By Dick Hagen
The Land Staff Writer
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Did you ever wonder how often a cow would like to be milked if she could set the schedule? Probably not. You likely have other questions to ponder. But the answer to this vexing question is 2.7 to 3.2 times within a 24-hour period.
The source of this intriguing bit of information was Rick Rugg, territory manager for Lely USA Inc., a leading manufacturing/marketing firm of robotic milking systems.
Interviewed at the Midwest Dairy Expo in St. Cloud, Rugg shared his expertise on this rapidly developing technology. Among the factoids presented:
. Depending upon herd productivity, a robotic system can handle 60 to 65 cows if average milk production is 70 pounds or less; 55 to 60 cows with higher milk production.
. Getting cows "trained" into the system typically breaks down to a three-day, three-week and three-month scenario. He described the three-day session as "pushing cows" into the robots initially and then realizing the proper technique is encouraging cows into the system. A "teaser feed" available only in the robotic stall is a big help here.
. The second benchmark happens at about three weeks in the "free flow" environment where cows lay down, eat, get milked, each on their own schedule. At this stage 75 to 80 percent of the cows should be going through the system on their own initiative and most dairy farmers are smiling. Patience is the issue. Don't try to outsmart the robot, or the cows, Rugg advised.
. At three months there might be a handful of stubborn cows that still won't access the robot on their own. But finally the "light bulb" goes on in those cows and the dairy farmer gets another smile on his face.
. It's easier to train first-calf heifers into robotic milking simply because they have never been milked any other way.
. Longer longevity with herds in robotic milking? "We're over 17 years in the robot business going back to our start in Holland. So we have lots of documentation that you do have more longevity basically because of less stress. When you walk into a robot barn you sense it. It's calm, quiet, cows are docile. Plus the increased frequency of milking means much less udder stress. "So consistently you'll see better udder health, and fewer metabolism problems because cows are simply healthier in this stress-free environment," Rugg said.
. How often can high-producing individual cows be milked in a robotic system? The dairy farmer sets the schedule and amount of feed being dispensed for each cow based on productivity. For heavy milkers it could be four, even five times into the stall within a 24-hour period.
So all this sounds exciting, and delightfully easy. The robotic unit does the milking. Udder prep work is automatic, and done properly. Each cow chews up its prescribed amount (triggered by electronic reading of ID chip on each animal) of high-energy feed as it is being milked. You are basically just an observer, or tending to other chores, or if it's nighttime you're sleeping as your animals voluntarily traipse their way to the robot to be milked.
What does all this comfort cost? Rugg deferred, indicating there are various options involved. "A better way is to compare it against the cost of paying a full-time milker. Looked at it that way, you can figure a seven to 10-year payback on a robotic system," he said, with the benefit of more production because each cow is getting milked on its particular schedule.
Rugg indicated they have customers where the system is costing $55 per day and some where it's about $85 per day. Using an average of $70 per day would suggest a yearly cost of $25,500, and with an eight-year payback your amortized cost for a 60- to 65-cow system would be in the $200,000 range.
Because there are so many different cost items in every dairy operation, he suggests a cost per hundredweight of milk produced as a better benchmark. Some producers settle at 4,000 pounds of milk per robot unit per day; others push up to 6,000 pounds milk through a system every 24 hours. "How much production do I need to pay off debt, support my family lifestyle and enjoy my work with my cows is the question each producer has to answer," Rugg said.
If cow life is extended with robotics, is the productive life of the dairy farmer also extended? Rugg simply said the best answer is to ask the question: What is the No. 1 reason dairy farmers buy robots? Labor savings. But No. 2 is the freedom and flexibility of their lifestyle.
He pointed out that virtually every dairy farmer installing robotic systems also has a "backup person" who can be trained and trusted to run the system should the dairy farmer wish to take his family on a three-day vacation, etc.
Feeding your cows is a different routine with robotics. In a conventional parlor/free stall system cows are typically on a total mixed ration program. In the robot world, cows are on a partially mixed ration. "We take some of that energy out of the feed bunk and put it in the robot stall instead. The cows will chase energy and that's what quickly gets them used to robotic milking," Rugg said.
Lely provides five-year warranty agreements on their systems. Rugg said reliability of robotic systems has vastly improved the last four to five years. Any malfunction in the system and the robot calls you first, he said. If you can't correct the error, a phone call to local support can often address the problem. "Our goal is to average only one emergency phone call per robot per year. That's how reliable these systems are becoming. Right now we're averaging three to four calls per system per year but with engineers continually working on the system we'll get there."
