• In a traditional dairy setting, cows are milked in a parlor twice a day. Depending on the size of the parlor, only a limited number of cows can enter at one time, and each cow must have her udder cleaned and the milker attached/detached by hand. Milking cows this way increases the amount of time and labor spent in the parlor. When labor is abundant this is not an issue, but for the dairies who are understaffed, this use of time is inefficient when they could be performing other tasks on the farm.

Meet our Robotic Milker! (from Leanne Robinson, dairy herd manager)

• This is our DeLaval VMS-V300 Robot. It can milk up to 60 cows per day, and we have about 55 cows who are entered into the system to use the robot. We do not have the robot at full capacity because to do so would crowd the cows in the freestalls on this side of the barn, and it is important that they are always kept comfortable.

• Each cow spends on average about six minutes and 30 seconds in the robot and sets her own daily milking schedule with some stipulations on the number of times she can be milked.
  
  • This helps keep the cows more comfortable by giving them the freedom to decide when they need to be milked. In a traditional parlor system, the people milking set the time that the cows are milked each day. A comfortable cow is more productive, and therefore, can produce a higher quality product. The robot provides us with the opportunity to maximize production in our cows by allowing them to be milked more often throughout the day.

• Entry into the robot is completely voluntary, and it only took the initial group of cows about a month to learn to use the robot. The first group of cows helped train new cows on the robot. It only takes about two weeks for new cows to begin using it regularly.

• Direct students to the monitor as it reports data from the cows; As you can see, the robot captures vast amounts of data from every milking from every cow, even from each teat. The robot can tell us:
  
  • Milk flow
  • How much milk she gave last time versus this time.
  • How many times she has been milked in the robot in a given day.
  • And more, all in real time, and all specific to one cow.

• The DeLaval robot constantly measures each cow’s milking performance and adjusts accordingly to milk her. This includes how it attaches and when it detaches the milking cups. This personalization can result in faster and less stressful milking, allowing for more milkings per day and shorter waiting times for cows.

• We can see all the reported information not only in real time on the viewing screen but also in detailed visual reports that the robot sends directly to our herd manager, Leanne Robinson. This communication between the robot and Leanne allows workers to track when cows go into the milker, how often they are being milked and how much they are producing at each milking. Leanne can change how many times each cow can be milked based on the cow’s individual performance, age and lactation stage. This means that the robot can be tailored to work the best for each cow.
  
  • Our herd manager gives permission for how many times each cow can be milked a day, and the robot knows this. As the cow enters the robot, it scans her tag and recognizes if she has maxed out her number of milkings in one day or not. If she doesn’t have permission to be milked again, the front gate opens, and she leaves.

• Another way the robot improves comfort for each cow is by identifying her on entry and automatically adjusting the length of the stall to better fit her.

• Using a robot can also improve cleanliness while milking.
  • It prepares each quarter of the udder for milking by using a combination of teat spray for disinfection and the DeLaval PureFlow™ cup for proper cleaning.
    • The robot uses a separate, dedicated cup to reduce the chance of cross-contamination or residue during the preparation stage before beginning to milk the cow.
    • Once attached, the DeLaval PureFlow™ cup uses a unique combination of air, water and optional DeLaval PureFlow™ cup cleaning additive to clean, stimulate and strip the teat to get ready for milking.
    • During this process, pre-milk (about 45 seconds worth of milk in her udder and teat cisterns ready for evacuation) is collected, transported and dumped for each cow, using separate lines and containers to ensure there is no risk of cross contamination.

• Not only does the robot benefit the dairy as a business and the cows, but the robot has also provided student workers with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with up-and-coming methods of milking. We can even provide students with the ability to network with members of the industry. This allows students to form relationships with prospective employers (Leanne Robinson, dairy herd manager).