Will robotics open up new opportunities for dairy farmers?
Some experts believe that automated milk extraction is almost the last item in a long list of benefits that robotics can bring to a modern dairy farm.
Leading the catalogue of advantages to be gleaned is in fact the more effective use of manpower, combined with the greater space and time that is afforded to those working within a dairy farming business.
These were among the key positive outcomes from automating the business raised by Keith Gue, from Huddleston Farmers Ltd, in his presentation to the recent AgriSearch high input-high output dairy conference.
The Huddlestone dairy farming herd comprises 700 high merit Holstein cows, located across two sites in the south of England.
Owned by the Gue family, the business also comprises arable and livestock enterprises with additional land farmed in Scotland.
The Huddlestone herd is currently averaging 12,000L at 4.6% butterfat and 3.5% protein. This works out at a total 3.1kg of fat and protein per cow per day.
Robotic technology
Staff management within the Huddlestone business is critical, with Gue pointing out that the investment in robotic milking has delivered an improved decision-making process right across the dairying operation.
Gue said: 'We have gone from a scenario which saw six people working 10 hours per day on a three times daily milking routine to one which sees the equivalent of three and a half people working 8 hours per day since the introduction of the robots.
'In the meantime, milk outputs have risen by 10%.'
Meanwhile, herd breeding decisions at Huddlestone are very much Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI)-focussed.
Gue firmly believes that genetics and the environments within which cows operate must complement each other.
'Our diets are very much grass silage-focussed. This is in total contrast to the situation in the United States where the likes of alfalfa is included within almost all dairy cow rations.'
According to Gue, using elite quality semen is the best decision any dairy farming business can make.
He pointed to the myriad benefits that sexed semen continues to bring, from a dairy breeding perspective, in securing the elite replacement heifers required from the minimal number of dams.
In addition, Gue said the rising value of beef calves in the UK and Ireland is further emphasising the advantages gained from sexed semen.
But genetic make-up is one thing – animals being allowed to express this potential fully is another issue altogether.
According to Gue, the facilities – including robotics – available on dairy farms must be fully compatible with the genetic profile of the animals living in them.
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