Robots and Grazing Herds

Overview

Implementation of Lely automated milking systems (ADS) especially when combined with an automatic sort gate allows grazing herds to capitalize on benefits that include individualized milking and efficient herd and grazing management. While many aspects of automated dairy systems remain the same in both traditional and grazing dairies, pasture-based operations have their own unique set of variables to consider.

Benefits of Automated Milking Systems

Since Lely sparked a robotic revolution 30 years ago with the introduction of the first commercially available robotic milking system, Automated Dairy Systems (ADS) and robotic dairy technologies as a whole have changed how producers harvest their milk. Lely ADS work 24/7/365, allowing producers to reimagine, redirect and optimize labor usage as well as create previously unattainable opportunities for efficiency gains and yield increases. Producers employing Lely ADS see a fundamental change from “operating” their dairies to “managing” them, which includes access to greater herd and production insight and accessibility to highly valuable, immediately actionable data, down to individual quarter metrics. With data provided by the Lely Horizon farm management system, producers can more effectively guide their reproduction programs, improve cow welfare and ensure the right cow is milked at the right time.

Why Pasture Grazing?

Before delving into the robotic element of the equation, it’s important to know why some producers are choosing to graze their herds. While every producer has their own unique set of reasons, motivators for grazing can largely be grouped into three categories.

1. Producers seeking organic certification must adhere to specific pasture and grazing guidelines. USDA certification requires that during the grazing season cows are provided pasture for a minimum 120 days per calendar year and the pasture provides on average a minimum of 30% of their dry matter intake.
2. Given the choice between two otherwise identical cartons of eggs, more and more consumers will pick the one with the “free range” or “cage free” label on it, even if it costs a little more. The same is true of milk. A growing public awareness of and concern for animal welfare means producers pasturing their herds can advertise that fact, potentially allowing them to command a premium price for their milk.
3. These producers are grazing their herds based on principle, tradition and likely always have.

Incorporating robotic systems

The robotic aspect of milking a grazing herd is much the same as in a traditional one – cows are milked in Lely Astronauts that exist within the barn. The primary difference is sending cows out to pasture and ensuring they regularly return to the Lely Astronaut for milking. Optimizing this condition is key. Two pieces of automated technology make up the requisite pieces of automated pasture grazing: the Lely Astronaut robotic milking system and Lely Grazeway sorting gate. The Lely Astronaut works as usual, enticing cows with a concentrate feed and determining milking permission based on the time since their last milking and/or expected milk yield to be harvested. The Lely Grazeway is the unique and critical component for grazing herds and can be positioned directly off the milking robot or elsewhere in the barn, depending on layout and location of pasture.

The Lely Grazeway communicates with the cow’s ID collar and uses milking data from Lely Horizon to determine when a cow should be allowed to graze and when it should stay in the barn. An advantage of Lely ADS systems with sorting ability is they allow producers to focus resources mainly toward the cows that need attention. A typical rule of thumb is that 80% of a farmer’s time is spent on 20% of the cows. To achieve this, producers can program the Lely Grazeway to keep specific cows in the barn under the following conditions:

• Cows that are overdue for milking
• Cows close to achieving milking permission, typically set at 70-80%. For example, if a cow has milking permission every 8 hours, then from 6 (or more) hours after her last milking she’d be retained in the barn until successfully milked.
• Cows due to be bred based off activity and rumination flags triggered within Lely Horizon.
• Fresh heifers in need of more training to visit the Lely Astronaut.
• Cows with a high sick chance that is generated from activity collars (rumination, eating minutes, activity) and previous milking information (quality, quantity, temperature, etc.). The Lely Grazeway can be programmed to keep these cows in the barn for assessment and/or treatment.

This sort ability benefits the producer in two main areas: 1) personnel time management and 2) milking the right cow at the right time. Retaining these cows saves the farmer time when executing these ‘cow touch’ tasks and keeps the cows in need of milking close to the Lely Astronauts, thus reducing time spent fetching.

Tips, Trick and Best Practices

• The Lely Grazeway can be used to fulfill rotational or strip grazing practices. Based on the grazing schedule the gate can send cows to a different pasture than they had been in previously. This attraction to go to a fresh pasture can help draw cows back to the barn for milking.
• Safe paths to and from the pasture. These paths should be wide enough to accommodate multiple cows and free from any potential hazards. Ideally the path surface would be managed to limit rocks and mud. Some operations will even use rubber mats in the highest traffic areas near the sort gate to maintain traction.
• Have one-way gates dedicated to function as either entrance or exit from the barn. Gates allowing bi-directional traffic can cause jams and prevent cows ready to be milked from returning to the barn or cows ready to graze from reaching the pasture.
• Align gate heights to the breed and size of your cows. For example, when using a finger gate or Texas gate for cow entry into the barn, setting it too high could allow a curious Jersey to sneak under and essentially render them useless.
• It is critical that proper nutrient balance is achieved between the pasture, robot concentrate and partially mixed ration (if fed). A nutritionist experienced with grazing herds can be an asset.
• Ensure palatability of the concentrate fed in the Lely Astronaut. Knowing there is a “sweet” treat in the robot, makes a cow will be more likely to return from pasture.
• If feeding a partially mixed ration, consider using the Lely Juno automatic feed pusher or Lely Vector automatic feeding system. Both will create consistent access to feed at the fence.
• The more you see, the more you learn. If considering implementing Lely automated dairy systems, visit other farms and reach out to your local Lely Center.