Robotic Forum, held in Sandy Park on Tuesday 24 September saw those who service the sector and robotic dairy farmers, both existing and perspective, join together for a day of technical sessions.
Here, Bas van Santen, UK Robotic Product Manager at ForFarmers explained how the installation of a robotic milking system brings a wealth of data which can be utilised in the system.
Regular reviews of your robots’ performance are key to getting the most from your system, said Bas van Santen, UK Robotic Product Manager at ForFarmers at Robotic Forum.
Bas encouraged regular checks of robots to ensure they are running to their optimum, so cows are also able to perform at their best.
He said: “You need to check robots every day otherwise the system will slowly decrease in efficiency. It is important to analyse data and react appropriately to it. You need to go beyond the headline and look at the spread.”
Optimising milk produced per milking by using this data can help with the payback of these sizable investment, he noted.
It is important though that any adjustments are made gradually so not to be to the detriment of the cow.
He commented: “Any milk setting changes need to be gradual, adjusting by no more than 0.5kg per week.”
Bas encouraged Forum attendees to ‘get the basics right’ and ensure the robot knows what is being fed at the feed fence, highlighting the importance in balancing the feed fence with the robot compound.
He added: “Calibrate the feeders at least every load of compound as the robot can often over or under feed. Review feed setting to see if every animal is eating its cake. If the robot doesn’t give enough feed, the cow won’t travel to it and equally if it is giving too much, they’ll consume so much they won’t return.”
Contact our dedicated team of dairy specialists for advice and how we can help your business.
