ASSESSMENT OF ROBOTIC MILKING IN

Abstract. Changes in milking performance and milk quality were followed on 45 multiparous Holsteins before and after implementation of a robotic or automatic milking system (AMS). After an initial monitoring week, approximately half of the herd was randomly assigned to be milked with the robot; the remaining half remained as control cows and continued to be milked twice daily in the parlor. Records of milking performance were followed for a total of four weeks on all cows; records of milk quality were followed for a total of three months on all cows. No significant changes in milk yield were observed between the robot and control cows during the first three weeks of AMS use; however, average daily machine-on time increased significantly for the robot cows in weeks two and three while average flow rate decreased significantly for the robot cows in week two. No significant differences were found in the geometric mean of individual cow somatic cell counts between the robot and control groups after one and two months of AMS use