Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T05:07:24.804Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Robot utilisation of pasture-based dairy cows with varying levels of milking frequency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2018

A. J. John Open the ORCID record for A. J. John [Opens in a new window] ,
M. J. Freeman ,
K. F. Kerrisk Open the ORCID record for K. F. Kerrisk [Opens in a new window] ,
S. C. Garcia Open the ORCID record for S. C. Garcia [Opens in a new window]  and
C. E. F. Clark
A. J. John*
Affiliation:
Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia
M. J. Freeman
Affiliation:
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Dairy Centre, University of Tasmania, Burnie, Tasmania 7320, Australia
K. F. Kerrisk
Affiliation:
Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia
S. C. Garcia
Affiliation:
Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia
C. E. F. Clark
Affiliation:
Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Achieving a consistent level of robot utilisation throughout 24 h maximises automatic milking system (AMS) utilisation. However, levels of robot utilisation in the early morning hours are typically low, caused by the diurnal feeding behaviour of cows, limiting the inherent capacity and total production of pasture-based AMS. Our objective was to determine robot utilisation throughout 24 h by dairy cows, based on milking frequency (MF; milking events per animal per day) in a pasture-based AMS. Milking data were collected from January and February 2013 across 56 days, from a single herd of 186 animals (Bos taurus) utilising three Lely A3 robotic milking units, located in Tasmania, Australia. The dairy herd was categorised into three equal sized groups (n=62 per group) according to the cow’s mean daily MF over the duration of the study. Robot utilisation was characterised by an interaction (P< 0.001) between the three MF groups and time of day, with peak milking time for high MF cows within one h of a fresh pasture allocation becoming available, followed by the medium MF and low MF cows 2 and 4 h later, respectively. Cows in the high MF group also presented for milking between 2400 and 0600 h more frequently (77% of nights), compared to the medium MF group (57%) and low MF group (50%). This study has shown the formation of three distinct groups of cows within a herd, based on their MF levels. Further work is required to determine if this finding is replicated across other pasture-based AMS farms.

Keywords

automatic milking systemforagegrazingvoluntary trafficruminant
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 7 , July 2019 , pp. 1529 - 1535
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almeida, J, Cerqueira, J, Lopes, S, Silvestre, M, Araújo, J and Silva, S 2013. Milking frequency and its distribution throughout the day in primiparous cows with different levels of production on a automatic milking system. Paper presented at XV Jornadas sobre Producción Animal, 14–15 May 2013, Zaragoza, Spain, pp. 19–21.Google Scholar
Earle, D and McGowan, A 1979. Evaluation and calibration of an automated rising plate meter for estimating dry matter yield of pasture. Animal Production Science 19, 337–343.Google Scholar
Greenall, R, Warren, E, Warren, M, Meijering, A, Hogeveen, H and de Koning, C 2004. Integrating automatic milking installations (AMIs) into grazing systems - lessons from Australia. In Automatic milking - a better understanding (ed. Meijering, A, Hogeveen, H and de Koning, CJAM), pp 273–279. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Halachmi, I, Ofir, S and Miron, J 2005. Comparing two concentrate allowances in an automatic milking system. Animal Science 80, 339–343.Google Scholar
Jago, JG, Davis, KL and Woolford, MW 2006. Stage of lactation affects the milking performance and behaviour of cows in a pasture-based automated milking system. In Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 66, Napier, New Zealand, pp. 258–262.Google Scholar
Jago, J, Jackson, A and Woolford, M 2003. Dominance effects on the time budget and milking behaviour of cows managed on pasture and milked in an automated milking system. In Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 63, Queenstown, New Zealand, pp. 120–123.Google Scholar
John, A, Clark, C, Freeman, M, Kerrisk, K, Garcia, S and Halachmi, I 2016. Review: milking robot utilization, a successful precision livestock farming evolution. Animal 10, 1484–1492.Google Scholar
John, A, Freeman, M, Kerrisk, K and Clark, C 2015. Herd synchronisation in a pasture-based automatic milking system. In Proceedings of the Dairy Research Foundation’s 2015 symposium, 17–18 June 2015, Camden, Australia, pp. 122–127.Google Scholar
Ketelaar-de Lauwere, CC, Devir, S and Metz, JHM 1996. The influence of social hierarchy on the time budget of cows and their visits to an automatic milking system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 49, 199–211.Google Scholar
Ketelaar-de Lauwere, CC, Ipema, AH, van Ouwerkerk, ENJ, Hendriks, MMWB, Metz, JHM, Noordhuizen, JPTM and Schouten, WGP 1999. Voluntary automatic milking in combination with grazing of dairy cows - milking frequency and effects on behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 64, 91–109.Google Scholar
Livshin, N, Maltz, E and Edan, Y 1995. Regularity of dairy cow feeding behavior with computer controlled feeders. Journal of Dairy Science 78, 296–304.Google Scholar
Lyons, NA and Kerrisk, KL 2017. Current and potential system performance on commercial automatic milking farms. Animal Production Science 57, 1550–1556.Google Scholar
Lyons, NA, Kerrisk, KL and Garcia, SC 2013. Comparison of 2 systems of pasture allocation on milking intervals and total daily milk yield of dairy cows in a pasture-based automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 4494–4504.Google Scholar
Lyons, NA, Kerrisk, KL and Garcia, SC 2014. Milking frequency management in pasture-based automatic milking systems: a review. Livestock Science 159, 102–116.Google Scholar
Prescott, N, Mottram, T and Webster, A 1998. Relative motivations of dairy cows to be milked or fed in a Y-maze and an automatic milking system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 57, 23–33.Google Scholar
Scott, B, Camacho, A, Golder, H, Molfino, J, Kerrisk, K, Lean, I, Garcia, S, Chaves, A, Hall, E and Clark, C 2014. The nutritive value of pasture ingested by dairy cows varies within a herd. In Proceedings of the 6th Australasian Dairy Science Symposium, 19–21 November 2014, Hamilton, New Zealand, pp. 343–346.Google Scholar
Stockdale, CR 2006. Influence of milking frequency on the productivity of dairy cows. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46, 965–974.Google Scholar
Uetake, K, Hurnik, JF and Johnson, L 1997. Behavioral pattern of dairy cows milked in a two-stall automatic milking system with a holding area. Journal of Animal Science 75, 954–958.Google Scholar
Winter, A and Hillerton, JE 1995. Behaviour associated with feeding and milking of early lactation cows housed in an experimental automatic milking system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 46, 1–15.Google Scholar