Making the decision to start using robotic milkers can be a difficult one. The first year can be even more difficult as it can come with a set of challenges you may never have experienced before.
Most of us on our farm, SwissLane Dairy Farms, established in Alto, Mich., in 1904 by my great-grandfather, were excited about taking our operation into the future when we built our robotics barn in 2011 to work in conjunction with our main parlor, while others on the farm were a little more difficult to convince.
One thing we could all agree on, however, was that utilizing robotic milkers aligned with our business’ core value of focusing on our cows and their comfort. We bought eight robotic milkers to milk a select group of 500 cows out of our herd of 1,450.
This new and exciting technology promised to deliver both a new, efficient workflow for our operation and, most importantly, provide an increased level of comfort for our cows. Making the switch, however, was not easy.
As expected, the first year using robotic milkers was challenging. In the end, we were able to pull through successfully and learn valuable lessons about technology and teamwork to enhance the workflow on our operation — lessons that could help benefit any farm interested in making the switch:
- Designate a robotics “champion” — A person who is committed to making sure the system works and is willing to encourage other members of your team to get on board with the decision, ensuring that success will not be derailed.
- Ask for help — There are plenty of resources out there. Reach out for help from other farmers using robotics, or have a representative from your robotics supplier spend time assessing out the workflow efficiencies that will benefit your operation.
- When it comes to maintenance, save money and DIY when you can — Maintenance is to be expected. Instead of calling a technician every time a minor technical issue arises, train yourself and others to learn how to fix the issues — This will help decrease service calls and monetary costs in the long run.
- Get help establishing the right feed and milk tables — It is different with robotics. Make sure your program is set up to optimize the feeding of the pellets relative to the energy requirements of the cow. This has a dramatic effect on the number of cows that need to be fetched for milking.
- Remember to think about “people flow” when designing your barn — Keep efficiency in mind when designing a layout. Grouping robots closer together saves steps, time and hassle. Especially when trying to identify an issue with the robots.
Overall, while difficult at first, our experiences have been positive since making the switch. In fact, we found that there are long-term advantages for cow comfort, longevity and health when using our milkers. Maybe one day we could get robots to take care of bedding and feeding for our cows on our operation.
Source: DFA Leader
