title: Factors associated with increased milk production for automatic milking systems.
abstract: Automatic milking systems (AMS) are increasingly popular throughout the world. Our objective was to analyze 635 North American dairy farms with AMS for (risk) factors associated with increased milk production per cow per day and milk production per robot per day. We used multivariable generalized mixed linear regressions, which identified several significant risk factors and interactions of risk factors associated with milk production. Free traffic was associated with increased production per cow and per robot per day compared with forced systems, and the presence of a single robot per pen was associated with decreased production per robot per day compared with pens using 2 robots. Retrofitted farms had significantly less production in the first 4 yr since installation compared with production after 4 yr of installation. In contrast, newly built farms did not see a significant change in production over time since installation. Overall, retrofitted farms did not produce significantly more or less milk than newly constructed farms. Detailed knowledge of factors associated with increased production of AMS will help guide future recommendations to producers looking to transition to an AMS and maximize their production.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medical Sciences, Section of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison 53706. Electronic address: mtremblay@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Marlène
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medical Sciences, Section of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: Justin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medical Sciences, Section of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: Brock M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Christenson
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medical Sciences, Section of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: Kolby K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.affiliation: Lely North America, 775 250th Avenue, Pella, IA 50219.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smink
authors.affiliation: Lely International N.V., Cornelis van der Lelylaan 1, 3147 PB, Maassluis, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjen J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van der Kamp
authors.affiliation: Lely International N.V., Cornelis van der Lelylaan 1, 3147 PB, Maassluis, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lisanne G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medical Sciences, Section of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: Dörte
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Döpfer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008892:Milk; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: automatic milking system; benchmark; milk production; number of robots per pen; traffic type