CowBase — A library for automatic milking system related data handling and curation in Python

The objective of this study was to evaluate the adaptation of mid-lactating Holstein cows regarding their introduction at the automatic milking system (AMS) and its effect on behaviour and milk performance. From a herd of 400 milking cows, a group of twenty-eight mid-lactating Holstein cows were monitored in the transition from the conventional milking system (twice daily) to the free-traffic automatic milking system. After 37 days from the full transition to the AMS, cows were retrospectively divided into two groups according to the average number of milking visits during the first week of AMS: 1) milking visits < 2 (MV-LOW) and 2) milking visits < 2 (MV-HIGH). Number of milking visits, milk yield, milk quality and rumination and eating time were recorded. In the first week, MV-HIGH cows had an average of milking visits higher compared to the MV-LOW cows (2.44 vs. 1.67 ± 0.06 n°/d, respectively). Starting from the similar milk production in the pre-AMS period, milk yield after the introduction of AMS (from 0 to 37 days) was higher in the MV-HIGH than in the MV-LOW cows (36.91 vs. 30.94 ± 2.11 kg/d, respectively), but with lower fat, protein and lactose percentage. The first week of AMS was characterized by a marked increase in milk yield in the MV-HIGH cows (+30.98 %) and a decrease in the MV-LOW cows (-11.60 %) compared to the pre-AMS. The time spent for eating was also greater in the MV-HIGH compared to the MV-LOW cows. Even though MV-LOW cows increased the milk production over the first week of AMS, these cows had always a lower increase in milk yield compared with the MV-HIGH cows until 37 days of AMS. These results suggest that the adaptability of the cows to the automatic milking system may also depend on the individual behaviour of cows and not only on the environment around them. Therefore, it is necessary to apply new livestock management strategies, when AMS (as a free-traffic system) is going to displace the milking parlour in order to better fine-tune the adaptation of cows (especially for heifers) and also to select cows that respond best to the robotic milking system.

Implementing electronic identification for performance recording in sheep: II. Cost-benefit analysis in meat and dairy farms

To maintain a predominantly pasture-based system, the large herd milked by automatic milking rotary would be required to walk significant distances. Walking distances of greater than 1-km are associated with an increased incidence of undesirably long milking intervals and reduced milk yield. Complementary forages can be incorporated into pasture-based systems to lift total home grown feed in a given area, thus potentially ‘concentrating’ feed closer to the dairy. The aim of this modelling study was to investigate the total land area required and associated walking distance for large automatic milking system (AMS) herds when incorporating complementary forage rotations (CFR) into the system. Thirty-six scenarios consisting of 3 AMS herds (400, 600, 800 cows), 2 levels of pasture utilisation (current AMS utilisation of 15.0 t dry matter [DM]/ha, termed as moderate; optimum pasture utilisation of 19.7 t DM/ha, termed as high) and 6 rates of replacement of each of these pastures by grazeable CFR (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) were investigated. Results showed that AMS cows were required to walk greater than 1-km when the farm area was greater than 86 ha. Insufficient pasture could be produced within a 1 km distance (i.e. 86 ha land) with home-grown feed (HGF) providing 43%, 29%, and 22% of the metabolisable energy (ME) required by 400, 600, and 800 cows, respectively from pastures. Introduction of pasture (moderate): CFR in AMS at a ratio of 80:20 can feed a 400 cow AMS herd, and can supply 42% and 31% of the ME requirements for 600 and 800 cows, respectively with pasture (moderate): CFR at 50:50 levels. In contrast to moderate pasture, 400 cows can be managed on high pasture utilisation (provided 57% of the total ME requirements). However, similar to the scenarios conducted with moderate pasture, there was insufficient feed produced within 1-km distance of the dairy for 600 or 800 cows. An 800 cow herd required 140 and 130 ha on moderate and high pasture-based AMS system, respectively with the introduction of pasture: CFR at a ratio of 50:50. Given the impact of increasing land area past 86 ha on walking distance, cow numbers could be increased by purchasing feed from off the milking platform and/or using the land outside 1-km distance for conserved feed. However, this warrants further investigations into risk analyses of different management options including development of an innovative system to manage large herds in an AMS farming system.

Cow traffic in relation to social rank and motivation of cows in an automatic milking system with control gates and an open waiting area

An automatic milking system (AMS) uses a robot to attach the teatcups and can be continuously available for cows to present themselves to be milked with minimal human intervention. Milking in an AMS is therefore a continuous rather than a batch process, and the conventional practice of cleaning a milking system after each batch of cows has been milked is not applicable.Milk flow through an AMS is different in scale and in temporal distribution from that in a conventional system. These differences in flow patterns may be significant for hygiene. It has been suggested by Verheij (1992), for example, that milk will flush away much of the residue of the previous milking and that microbial growth will be retarded because of the bacteriostatic properties of fresh milk. Ordolff & Bölling (1992) reported experiments in which batches of milk were passed through a milking installation that was said to simulate an AMS. Their main conclusion was that milk residues left in the system for up to 60 min did not increase the bacterial contamination of the next batch of milk. However, the practical relevance of this conclusion is not clear because the design of the simulated AMS was not specified, so it can not be compared to a practical AMS. Moreover, mixtures of fresh and UHT milk were used, with unknown consequences. The purpose of the experiment reported in this paper was to strengthen the evidence on which to base recommendations for effective cleaning procedures for AMS.The bacterial count of milk that had been passed through a system was used as the indicator of the cleanliness of the system. It was apparent from previous work by Ordolff & Bölling (1992) that this would produce results that varied widely. The experiment was therefore designed to be as simple as possible. In particular, a simple, easily defined laboratory rig was used rather than an AMS.

Simple SummaryIn barns that use milking parlors, cows walk from their pens to the milking area at least twice a day. A question can be raised: In what position are the cows at the moment of opening the exit gate in the pen, before going to the milking parlor? Is it a standing or lying position? When the cow is lying down, she must stop this activity. The forced break from lying can be considered in terms of cow welfare. The study compared the number of cows lying down when the exit gates opened in four pens over a period of 26 days. A greater number of lying cows were found before leaving for morning milking compared to afternoon milking. More cows were lying on the stalls with a lower level of sand compared to a higher level of sand. For comparisons between animals, an index of forced standing up of cows has been proposed. The results of the research may be an inspiration to identify solutions that will reduce the forceful getting up of cows. Such solutions include milking cows with a voluntary milking system instead of a milking parlor.Equipping a farm with a milking parlor requires moving groups of cows from their pens to the part of the barn where milking takes place. The task of moving cows, carried out two or three times each day, shows links to the lying area of the barn. When the cows are taken from the pen to the milking parlor, some of them may be lying down, and this lying down must be interrupted. The forced standing up of cows can be considered in terms of their welfare. The aim of the study was to examine the number of cows lying in the stalls at the time of opening the exit gates in the pens in order to take the cows to the milking parlor. The study covered four pens, each with 12 cows. The behavior of the cows in the pens before morning and afternoon milking was recorded over 26 days. In the analysis, the dependent variable was the number of lying cows, and the independent variables were the time of milking and the level of sand in the lying stalls. The results of the study showed the significance of differences in the number of lying cows for stalls with a low and high level of sand, both in the case of morning and afternoon milking. Differences in the number of lying cows were also found when comparing the time before morning and afternoon milking. To compare the tendency of individual cows to lie down before going to milking, an index of forced standing up was proposed. The research conducted showed differences in the behavior of cows before leaving the pen to the milking parlor. The stage to reduce the forced standing up of cows is to equip the farm with an automatic milking system (AMS) instead of using a milking parlor. In barns with AMS, cows have full freedom to get up and approach the milking stall. The results of the observations are thus an additional argument confirming the benefits of using an automatic milking system, considered in terms of the welfare of dairy cows, regarding their lying down and getting up.

Adoption of automated milking systems (AMS) has increased exponentially around the world in recent years. The objective of this observational study was to evaluate how producer perception of changes in cow-average milk yield and somatic cell count (SCC) compared with the actual changes in their herds after the introduction of AMS in Canadian commercial dairy herds. Data were collected (in 2014 and 2015) through a survey of 97 Canadian dairy herds that shifted to AMS from 2000 to 2014. Producers were asked their perception about milk yield and SCC changes (increase, decrease, or no change) after AMS introduction. Actual herd performance data were obtained from dairy herd improvement organizations. Differences between the 12-mo rolling herd-average milk yield (kg/cow per year) and SCC (cells/mL) at the closest test 2 yr after transitioning to AMS and at the last test before the transition were calculated and compared with the producer perception answers. After AMS adoption, milking herd size, milk yield, SCC, and number of AMS units per herd averaged (± standard deviation) 99.8 ± 54.4 cows, 9,619 ± 1,354 kg/cow per year, 248,825 ± 97,286 cells/mL, and 1.9 ± 1.1 units, respectively. On average, after AMS introduction, herd size, milk yield, and culling rate increased by 11.3 cows, 441 kg/cow per year, and 1.3%, respectively, and calving interval decreased by 7 d. For producers who perceived an increase, actual milk yield and SCC increases averaged (mean ± standard deviation) +534 ± 1,003 kg/cow per year and +56,679 ± 66,662 cells/mL, respectively. Alternatively, for producers who perceived a decrease, actual milk yield and SCC decreases averaged −984 ± 658 kg/cow per year and −26,976 ± 94,099 cells/mL, respectively. An actual milk yield change of +83.1 ± 1,113.3 kg/cow per year and an SCC change of +6,135 ± 72,609 cells/mL were observed in the herds in which the dairy producers perceived no change with the AMS introduction. Hence, dairy producers were, on average, able to discern their actual milk yield and SCC changes after AMS adoption. However, the proportions of dairy producers who accurately perceived their actual milk yield and SCC changes after AMS introduction were 39.4% for milk yield (increase: 36.3%; decrease: 100.0%; and no change: 45.5%) and 46.7% for SCC (increase: 50.0%; decrease: 39.0%; and no change: 54.1%). From these results, we concluded that several dairy producers distorted their actual milk yield and SCC changes or were not fully aware of those changes.

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of raw cow’s milk from an automatic milking system. Samples of milk (48) were analyzed chemically and microbiologically and the somatic cell count, freezing point and inhibitor residues were determined. For comparison purposes, milk analysis data from two farms using conventional machine milking and 2008 milk analysis report data for the Czech Republic were used. All physical and chemical characteristics of the study samples were within the established limits. The average content (%) of chemical indicators was following: fat 3.79 ± 0.18, protein 3.46 ± 0.06, casein 2.67 ± 0.09, lactose 4.82 ± 0.04 and NFS 8.96 ± 0.11. The values for freezing point and somatic cells count were 221 ± 46.103·ml-1 and -0.521 ± 0.003 °C respectively. No inhibitor residue was detected in any of the samples. Microbiological values were lower than the limits: the total microbial count (2.3·104 CFU·ml-1), psychrotrophic count (6.3·103 CFU·ml-1), coliform count (2.4·101 CFU·ml-1), Escherichia coli count (3.2·101 CFU·ml-1), enterococci count (8.5·101 CFU·ml-1) and Staphylococcus aureus count (1.1·101 CFU·ml-1). The study provides a comprehensive view on the quality of milk produced by robotic milking. The automatic milking system seems to be excellent in terms of milking and milk hygiene.

Robotic milking-farmer experiences and adoption rate in Jæren, Norway

The main objective of the study was to determine the effect of transition from a conventional milking system (CMS) to an automatic milking system (AMS) on survival of 6361 Polish Holstein-Friesian cows to second (SL2), third (SL3) and fourth (SL4) lactation as well culling reasons. The cows were born between 2002 and 2015 and calved between 2004 and 2018. All data for the survival analysis and culling reasons of cows in 17 herds during operation of CMS and AMS were extracted from the SYMLEK official milk recording system. Cow survival (SL2, SL3 and SL4) was analysed with multiple logistic regression using the following effects in the model: milking system (MS), first calving season (CS), age at first calving (AFC), ease of first calving (CE), birth of a dead calf at first calving (DC), milk yield (MY) for full first lactation (MY – this effect was ignored in SL2 analysis), herd (H), and MS × H interaction. In the next stage of the study, χ2 test was used to analyse culling reasons of cows (udder diseases, low fertility – infertility and reproductive disorders, locomotor diseases, low milk yield, other diseases – metabolic, digestive and respiratory diseases, accidents and chance events) in the first, second and third lactation and collectively in the first three lactations. Logistic regression analysis indicated a significant effect of MS, AFC, DC on SL2 and SL3, and of MY on SL3 and SL4. Moreover, H and MS × H interaction had a highly significant effect on SL2, SL3, and SL4. Cows used in AMS barns were characterized by significantly worse SL2 and SL3 compared to CMS (odds ratio), by 27.8% and 31.0%, respectively. It was also observed that the effect of switching from CMS to AMS on cow survival was determined by herd membership – in most herds this effect was unfavourable. A distinctly positive effect of milking automation on cow survival (SL2, SL3, SL4) was noted in only one barn (herd) – it was a new barn with a considerably expanded number of milked cows, where the lying area was covered with straw. When analysing the reasons for culling in the first three lactations collectively, it was found that after the AMS system was introduced into the herds, there were increases in the rate of culling for locomotor diseases (by 0.85 percentage points (p.p.)), low milk yield (1.36 p.p.) and other diseases (3.01 p.p.). It was also observed that the automation of milking reduced culling due to udder diseases by 0.37 p.p., low fertility by 3.24 p.p., and accidents and chance events by 1.60 p.p.

Robot milking and effect on reproduction in dairy cows: a preliminary study

Automatic milking system (AMS) brings a change in approach to ensure the data reliability in the official milk recording (MR). The AMS is equipped with flowmeter. AMS software provides the daily milk yield (DMY) and average of the last 7 daily milk yields (AVG7) for MR. Classic MR uses DMY. AVG7 could be more reliable value. Origin of both records (DMY and AVG7) is from AMS flowmeter. The aim of paper was to compare the values of milk yield of cows from daily (DMY) and the extended records (AVG7) from AMS for objective assess of lactations to be used in cattle breeding. Study (2013) with 2 AMS herds (DeLaval and Lely Astronaut): herd 1 – Holstein (H) dairy cows; herd 2 – Czech Fleckvieh (CF) dairy cows. There were following milk records: n = 521 DeLaval (H); n = 567 Lely Astronaut (CF); 70 (H) and 68 (CF) dairy cows. MR samples were analyzed on: fat content; crude protein; somatic cell count. Correlations between AVG7 and DMY were: 0.888 (H); 0.898 (CF, both P ≤ 0.001). There were insignificant differences (P > 0.05; −0.07 ± 3.29 kg for H and 0.28 ± 3.3 kg for CF) between AVG7 and DMY for both robots. The same is valid for differences in the production of milk components. According to this comparison experiment the AVG7 of AMS is a suitable equivalent for the DMY regarding official MR for assessment of lactations.

The paper presents the history of the development of automatic milking systems and their classification. The objects of study were automatic milking systems that are used in world practice. The analysis of automatic milking systems showed that they have technological and design differences. Technological and design features of automatic milking systems such as “Astronaut A4”, “VMS”, “M2erlin”, “MR-S2”, “MR-D2”, “RDS FutureLine”, “Galaxy Starline” and “Mlone” were considered in working out of this classification. The studies have shown that the existing automatic milking systems differ in the number of milking boxes and their location, type of robot arm, drive control of robot arm, robot arm location, decision of cleaning the teats and stimulating milk flow, decision of entry and exit of cows from the milking boxes.

The paper describes the introduction of robotic systems in the cow milking process. Some popular Automatic Milking Systems (AMS) are presented. Milking robots as essential part of an AMS are observed. Innovations in robotic milking are discussed.

Oxytocin release and milk removal after delayed or long-lasting teat cup attachment during automatic milking