WHICH COMES FIRST – MORE MILKINGS OR MORE MILK?

Sometimes robotic milking conversations in farm meetings sound a little bit like, which came first, the chicken or the egg. “Milkings will increase as soon as these cows start making more milk.” “I know these cows can make more milk if we can just get them to milk more frequently.” Or, “Each 1/10 increase in milking frequency results in another 2.5 pounds of milk.” I have heard all of these. Can they all be true? It depends. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Each 1/10 increase in milking frequency results in another 2.5 pounds of milk

It certainly sounds reasonable. After all, you installed the robots for more frequent milking

and more milk. But what is most limiting? Think of the barrel analogy. A barrel will only hold as much as the shortest stave. Is reproductive performance the shortest stave? Cows that have long lactations because they did not become pregnant in a timely manner will not respond to more frequent milking. Is transition management the shortest stave? Cows that peaked below their potential because of ketosis or milk fever will not respond to more frequent milking. How about udder health? More frequent milking might keep pathogens flushed out of the udder, or conversely, create more opportunities for pathogens to enter the udder. For herds with high somatic cell counts, controlling mastitis will have a bigger impact on production than more frequent milking. Milking frequency could be the lowest stave.

I know these cows can make more milk if we can just get them to milk more frequently

Research has shown that more frequent milking in early lactation results in higher

production. One recent study set the bar at 3 milkings per day by 21 days in milk. The retrospective analysis showed cows that reached that goal produced 6 pounds per day more than cows that did not. The difference was 6 pounds per day, every day, through 150 days in milk. Peaking 6 pounds higher means more than 1500 pounds in a lactation. To milk 3 times a day by 21 days in milk, healthy cows need to be well trained, have robots available, and continuous access to quality feed.

Milkings will increase as soon as these cows start making more milk

It is important to monitor milk production by stage of lactation. Focus on the fresh cows as you make changes and monitor increasing milk production. It takes a long time to increase average production for the whole herd – especially if the herd includes a lot of late lactation cows. Analyze groups of cows that are 0-50 days in milk, and 50-100 days in milk. Increasing production and milking frequency begins with these groups. It flows through to the rest of the herd as cows that started their lactations with high production and milking frequency sustain that performance through complete lactations. Cows that maintain high production maintain milking frequency. Cows that are less persistent become fetch cows.

Each statement about milking frequency can be true or false. It’s possible that all of them are true at the same time, in the same herd, for different groups of cows. Which of these is true for your herd? The Cow Corner robotic dairy management assessment is a comprehensive and objective evaluation that can help you find out. Contact us to schedule yours.