There are three main items that have to come together and operate in harmony — people, cows and computers, said Richard Franta, capital sales specialist with dairy equipment manufacturer DeLaval.
On the people side, it’s thinking about who’s going to manage the new operation and how the farmer or employee work with the equipment.
Another thing to consider is whether the automated equipment helps lower the labor amount or causes the farmer to invest more in training and development, he said.
“In cows, a lot of it is the basics,” he said during the latest “Dairy Stream” podcast.
That means is the herd healthy and productive, are the stalls comfortable and well maintained, are the cows breeding back on time and do they have good hoof health, he said.
“It’s important to remember that milking systems harvest milk, the management of your cows is what produces it,” he said.
The computer component is what farmers forget about in the equation when they start investigating automation, he said.
“They can be excellent caretakers of cows and manage employees well, but they haven’t considered much about how this highly automated system runs and how they’re going to have to work with that,” he says.
He wants to ensure each farm has plans to train employees how to use the automation and computers correctly and how to interpret the data the system produces, he said.
“We also need to plan for success by placing the robots or rotary in attractive, well-ventilated and -lit areas so that cows feel comfortable expressing their milk there,” he said.
As for skill level, he’s had farmers who have never owned a cell phone transition to automation. A person just needs to be able to adapt and learn. DeLaval can work with its computer system and herd-management platform to best identify what the farmer wants to measure and report that data in an easy-to-read format, he said.
“So I don’t think you have to be super computer savvy. We definitely have those that are and those that aren’t, and both can be successful in automation in dairy farming,” he said.
As for maintaining equipment, a clean machine is a happy machine, he said.
“Keeping items free of dirt and debris helps keep them in good shape,” he said.
“I also think it’s really important to have a good relationship with your equipment dealer. Many farmers can take over maintenance of their equipment, but they need to buy parts and cleaning chemicals. Other farmers want to have the dealership do all the service and maintenance work,” he said.
Both are viable, but it’s important for a farmer to understand how much he’ll be expecting to pay for parts, service and chemicals when he invests in a new piece of equipment, he said.
“Most people start out having the dealership do 100% of the maintenance, and then they learn and pick pieces along the way that they can invest their time in,” he said.
DeLaval has training classes and online support to help farmers learn how to maintain equipment, he said.
“There’s a lot of support in helping make sure the farmer has the tools, resources and information they need to be successful with their new automation system,” he said.
