Working with Robotic Farms Chad Kieffer Benson Farm Service, LLC Dairy Nutritionist

1
Working with Robotic FarmsChad KiefferBenson
Farm Service, LLCDairy Nutritionist
2
Pic of farmand pic of robots
3
(No Transcript)
4
Background of Family Dairy
Before robots -milked 270 cows in a double 10
parallel parlor -6 full time employees After
installing 3 Lely A3 robots -milk 175 cows on
the 3 robots -milk other 100 cows in parlor
-within next year will go to 5
robots -Currently 4 fulltime employees
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Background of Family Dairy

• One Robot 4,500 5,500 lbs milk per day
  (Ideal)
• Currently 58 cows/robot X 86 lbs/cow 4,988
  lbs/robot
• 2.9 3.1 Average Milkings per cow/day
• Free Flow System
• Pelleted grain/protein mix in robot, PMR in bunk

10
What the Lely Robot measures
Milk yield Milk speed Milk Fat Milk
Protein Robot visits Box times
Activity Rumination

• Per Quarter
• Pre Milk Time
• Milk Time
• Conductivity
• Color

Feed intake
Weight
combinations of all of that ... combinations
with calendar and health events.
option
11
Benefits of Robot

• Weighs cow each milking
• Measures Activity breeding, sick cows, etc.
• Measures Conductivity indication of SCC
• Quarter Milks each cow
• Robot automatically adjusts each day to the udder
  formation changes
• Robot displays out of parameter readings for
  each cow (many reports to look at)
• Rumination
• Uniformity in Milking.
• Always shows up for work.
• Calls your cell when a problem occurs
• Easier on Cows (cull rate will lower)
• Etc.

12
Nutrition Preparation for Startup

• Top-dress robot pellet in parlor 1-2 weeks before
  startup IDEAL
• Top-dress robot pellet on top of TMR when fed in
  bunk twice/day for 1-2 weeks - OK

13
Things to Remember Do as a Nutritionist for
Startup

• What producer feels
• At startup ? 3 days of hell, 3 weeks of
  frustration, 3 months before things start
  clicking
• What to provide to producer
• Assist with pushing cows first couple days
• Make regular weekly visits first 3 mo.
• Moral support (very emotional time)
• Watch graphs very closely each few days

14
Things to Remember Do as a Nutritionist for
Startup

• Do not look at milk production first as a
  performance indicator
• Look at refusals and of milkings/day first and
  foremost, then production
• Get away from thinking on a herd level (one group
  ration)
• Feed hfrs and cows differently in robot
• Lots of info available, so make adjustments
  quicker than used to if needed

15
Nutrition Preparation for Startup

• 1) Feed Speed Optimum setting is 14-16 oz/minute
  (depends on if pellet or meal, meal lower and
  pellet higher)
• 2) Max Min lbs feed/visit 4-6 lbs max setting,
  0 for min setting (default)
• (this is set based on herd production and feed
  table settings)
• 3) Must have feed tables set up correctly to herd
  parameters (Jeff will talk about)

16
Cornerstones of Feeding for Success

• 1) Ration fed at bunk is based on avg milk yield
  per cow minus 15 lbs. (even more for startup,
  20-25 lbs)
• 2) Robot pellet should be fed at min. of 4 lbs
  and a max. of 18 lbs in robot (approx).
• 3) Have a good hard pellet that is palatable and
  smells good to the cow.
• Motivation for a cow to visit the robot is not
  due to pressure of udder but the want and need
  for concentrate.

17
Unsuitable ration
Energy requirement
Concentrate
-gt Energy
0
0
-gt time in lactation
18
Most suitable ration
Energy requirement
Concentrate
-gt Energy
0
0
-gt time in lactation
19
Example Robot Pellet Ingredient Composition
Description Percent Lbs. Lbs/cow
GR CORN FINE 39.990 799.800 4.40
SUREPRO (LOL) 25.000 500.000 2.75
GR SOY HULLS MXDML 12.600 252.000 1.39
DEHULLED SOYMEAL.. 12.428 248.558 1.37
DDGS ETHANOL 4.329 86.584 0.48
MOLASSES.MXD MEAL 2.510 50.200 0.28
AMERI-BOND 2X BG 1.043 20.858 0.11
DRY MOL NUTRI SRCE 1.000 20.000 0.11
CWG FA 1.000 20.000 0.11
AGRI-SWEET 0.100 2.000 0.01
100.000 2000.000 11.00
20
Nutrition Guidelines

• 1)Refusals (avg of times per day cow enters
  robot and cant be milked yet)
• Above 1 doing well
• gt1.5 sign of good diet but can push energy in
  PMR to get more milk
• lt.8 feed in PMR an issue or displeased with
  robot or pellet
• lt.4 larger herd issues or robot setting
  problems

21
Nutrition Guidelines

• 2) Rest Feed (lbs of feed eligible to cow but
  never dispensed per day)
• Goal Should be half of the number of cows per
  robot
• Look for if incorrect
• Who is causing the rest feed?
• Are milkings low per cow?
• Are settings correct?

22
Nutrition Guidelines

• 3) Rumination ( minutes chewing)
• Goal ? 450-550 min. avg for herd
• If gt550 too much fiber in diet or full fill
• If lt450 concentrates or starch possibly too
  high
• Possible adjustments
• Change PMR
• Adjust amount of robot feed fed
• Rumination reliability should be 85 or higher on
  each cow if not adjust responders or bad
  responder

23
Achievement

• Important
• gt 2.5 milkings a cow per day
• gt 1.0 refusal a cow per day
• lt 5 failed milkings per robot per day
• gt10 free time on the robot

24
Labor Cost vs. Robot Cost

• Compare Labor Cost vs. Robot Payment
• Robot - 180,000 _at_ 6.5 Int for 7 yrs
• Payment of 32,819 / yr
• Data from Tom Anderson (FBM Instructor)

25
Labor Cost vs. Robot

• Robot 4700 per day 1,715,500 Annually
• Or 17,000 cwts
• So 33,000/17,000 cwts 1.94 / cwt
• Or 5500 /day 20,075 cwts
• or 1.64/cwt.

26
Labor Cost vs. Robot

• One FTE (Full Time Equivalent Person)
• Should produce 1,000,0001,200,000
• Pounds of milk annually.
• Remember the Robot 1,700,000 Annually
• So the robot is replacing more than 1 FTE
  Equivalent.

27
Labor Cost vs. Robot

• Conventional Farm ? 1 FTE should manage 47 cows
• Robot Farm ? 1 FTE should manage 110 cows (this
  is still a question??)

28
Robotic Milking Technology

• Trends I am Seeing in Robots
• 1. Increased production Similar 2x to 3x
• 2. Equal or improved SCC counts
• 3. Herd health improving
• 4. Lower Turnover rates
• 5. Increased inventmarket for robot cows
• 6. Networking of Robotic users
• 7. Movement to larger operations
• 8. Increased Pg rates

29
(No Transcript)
30
Questions??