Milking permission and milking intervals in a pasture-based automatic milking system
N. A. Lyons A B , K. L. Kerrisk A and S. C. Garcia A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Dairy Science Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Private Mailbag 4003, Narellan, NSW 2567, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: n.lyons@sydney.edu.au
Animal Production Science 55(1) 42-48 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN13131
Submitted: 5 April 2013 Accepted: 22 October 2013 Published: 19 December 2013
Abstract
In a pasture-based, automatic milking system, a proportion of milking events occur with milking intervals (MI) >16 h (extended MI). Additionally, cows necessarily walk longer distances than in indoor-based systems. The decision to milk a cow is based on milking permission criteria, which are generally based on time since last milking but can often take into account expected yield as well. Any cow arriving at the dairy and that does not receive milking permission is drafted to a pasture allocation, but it is not known whether milking refusal influences total time of return and therefore MI. Data from a 33-day period from the FutureDairy pasture-based, automatic milking system research farm using a prototype robotic rotary were analysed to investigate the hypothesis that a greater proportion of milking events occurring with extended MI would correspond to cows that had experienced a previous milking refusal. If this were the case then management practices could be implemented to deal with cows that visit the dairy soon after the last milking event. Results indicate that one-third of milking events had extended MI, although only 16% of them had a previous milking refusal. The average refusal took place 3 h after the last milking event and caused extended MI in >60% of the cases. This indicated that although attention should be placed on cows that returned to the dairy before milking permission (because they were likely to have an extended MI), milking refusals were not the main cause of extended MI. Therefore, cows that visit the dairy facility earlier than expected could be sorted to a feeding area close to the dairy, yet the greatest impact on overall MI will probably be achieved by reducing time spent in any one pasture allocation.
Additional keywords: automatic milking system, milking interval, milking permission.
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