Effects of environmental factors on yield and milking number in dairy cows milked by an automatic system located in pasture.

Abstract

Nowadays, farmers have to manage larger herds but want, at the same time, benefit from a normal social life. The milking robot can bring solutions. Its use can reduce physical labour and allow flexibility. This technology results in a reduction in grazing even through grazing appears as a natural practice which is appreciated by the consumers. This project aims to develop strategies to use milking robots in pasture in order to benefit from advantages regarding feeding costs as well as animal welfare and health. It aims to study the effects of grass height, animal, days in milk, rotation cycle number and distance from grazed paddocks on daily milk yield and milking number of grazed cows.