Whether you are considering (or reconsidering) installing sort gates or looking to improve efficiency with your current setup, keep the following factors in mind to maximize sort gate benefits for your dairy.
When considering the big picture, it’s important to determine how you will factor in your return on investment and the value of sort gates for your farm.
The answer depends on herd size and how many cows you are trying to manage per person. And every dairy has a unique equation for the number of labor hours required to care for animals.
Two things to consider:
1. Protocols performed without technology tend to require a larger number of labor hours.
2. If you perform a task with technology, and the data is accurate and data capture efficient, you can significantly reduce task time allotments.
If you can effectively care for a greater number of animals with fewer hours, the technology will pay for itself quickly.
Plus, sort gate technology adds value by helping cows exhibit natural behaviors with easy cow flow and gives animals more time on feed by not retracing steps post-milking.
Sort gate hardware and design flow considerations
Sort gates read a cow’s electronic identification (ID) and direct cows depending on whether a specific preset parameter is met. Sorting action may be triggered by factors such as milk yield, reproductive protocols, health challenges or another management reason.
For gate hardware to work well, bushings and gates should move freely. Make sure components are not loud and clanking, startling animals and creating an environment of fear. Typically, gates feature air-powered components to create quiet functionality.
Cows remember a pleasant sort gate experience, helping to make animal movement seamless. If the experience is less than ideal and the gate hits a cow’s hips the first day, for example, she is more likely to be reluctant to maneuver through the sorting lane.
The goal is to create easy, consistent cow flow through sort gates.
Cow flow depends on sorting gate and lane design. Consider these tips for success:
· The sort area needs to be open and inviting.
· Sort pens should be appropriately sized so they do not overflow with cows and create backups in the sorting lane.
· Ensure a consistent and predictable flow of animals today, tomorrow and the next day. The same speed and cow flow all day, every day offers the sort gate a much better chance to learn and adapt to cows and cut the right animals at the right time.
Plan for these considerations during facility design, whether changing gate placement in your current setup or keeping automation in mind when designing a new facility.
Software and ID function factors
Accurate data collection is essential for an optimized sort gate and critical to software performance and ID function. When segregating an animal from an exit lane, you must know which cow is which and when to open the gate accordingly. Without accurate ID, that goal is impossible.
Additionally, read range affects ID capture. That ability is further influenced by the tag used to identify animals in the sort lane. Ask if the read range is sufficient to identify the cows accurately and consistently. Should you use a different tag that offers a better range? Is there electronic “noise” that limits read range?
It is also imperative to know which cows are being identified by the system. Typically, it is not ideal for cows to be on the backside of the sort lane. Cows walking by the antenna that are not in the lane to be sorted could potentially get identified. This miscue could slow sorting or cause animals to end up in incorrect pens.
Design your setup to shield the ID reading area – it only identifies the cows walking through the sort lane and not inadvertently finding cows in other areas.
Additional points to ponder
You may have tried a sort gate before, but it did not perform to expectations. Realize both software and hardware keep improving, so the experience today may be much smoother than before.
Ultimately, sort gates provide one more opportunity to move from group management to an individual animal management perspective. Instead of managing by exception, you are now managing the individual cow or individual challenge.
