A research undertaken by AFBI in Northern Ireland looked at the advantages of autonomous milking systems and their influence on milking, yield, and concentrate consumption. The research believed that cows with high energy needs, such as those in early lactation or high producing, were not ingesting adequate concentrates for maintenance and productivity. To address this issue, some farmers are constructing out-of-parlour feeders that allow for more concentrate ingestion. However, it is critical to determine if feeding more concentrate via out-of-parlour feeders would have a negative influence on robot visit frequency.
The trial housed 48 cows with one milking robot and two out-of-parlour feeding. The PMR, which included 80% grass silage and 20% wholecrop, plus a 2kg concentrate mix per cow, was given once daily. The cows were divided into two groups: ‘robot high’ animals, which got 80% of their increased concentrate diet at the milking robot feeding station and 20% via out-of-parlour feeders. The second group, ‘robot low’ cows, got 20% of their supplemental concentrate from the milking robot feeding station and 80% from out-of-parlour feeders. These extra concentrate volumes were allocated on a feed-to-yield basis, although a minimum of 1kg per cow per day was always provided via the milking robot feeding station.
The research looked at how concentrate allocation affected trips to the milking robot and out-of-parlour feeders, as well as concentrate and PMR consumption, milk output, and laying time. The frequency of successful and failed milking trips did not change across groups. However, visit rates to out-of-parlour feeders varied, with ‘robot high’ cows visiting the feeders 8.01 times less per week than ‘robot low’ cows.
The study discovered that when cows were given the majority of their concentrate ration in out-of-parlour feeders, milking frequency was unaffected, yield was unaffected, and cows who received the majority of their concentrate within the milking robot did not have a higher number of unsuccessful milking visits. As a result, the laying time was unaffected.
Interestingly, cows having a greater allocation inside the out-of-parlour feeders visited them more often, indicating that cows may vary their visits as required to meet their energy needs. Milk output was consistent independent of feed allocation patterns, although cows with larger allocations inside the milking robot left more concentrate unconsumed, which is a source of worry.
In terms of PMR intake, cows fed more concentrate in the milking robot had lower PMR intakes in week 1 than those fed more concentrate in the out-of-parlor feeder, but the benefits did not last longer.
Farmers should ensure that cows do not get too much concentrate feed from the milking robot.
