Feed management to optimise robot utilisation in automatic milking systems
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
John, Alex JamesAbstract
Automatic milking systems (AMS) have revolutionised dairy farming around the world. Milking is no longer performed in defined sessions; rather, the cow can now choose when to be milked in AMS. Achieving a consistent level of robot utilisation (RU) throughout 24 h is key to maximising ...
See moreAutomatic milking systems (AMS) have revolutionised dairy farming around the world. Milking is no longer performed in defined sessions; rather, the cow can now choose when to be milked in AMS. Achieving a consistent level of robot utilisation (RU) throughout 24 h is key to maximising the efficiency of AMS. Despite this, there has been little attention given to RU throughout 24 h in the research space. The literature review (Chapter 2) explored the different feed, animal and management factors that influence RU in both indoor and pasture-based AMS. A study of commercial pasture-based AMS (Chapter 3) uncovered the extent of RU variability on Australian farms. Further investigation of a high performing pasture-based AMS farm (Chapter 4) found cows visited the robots at different periods of a pasture allocation, depending on their individual milking frequency. Additionally, this study highlighted the unique pasture management employed on this high performing farm, whereby the farmer varied the temporal allocation of herbage quantity to encourage cow traffic. From this, a component trial (Chapter 5) determined the feeding patterns of cows in the absence of diurnal feed variation, whilst also determining if there were any negative impacts on cow welfare. Using the information from the first component trial, a second component trial (Chapter 6) determined the effect of varying feed quantity and quality on cow feeding behaviour. This study found that feed quantity was the most effective way to manipulate feeding behaviour. The final study (Chapter 7) tested three methods of feed allocation on the pasture-based AMS farm, highlighting the ability to manipulate RU by varying the quantity of herbage offered throughout 24 h. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of cow feeding patterns and how this knowledge can be used to manipulate RU, providing a framework for future research to develop methods to improve feeding management in pasture-based AMS.
See less
See moreAutomatic milking systems (AMS) have revolutionised dairy farming around the world. Milking is no longer performed in defined sessions; rather, the cow can now choose when to be milked in AMS. Achieving a consistent level of robot utilisation (RU) throughout 24 h is key to maximising the efficiency of AMS. Despite this, there has been little attention given to RU throughout 24 h in the research space. The literature review (Chapter 2) explored the different feed, animal and management factors that influence RU in both indoor and pasture-based AMS. A study of commercial pasture-based AMS (Chapter 3) uncovered the extent of RU variability on Australian farms. Further investigation of a high performing pasture-based AMS farm (Chapter 4) found cows visited the robots at different periods of a pasture allocation, depending on their individual milking frequency. Additionally, this study highlighted the unique pasture management employed on this high performing farm, whereby the farmer varied the temporal allocation of herbage quantity to encourage cow traffic. From this, a component trial (Chapter 5) determined the feeding patterns of cows in the absence of diurnal feed variation, whilst also determining if there were any negative impacts on cow welfare. Using the information from the first component trial, a second component trial (Chapter 6) determined the effect of varying feed quantity and quality on cow feeding behaviour. This study found that feed quantity was the most effective way to manipulate feeding behaviour. The final study (Chapter 7) tested three methods of feed allocation on the pasture-based AMS farm, highlighting the ability to manipulate RU by varying the quantity of herbage offered throughout 24 h. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of cow feeding patterns and how this knowledge can be used to manipulate RU, providing a framework for future research to develop methods to improve feeding management in pasture-based AMS.
See less
Date
2018-03-23Licence
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental SciencesAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare