Automatic Milking Systems (a.k.a. robotic milkers) were developed in Europe to address labor issues on dairy farms and became available there in 1992. This technology was introduced to the U.S. in 2000 and has slowly been gaining in popularity. Robotic milking is a voluntary milking system that allows cows to set their own milking schedule. Because the robot milks the cow, farmers have more flexibility in how they use their time and more time to devote to farm management or other activities. This technology collects information on milk quantity and quality and cow health, which helps farmers better manage their herd.

The Robotic Dairy Users Group was formed in 2010 by dairy farmers in Michigan and Indiana and faculty and staff at Michigan State University to facilitate networking and information exchange among group members.  The group meets periodically to tour member farms and share ideas and experiences related to management of robotic milking technology.

If you would like to be added to the Robotic Dairy User Group e-mail list or learn more about robotic milking research at the Michigan State University Kellogg Biological Station send an e-mail to pasture.dairy@kbs.msu.edu.  The e-mail list allows group members to communicate with the entire group between meetings.

Questions and responces from Robotic Dairy Users Group e-mail list.

Question Date: 12/02/2011

Question: What does the alarm message "too many deviations in a row" means? I have had this alarm 4 times tonight however everything seems fine.  If it is no big deal how do I shut this alarm off?  (Question is in reference to a Lely Austronat A3 robot)

Response: The alarm means too many cows in a row had lower than expected milk production.  To turn it off, at the CRS go to Settings, alarm system settings, detailed settings per alarm.  Arrow through til you get to 'number of consecutive deviating', hit enter.

You'll get a screen that looks like this:

.                              Day              Night                

alarm signal          yes                 yes

phone call              yes                 yes

If you want to turn anything off arrow around until the 'yes' you want is flashing, then hit enter which will change it to a "No"  Repeat if you want to turn anything else off.