Worldwide Robotic Milking

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.