Batch milking with robots
Batch milking with robots is starting to gain traction, but why, and is it a good option?
Boumatic, DeLaval, Fullwood Joz and GEA all offer batch milking with robots, and with large herds, it can make a lot of economic sense.
How does it work?
It is exactly the same principle as a conventional system, bringing groups of cows into a collecting yard to be milked, except with batch milking, they are milked automatically by robots.
The machines require one hour's down time between milkings, for washing and maintenance, leaving 21 hours per day for milking. Assuming an average box time of 7.5 minutes per cow, each robot can then achieve 8 milkings per hour, or 168 per day.
If we take a herd of 440 cows being milked 3 times a day, then this will require 8 single box machines in the case of DeLaval, Fullwood Joz and GEA or 5 double boxes in the case of Boumatic’s Gemini.
Advantages
Savings
Although you might be thinking that there is little to be gained financially, because you need the same number of machines, as a voluntary system, there are actually some savings to be made here, where the manufacturers can centralise some of the equipment on the machines, such as milk and vacuum pumps and so the costs per unit reduces.
Simplicity of Layout
If we take our 440 cow example above ,on a voluntary system, this will typically be run as 4 micro herds of 110 cows, each with a combination of early, mid and late lactation cows, in each group.
With a new build this can be planned for, but when you are trying to retro fit this in to an existing building, it is not always possible and it ends up being a compromise.
This can also lead to some serious building costs, which you will not incur with batch milking because the groups can remain the same, as they would for a conventional milking. Handling and separation can also be centralised rather than replicating in every micro herd.
Herd Management
It can be hard with large herds on a voluntary system, to keep all of the mirco herds running at full capacity, as it requires a certain amount of juggling with cows numbers, which you don’t have with batch milking.
Feeding
Voluntary systems will have an impact on feed costs, if you have been using a total mixed ration, as you have to reduce the concentrates outside to get enough visits in the robots. The maximum recommended on the feed fence, is the average yield of the group, minus 7 litres. So more concentrates have to be fed in this situation.
Batch milking with robots on the other hand, allows you to manage your groups as you would if you were milking through a conventional parlour and so you can feed more heavily outside. Some concentrates will be required in the robots but at a reduced rate.
Milking Frequency
Another option that you have with batch milking, is to milk some groups more often than others. So, early lactation cows could be taken to the robots four times a day, mid lactation three times and your lates, just twice.
Disadvantages
Manpower 24 hours a day
Manpower will be constantly required to move groups of cows to the robot collecting area, to oversee the milking operation and to clean down the machines. So, this is a major consideration.
Whilst voluntary systems do not require any manpower at night, apart from responding to any alarms.
Herding cows
With voluntary milking, cows become very quiet because they are not being herded two or three times a day but you will not see the benefit of this with batch milking.
batch milking with grazing
Gemini Max installation
Mogens Hansen and his wife Anne, farm just outside Give in the southern region of Denmark with their two sons Jakob and Kristian, where they run their herd of 250 organic Friesian Holstein cows.
In 2023 they had reached a cross roads with their existing 20 point doubled up parlour because it was coming to the end of its life and so they started to look at all of the options that were available to them. The family were interested in robotics but as the herd was organic, it was essential that they continued to graze during the summer months. ”We have grazing up to 2Km away,” explains Mogens” and as there are roads to cross, we didn’t feel that robotics could work for us.”
They then started to consider the idea of batch milking with robots whereby they would simply bring the cows to the machines to get them milked automatically. Milking in this way is a relatively new concept and in order to make the finances work, the robots normally have to run for up to 21 hours a day, forming a pattern of three, seven-hour milking blocks with an hour in between for cleaning. Howeve,The Hansen’s situation was different from a conventional system and when they did their sums, they realised that the organic milk price combined with labour saving would allow them to make the investment, without increasing the current yield of 10,800 Kg per cow. In turn this meant that they could continue to milk the herd twice a day.
Why Boumatic?
The Hansens looked at various manufacturers but decided on Boumatic for several reasons. ”Firstly we had a good working relationship with Ole and Torben from Pro Milking and Carsten Dideriksen from BouMatic sales in Denmark, so we were confident that they could deliver this project for us.” Explains Mogan “In addition we also liked the Gemini double box as it was going to give us more milking points for our money, then buying single robots and finally the modular concept of the machines leant itself perfectly to batch milking.”
Building work
The Hansens ordered 6 Gemini double boxes in 2023 to milk their herd of 250 cows in around three and a half hours, twice a day, in the knowledge that they had plenty of spare capacity to allow for an increase in cow numbers at a later date.
The installation was completed in two stages with the first three machines up and running in April 2024, at which point the parlour was switched off and then the further three machines were installed on its footprint.
Management
The transition has gone really well and the herd is now bought to the robots in two groups of 125 cows, twice a day where they are left to get milked automatically. Each station can milk approximately 7 cows an hour and so the whole operation is completed in around 3 hours with half an hour to clean down. It is all overseen by one person and so there has been a labour saving of 1.5 labour units.
Future Plans
“The move to batch milking with robots has been great for us,” says Mogan “ it has really delivered everything to our business that we were hoping for. In addition, we still have spare capacity on the machines and so we have flexibility moving forward if we want to further increase our cow numbers.”