Tse C, Barkema H W, DeVries T J, Rushen J, Pajor E A
Department of Production Animal Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.
Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
J Dairy Sci. 2017 Mar;100(3):2404-2414. doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-11521. Epub 2017 Jan 18.
Automatic milking systems (AMS), or milking robots, are becoming increasingly common, but there is little documentation of how AMS have affected farms as a whole and what challenges and benefits producers are experiencing during their transition to AMS. The objective of this national survey was to document the effect of transitioning to AMS on producer perceptions of change in housing, farm management, and cow health. In total, 217 AMS producers were surveyed from 8 Canadian provinces. Median time since transition for respondents was 30 mo. The mean number of lactating cows per robot was 51 cows, with a median of 2 AMS units per farm. Fifty-five percent of producers built a new barn to accommodate the AMS. Changing housing systems was necessary for 47% of producers, not necessary for 50%, and not applicable to 3% (as the AMS farm was their first farm). Cleaning and feeding practices remained the same. Overall, farms increased herd size from a median of 77 to 85 lactating cows with the transition to AMS. After the transition to AMS, 66% of producers changed their health-management practices. Producers reported either a decrease or no change in rate of clinical mastitis. Reports on change in rate of lameness and total bacterial count varied. Conception rate was reported to have increased for 63% of producers. Culling rate was perceived to have stayed the same for 59% of producers. Overall, producers perceived their transitions to AMS as successful. Findings from this project provide a benchmark of the effects of AMS on important aspects of Canadian dairy farming, as well as provide producers, AMS manufacturers, veterinarians, and dairy advisors with more detailed knowledge on what to expect when transitioning to AMS.
自动挤奶系统（AMS），即挤奶机器人，正变得越来越普遍，但关于AMS如何影响整个农场以及生产者在向AMS过渡期间所经历的挑战和益处的文献却很少。这项全国性调查的目的是记录向AMS过渡对生产者在牛舍、农场管理和奶牛健康方面变化认知的影响。总共对来自加拿大8个省份的217名使用AMS的生产者进行了调查。受访者自过渡以来的中位时间为30个月。每个机器人的泌乳奶牛平均数量为51头，每个农场的AMS单元中位数为2个。55%的生产者建造了新牛舍以容纳AMS。47%的生产者认为有必要改变牛舍系统，50%的生产者认为没有必要改变，3%的生产者（因为使用AMS的农场是他们的第一个农场）认为不适用。清洁和喂养方式保持不变。总体而言，随着向AMS的过渡，农场的牛群规模从中位值77头泌乳奶牛增加到了85头。向AMS过渡后，66%的生产者改变了他们的健康管理方式。生产者报告临床乳腺炎发病率要么下降，要么没有变化。关于跛行率和总细菌数变化的报告各不相同。据报告，63%的生产者的受孕率有所提高。59%的生产者认为淘汰率保持不变。总体而言，生产者认为他们向AMS的过渡是成功的。该项目的研究结果为AMS对加拿大奶牛养殖重要方面的影响提供了一个基准，同时也为生产者、AMS制造商、兽医和奶牛养殖顾问提供了更详细的知识，让他们了解在向AMS过渡时可能会遇到什么情况。
