In an era where technology continues to redefine industries, dairy farming is no exception.
The integration of robotic milking systems has ushered in a new age of farming, allowing for unprecedented efficiency and animal welfare. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in larger operations milking their cows robotically.
On a recent Lely webinar, three prominent farms recently shared insights and illuminated their transformative journeys from conventional to robotic milking.
The Bold Transition
David and Jessica Trimner with Miltrim Farms in Athens, Wis., Paul Detwiler with STgenetics Ohio Heifer Center in Plain City, Ohio, and Roeland Stoker of Ned-Tex Dairy in Stephenville, Texas, each shared their experiences and insights on implementing robotic technologies at their facilities.
These early adopters embraced robotics to enhance labor efficiency and animal welfare. Miltrim Farms explored all the options available before deciding to incorporate 30 Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking systems to their farm.
“What are we good at? What do we want to be better at? Where is industry going, and how can we get more efficient? And that sparked the direction of adding robotics into our herd,” Jessica Trimner says, noting that robots allow them to push efficiency while creating a sustainable environment for people and cows.
Detwiler echoes those sentiments, highlighting that the adoption of robotic systems wasn’t just about the immediate gains in efficiency or production, but a strategic step aligned with their core values of data-driven management and welfare-centric practices.
“Our journey into robotics really started back in 2017; we, as a company [were] making this decision to go ahead and move into milking more cows,” he says, noting they were intrigued by robotics. Animal welfare at the helm made them choose a free flow barn, where cows have freedom to move, freedom to lay, freedom to eat and freedom to milk. “Every cow sets her own routine, and every cow gets to be a cow.”
STgenetics Ohio Heifer Center includes 4,000 animals with 1,200 cows milking — 850 being milked in their robotic facility and the rest milked conventionally.
Ned-Tex Dairy currently milks 900 head with 15 Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking systems. Stoker’s parents are first-generation immigrants from the Netherlands, and he says that they got to a point where they maxed out efficiency with their previous double 15 parallel barn.
“So, we were going to have to make some hard decisions, because we just updated that, but we’d have to either increase labor or build a whole new parlor with one that we just updated 10 years before,” he says, noting they retrofitted their operation to incorporate robots.
Data-Driven Decisions
The transformation wasn’t merely about adopting technology but also about leveraging the data it provided.
Detwiler emphasizes the increased ability to monitor feed intake and cow behavior, allowing for more precise management practices and improved cow health. This data-centric approach has enabled farms to enhance productivity and ensure each cow is managed according to its individual needs rather than herd averages.
“Our journey into robotics really was in support of the other mission of our farm, which is data collection related to feed efficiency and measuring feed intake,” he says. “Data collection and data review is really the driving force. That’s really what drives our whole journey into robotics is the collection of data, and we’re combining everything that the horizon program collects for us with other information, starting when they’re baby calves on a home unit, through a heifer program and then into a lactation barn, all of that information collected from the Lely’s programs from our own internal Farm Fit programs and Eco Feed programs.”
Labor, Efficiency and Cow Welfare
A recurring theme of the session was the significant changes in labor dynamics. The farms report a reduction in labor costs and an increase in employee efficiency, with robots handling much of the routine work. This shift has allowed workers to focus more on animal care and strategic tasks, fostering a deeper engagement with farm operations.
David Trimner says labor efficiency was a critical decision-making point in choosing robots.
“[Labor] is a big part of helping to pay for the robots and that capital investment,” he says, adding that animal welfare and the overall positive environment to work in and for the cows to live in was a perk. “It would bring us the ability to get really great employees to work in this barn and then also to have a really healthy cow that produces a lot of milk and then hopefully has a long, productive life.”
The Trimners say they have a ratio of 300 cows per person in the robot barn, definitely increasing labor savings.
“It has really allowed us to elevate people,” Jessica Trimner adds. “We had some core people on our team that we weren’t even tapping into their talents. We’ve been able to do a lot of incredible things because we had such great partnerships with those people.”
Challenges and Maintenance
Transitioning from conventional milking to robotics requires dedication, not just in understanding new technologies but also in maintaining them.
The panelists acknowledged the importance of regular maintenance to ensure seamless operations and minimize downtime. Their experiences highlight that while robotic systems significantly reduce manual labor, they demand committed oversight and regular upkeep.
Stoker says they were a “glutton for punishment” when they started with robots in June during the heat in Texas.
“At 8 a.m. we pushed all our cows through our 12 robots,” he says. “It was a chore, the initial startupwise, but then the benefits of that are that you rip the Band-Aid off. So then over the course of time, things got progressively easier. It was a learning process for us and then for the cows as well.”
Stoker notes that it’s been a joy to see the cows’ progress, despite the challenging first few days and weeks getting the cows to transition from conventional parlor to robot.
The integration of robotic milking systems is more than a technological upgrade; it’s a catalyst for advancing the dairy industry toward a more sustainable future. By prioritizing data accuracy and cow welfare, these farms serve as exemplary models for others looking to innovate in agricultural practices.
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