. Do you want to see what goes on in your barn when nobody is looking? Contact Cow Corner to make an appointment to put our cameras to work in your barn.