Farming Insights

When temperatures drop cows start to grow thicker hair to protect them against the winter cold. This makes them sweat, and excessive hair growth on the udder and tail may also impair robot efficiency. Cows’ tails are usually shaved mechanically using a shaver. There are two options for removing hair from the udder: shaving or singeing (flame clipping).

For an optimal milking process, we want to milk quickly (effective in time), gently (maintaining the comfort and well-being of the cow) and completely (milk out most of the available milk). To help achieve this optimal result, the liner choice, condition and maintenance are of major importance to this.

This article provides more knowledge about the causes behind lameness and foot problems to help reduce the incidence of lameness and its associated costs.

The somatic cell count (SCC) is a common benchmark used in mastitis management. Testing of the SCC of composite cow milk should be done every 3 weeks to 6 weeks. Additional measurements between milk controls can help with the early detection of changes in udder health.

Udder health is of major importance to milk production, cow welfare and farmer working pleasure. Basically, every case of mastitis occurs due to bacteria that enter the udder via the teat sphincter and teat canal. The teat canal and the teat sphincter are the first and most important line of defence. On a teat where the skin is strong, smooth and flexible, bacteria have the least chance of finding a home. In this article you will find some practical tips for keeping cows’ teats in perfect shape.

Maize is the most common feed for dairy cows. As well as containing vital nutrients, the starch in maize also provides cows with the energy they need to produce milk and/or meat. When harvesting maize for whole crop silage it is essential to conserve 100% as this is your base for the coming year. This article looks at a few points that you should bear in mind.

Robotic milking is an important link in the food chain defined by Lely as “from grass to glass”. Managing a farm with milking robots requires a different approach compared to conventional milking. As leader in the fully automated milking space, Lely has years of practical experience and research results that enable the company to give an accurate management advice for successful robotic milking.

Water plays a key role in milk production, control of body temperature and many other body functions in dairy cattle. While feed and ration management are generally monitored in detail, water intake, availability and quality are often overlooked. Cows consume around 4-4.5 litres of water per kg of milk produced and drinking water can satisfy 80-90% of a dairy cow’s total water needs. Generally, cows only drink in short bouts (7-12 times a day) during which they consume a total of between 10 to 20 litres of water. Cows prefer to drink after milking and during feeding. This behaviour is clearly seen in herds, where cows will go to drink after visiting the robot.

The dry period is the most important phase of a dairy cow’s lactation cycle. During this phase, the cow and her udder are prepared for the next lactation; hence any abnormalities during the dry period will have a negative effect on the cow’s health and milk production after calving.