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Pasture management in two high performing automatic milking systems
Citation
John, A and Clark, C and Freeman, M and Kerrisk, K and Rawnsley, R, Pasture management in two high performing automatic milking systems, Dairy Research Foundation: Current Topics in Dairy Production, 4-5 July 2013, Kiama, Australia, pp. 99-103. (2013) [Non Refereed Conference Paper]
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Abstract
Achieving high voluntary cow movement is one of the major challenges when adopting an automatic
milking system (AMS) within a pasture based dairy system. An analysis of two commercial dairy farms with
excellent cow flow was undertaken to capture a more detailed understanding of how these farms were
achieving regular voluntary cow movement and target milking frequencies. Data was collected throughout
January and February 2013 on two farms, located in North-West Tasmania (Farm A) and Western
Gippsland Victoria (Farm B). The farms were milking on average 207 and 166 cows respectively, with three
Lely A3 robots, 3 way grazing and no irrigation. On Farm A, daily pasture allocation (pre-grazing biomass –
1500) varied significantly (p<0.05) from 4 kg DM/cow for block B and C to 2 kg DM/cow for block A, which
resulted in a variation in the percentage of feed allocated per hour of active access of 2.2-5.5%. This
corresponded with a more uniform milking distribution over a 24 hour period, achieving between 21 and 25
milkings/hour. Farm B’s pasture allocation was not significantly different (p=0.091) between blocks,
however the percentage of feed allocated per hour of active access did vary between 3.3-6.0%. This
resulted in more variable milking distribution over a 24 hour period of between 9-22 milkings/hour. Thus, it
is concluded that high voluntary cow movement in an AMS can be achieved by varying the quantity and
timing of pasture allocation.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Non Refereed Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
| Research Group: | Animal production |
| Research Field: | Animal management |
| Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
| Objective Group: | Pasture, browse and fodder crops |
| Objective Field: | Sown pastures (excl. lucerne) |
| UTAS Author: | John, A (Mr Alex John) |
| UTAS Author: | Freeman, M (Mr Mark Freeman) |
| UTAS Author: | Rawnsley, R (Dr Richard Rawnsley) |
| ID Code: | 90850 |
| Year Published: | 2013 |
| Deposited By: | Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture |
| Deposited On: | 2014-04-29 |
| Last Modified: | 2014-04-29 |
| Downloads: | 2 View Download Statistics |
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