MILK ON DEMAND

Technology. Innovation. Efficiency. At the Oklahoma State University Ferguson Family Dairy Center, these ideals came to fruition with the installation of a robotic milker in Fall 2020.

Following the completion of a new free-stall dairy barn in 2018, the obvious question of “What’s next?” arose, said Clint Rusk, head of the OSU Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

Larry and Kayleen Ferguson were among those looking toward the future of the dairy, said Nicole Sanders, OSU dairy herd manager. Because of their desire to keep OSU dairy students on the cutting edge of technology and research, the Fergusons had a robotic milker in mind, she added.

“The Fergusons have helped open new doors that weren’t possible for us otherwise,” Sanders said.

The robotic milker is a valuable asset for students and producers to experience firsthand, Rusk said.

“A part of our role as a land-grant university is to provide education and to take knowledge to the producers,” Rusk said.

By allowing producers to view OSU’s milker, they can learn about the technology while also building a positive relationship with the university, he added.

“The agricultural way of life, in my opinion, is a great one,” Rusk said. “If we can help producers to be more efficient and help that livelihood, I think there’s a better chance to get their children to go back to the farm and continue that operation in the future.”

The opportunity for Oklahoma dairy producers to spend a day at the Ferguson Family Dairy Center learning the management style and operations of a robotic facility could impact their decisions of whether to implement similar technology on their own farms, said Stephanie Dillon, DeLaval advisory specialist.

DeLaval is the milking equipment and technology provider of the robotic milker. Dillon assisted the OSU dairy center staff with the final stages of the milker installation in October 2020.

“OSU has the VMS™ V300,” Dillon said. “That’s the newest model available right now, which DeLaval came out with in 2018.”

This technology comes equipped with time-of-flight cameras, which create a 3D-image of the teat, Dillon said. This image ensures the robot knows exactly where to go, making milking attachment almost instant, she added.

“What we’ve found with the transition to the time-of-flight camera and the DeLaval insight technology that programs it is we’re doing a better job attaching to a variety of udders,” Dillon said. “This model attaches to them almost instantly, so it’s a very minimal stress experience for the cows.”

OSU officials chose to use a freeflow robotic system, allowing the cows to be milked whenever they choose throughout the day, Dillon said. This means cows stand in line in a holding area. To entice them to visit the robotic milker, they are fed as they are being milked, she added. Once entering the milker, the cows have their teats cleaned by the robot to ensure proper sanitation, Dillon said. Then, they are milked while eating, which usually takes about six minutes.

The robotic milker has the ability to adjust depending on the size of the cow. This feature is essential at the OSU Ferguson Family Dairy Center because it houses both Jersey and Holstein cattle, which have significant height and weight differences.

Photo by Madi Baughman

When they finish, the milker then sorts them back to their original free stalls, which is crucial for the OSU dairy setup because of housing both Jersey and Holstein breeds, she added.

Jerseys and Holsteins have differences in size and stature, so they are sorted in separate pens to allow proper care and nutrition, Dillon said.

For dairy producers, robotic milkers present many benefits to potentially advance their operations, Rusk said.

“Innovation and efficiency allow some producers to survive while others may not,” Rusk said. “If we continue to milk cows like dairy producers did in the 1950s and 1960s, I don’t think they would be as competitive in today’s market.”

As the cows enter the milker, their digital ID is scanned on their ear tags, and the pen adjusts to fit their size.

Photo by Madi Baughman.

Robotic milkers are the future of the dairy industry, even if they do not completely replace all milking systems, Dillon said.

“In the dairy industry, we’re seeing a lot of the really large farms going to a combined system,” she said.

In this combined system, the problematic, sick or first-time cows are milked in a traditional manner in the parlor. The healthy, productive cows are milked by the robot, reducing the amount of labor and human interaction with these cows, Dillon said.

“Cows using the robotic system get to live a more relaxed lifestyle,” Dillon said. “They produce more milk because they are more relaxed.”

Using 3D imaging technology, the robot attaches the milkers to each individual udder quickly.

Photo by Madi Baughman.

Along with making the cows more relaxed, robotic milkers allow producers to overcome labor shortage challenges by reducing the number of employees needed, Rusk noted.

For this reason, Dillon said robotic milkers can benefit large and small producers. On her family’s operation, robotic milkers have allowed them to gain economic efficiency, she added.

“When we started with robotics, we were at about 180 cows,” Dillon said. “It’s allowed us to grow by almost 100 milking animals and not add any additional labor to our farm.”

This system allows production per pound to be tracked on each individual udder.

Photo by Madi Baughman.

Rusk said he expects an efficiency increase because the cows have 24-hour access to be milked by the robotic milker.

Dillon said the robot system has changed dairy producers’ way of thinking from pounds of milk per cow to total pounds of milk produced.

“Robotics are just a part of this revolution the dairy industry and agriculture in general are going through right now,” Dillon said. “You have to be business-minded to stay in the dairy industry or to stay in agriculture in general.”

Sanders, who ensures OSU’s cows are trained to the process, said she looks forward to learning what additional information they can track through the new milking system.

With advanced data collection, Dillon said producers can find illness faster and see the cow’s specific production levels in a more detailed way than with previous tracking systems.

To track the progress of individual cows, the machine scans their radio frequency identification tags, or RFID tags, as they walk into the milker, Dillon said.

This allows producers to spend less time milking and more time monitoring their herd, she added.

“You’re taking that time spent milking and devoting it to the health of the animals, to the feed or to the nutrition,” Dillon said.

In the long run, this new technology is pushing producers to become better managers, she added.

Most of all, having access to a robotic milker allows OSU students to become more well-rounded individuals with unique agricultural experiences, Rusk said.

“I wanted this technology at the OSU Ferguson Family Dairy Center because I think it’s important to give our students an advantage when they apply for a job in the dairy industry,” Rusk said.

This experience with the robotic milker is valuable not only to students wanting to work on dairy farms but also to students who want jobs as feed advisers, veterinarians or any other profession interacting with the dairy industry, Dillon said.

“This robotic milker experience is so valuable for all of the students who are going to be at the university and working at the university because this is the future,” Dillon said.

Allowing students the opportunity for hands-on learning will draw them to Stillwater and the dairy specifically, Sanders said.

By doing this, OSU can build a dairy program all of those involved in the dairy — past and present — have dreamed of, she added.

MADI BAUGHMAN LONE GROVE, OKLAHOMA