aa bb ee tt tt ee rr uu nn dd ee rr ss tt aa nn dd ii nn gg Automatic Milking Edited by: A. Meijering H. Hogeveen C.J.A.M. de Koning Automatic Milking a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g Automatic Milking Edited by: A. Meijering H. Hogeveen C.J.A.M. de Koning WWaaggeenniinnggeenn AAccaaddeemmiicc PPPP uuuu bbbbb llll iiii ssssss hhhh eeeeee rrrr ssssss This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. Nothing from this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a computerised system or published in any form or in any manner, including electronic, mechanical, reprographic or photographic, without prior written permission from the publisher, Wageningen Academic Publishers, P.O. Box 220, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands, www.WageningenAcademic.com The individual contributions in this publication and any liabilities arising from them remain the responsibility of the authors. In so far as photocopies from this publication are permitted by the Copyright Act 1912, Article 16B and Royal Netherlands Decree of 20 June 1974 (Staatsblad 351) as amended in Royal Netherlands Decree of 23 August 1985 ISBN: 978-90-76998-38-1 (Staatsblad 471) and by Copyright Act 1912, e-ISBN: 978-90-8686-525-3 Article 17, the legally defined copyright fee for DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-525-3 any copies should be transferred to the Stichting Reprorecht (P.O. Box 882, NL-1180 AW Amstelveen, The Netherlands). First published, 2004 For repro duction of parts of this publication in compi lations such as anthologies or readers (Copy right Act 1912, Article 16), written © Wageningen Academic Publishers permission must be obtained from The Netherlands, 2004 the publisher. PREFACE In 2000 the book Robotic Milking, reflecting the proceedings of an International Symposium, which was held in The Netherlands, came out. At that time, commercial introduction of automatic milking systems was no longer obstructed by technological inadequacies. Particularly in a few West-European countries, systems were being installed at an increasing rate. However, it was recognised that the changeover from “traditional” to automatic milking affected the farming operation, herd management and control of milk quality profoundly and that many of the implications were still unknown. So, new challenges in various fields of dairy farming and new research areas emerged. Since the International Symposium in 2000, much has happened. In general, automatic milking has been adopted as a realistic alternative for milking in the “traditional” milking parlour. Systems have gradually been improved and, maybe even more importantly, farmers have become more familiar with their potential and limitations, both technically and in herd management. The number of farms milking with an automatic milking system has worldwide increased from approximately 500 in 2000 to more than 2.200 by the end of 2003. The majority is still concentrated in north and west Europe, but interest from the south of Europe, Japan, Canada and the USA is increasing. In Sweden and Denmark up to half of the farmers planning the replacement of their milking system, decide for automatic milking. In The Netherlands about 25% do so. From 2000 to now, the level of scientific knowledge on various aspects and consequences of automatic milking has increased largely as well because of research efforts all over the world. A significant share of these efforts has been made within the framework of a EU- granted project on the implications of the introduction of automatic milking on dairy farms. Some seven research institutes and six industrial companies from six countries joined their expertise and experience in order to facilitate a widespread adoption of automatic milking without undesirable side effects. In the latter days of the EU-project a follow-up symposium on Automatic Milking was organised to present the results from this project and to merge these with knowledge generated in studies performed all over the world. The motto of the symposium, for a better understanding, reflects the aim of all efforts made in this field in recent years, i.e. to acquire knowledge on all consequences and issues related to the introduction of automatic milking on dairy farms. This book reflects the proceedings of this symposium, again held in Lelystad, The Netherlands, in March 2004. Its contents may be considered as the present state of knowledge in the field of automatic milking, in particular with respect to the following topics: • Economic aspects and social implications • Perception of the technology by society at large • Impact on milk quality • (Re)definition, detection and separation of abnormal milk Automatic milking – A better understanding 7 • Impact on the excretion of antibiotic residues • Effects of farm hygiene and teat cleaning on milk quality • Demands with respect to cleaning of automatic milking systems • Effects of converting to automated milking on animal health • Automatic milking and animal welfare • Integrating automatic milking and grazing • Demands and opportunities for operational management support These topics are addressed by 47 full papers and some 80 poster abstracts, originating from 16 countries from Europe, Asia, Oceania and North America, giving an excellent coverage of the topics mentioned. A special paper is dedicated to the “state of the art” in automatic milking in North America and in Europe. The efforts by the members of the Scientific Committee to select the right papers for oral and poster presentation are gratefully acknowledged. The work by the members of the Organising Committee, the “draught horses”, to make the symposium a successful event deserves particular acknowledgement. Last but not least, the crucial financial support by the many sponsors is highly appreciated. Albert Meijering Henk Hogeveen Kees de Koning Editors 8 Automatic milking – A better understanding SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZATION Organizing Committee Dr Albert Meijering chairman Ir André van der Kamp administrator Ing. Kees de Koning treasurer and business liaison Dr Henk Hogeveen scientific programme Ing. Anita Wolsing organisation and publicity Scientific committee Dr Henk Hogeveen (chairman) Wageningen University, The Netherlands Dr Christel Benfalk Swedish Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Sweden Ing. Kees de Koning Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, The Netherlands Dr J. Eric Hillerton Institute for Animal Health, United Kingdom Dr Karin Knappstein Federal Dairy Research Centre, Germany Dr Erik Mathijs Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Dr Albert Meijering Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, The Netherlands Dr Morten D. Rasmussen Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Denmark Dr Keith Roe Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Dr Hans Wiktorsson Swedish Agricultural Univesity, Sweden Automatic milking – A better understanding 9