Around 8% of GB dairy farms now milk with robots. This is a number expected to increase rapidly over the coming years. At ForFarmers, we offer a range of practical advice via our network of robotic milking specialists.
We’ve gathered together some top tips for farms exploring robotic milking as an option for the future.
For some, moving beyond three times a day milking offers potential to take full advantage of their herd’s genetic merit. For others, access to labour may make robots an attractive option. While for many, saving on time usually spent in the parlour could be a strong argument in favour of robots. Whichever reason appeals to you, spending some time thinking about your goals for the project is a great place to start.
Like any investment, robots require a good grip on input versus output expectations. The cost of utilities, chemicals, parts and maintenance are all important considerations. Take time to look at feed inputs, and how feeding via robots may help utilise forage at the feed fence.
Finally, consider your herd and their ability to increase production. Does your return on investment calculation require a 10% increase in yield? How are your genetics placed to deliver this ambition?
Seeing the day to day routine, observing cow behaviour in the cubicle shed and picking up advice on cow flow are all good reasons to spend some time on a robotic farm. Many robot farmers have learned from their experience, and may offer a fresh perspective on how to get the best from your robots. Think about a typical working day, and how you can fit labour around the tasks required to run a successful robotic enterprise.
If saving time in the parlour is a key motivator, think about how this time could be spent instead. Are there jobs you enjoy doing, which time pressure had led to you outsourcing?
Around half of all robot projects utilise existing buildings, while the other half are installed on greenfield sites. Your building layout is crucial to driving visit behaviour. Access to water and the feed fence is also critical for ensuring milk output, particularly if increasing milk yield is an objective for the project.
Grazing with robots was once considered unusual, but is now becoming much more common. Intensive grazing systems require some simple farm infrastructure to ensure cows return regularly and voluntarily to the robots three times per day. As well as tracks and water trough placement, consider reseeding requirements. Many successful grazing farms reseed the entire grazing platform every four years.
AMS systems are milking machines, not feeding machines. The most successful robotic units concentrate on “box time”, or the total time spent in the robot for each successful cow milking. Relying too heavily on the robots to feed cows can hamper throughput of the robots. As a result, it is vital that the feed fence continues to do much of the heavy lifting in terms of providing energy for milk production.
Assess average silage energy, and check how consistently this is being achieved. Doing so will help to ensure your output expectations are achieved and maintained.
Your ForFarmers Account Manager can help you, whatever stage of the buying process you are at. For prospective AMS herds, we offer a full robotic audit process, giving advice from the soil up. From nutrient management plans to dry silage analysis, our unique range of tools help ensure that once your robots are running, you can maximise your milk from forage.
For experienced robotic farms, our compound range can help drive robot visits and maximise milk per robot per day. Contact us to find out how ForFarmers can help ensure you are Always Robot Ready.
From increasing milk yields, to finding a bottleneck or helping you maximise your forage output,
our team of specialists are here to help you and your business.