A Primer on Robotic Milking

Abstract

This paper is the introduction for a technical session on robotic milking. Automatic milkingsystems (AMS) have demonstrated that cows can be milked with minimal human oversight orintervention. An AMS is not just substituting a piece of technology (a robot) for an existing repetitivejob. The organization and management of a dairy farm with an AMS must be developed tocompliment the strengths and weaknesses of the robot. Important items include, barn layout,feeding strategies, management strategies, sanitation, barn labor routines and cow handling.Successful systems must be designed and operated to accommodate the needs of the cow, theabilities of the robot and to assure milk quality.