Advertise on podcast: Worldwide Robotic Milking

A footbath is an essential part of a robot barn. Too often it is an afterthought. In this episode, we discuss footbath locations and use, and the potential impact on cow traffic.

Jim Salfer from University of Minnesota Extension came back for a second episode. This time we focused on economic models he has created for profitability and labor efficiency.

Jim Salfer, from University of Minnesota Extension chatted with us about how we have gotten where we are. We talked about everything from his first robotic milking open house, through the early adapters, and the latest concepts. What drove the innovation then, and what keeps it going today?

John and Gareth talk about the unique challenges of maintaining bedding and removing manure when cows are always in the pen.

Jake joined us for a second episode. He owns a grazing dairy in South Australia. He talks about his decision to use robots, advantages he has seen, and how he monitors performance. While Jake's farm is grass based, his approach to robotic milking applies to confinement farms as well.

Jake Connor, from South Australia was our guest for 2 episodes of the Worldwide Robotic Milking podcast. In this first episode, we talked about the climate, and the dairy industry in South Australia. Jake explained his ABC grazing system with seasonal calving, and how robots are an integral part of it. He views his robots as a tool for managing cows and grass. The same mindset fits for housed systems where the robot is a tool for managing cows and stored forages.

This is the second in a 2 part series on KPI's for automatic milking systems. This one covers our goals, and on-farm observations on cow performance, including milk production, milking frequency, behavior, and more.

This episode covers the KPI's we use to plan and evaluate voluntary milking systems. We share out goals, and farm experience, with milk per robot, milkings per robot, free time, and more.

Labor is often the first reason people look at robotic milking. What's it really like to work in a robot barn? Gareth and John compare notes on roles and expectations for labor in robotic milking.

Batch milking is one of the hottest topics in robotic milking. Gareth traveled to Denmark to get an inside look at 3 batch milking facilities and talk to the owners. We talked about his inside observations in this episode.

Gareth and John talk about cows living their best life with robots and rotational grazing. This episode covers the logistics of motivating cows to return from the pasture to be milked in the robots, and the mindset required to make it happen.

How much can a cow eat while she is in the robot? John and Gareth discuss how milking duration, form, and feed settings affect what cows are able to consume while they are in the robots.

Pellets are the most common feed used in robots, but meal and liquid are also popular. In this episode, John and Gareth talk about where each feed fits, and even no feed in the robots.

Quality forages are the cornerstone of successful robotic milking. John and Gareth discuss crops, harvesting and storage of forages in the US and UK and how they impact robotic milking.

John and Gareth compare the use of free flow, guided flow, and batch milking in their US and UK markets.