What does Robot start up look like?
One week ago today, our family officially started milking our 100 cow herd on robots-YAY! To say the least, everyone was antsy and excited about it. However, as much as our adrenaline was pumping with excitement, we also knew that there were going to tiring days ahead. Yes, you heard me right, tiring.
Now obviously if you’ve never started dairy cows on robotics before, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Which is why I thought maybe it would be helpful to give you a picture into what Robot Start-Up actually looks like.
When did the building project begin?
In August of 2022, construction began. For our project, we did a retro-fitted barn. Which means we took what we had and “remodeled” if you will. For our design, we extended part of our barn, moved a building, and added on to the milk room (where the bulk tank is stored). From there, the robots themselves came onto the farm in March 2023.
March 2023-Where the blue water fountain is and out is all new! We added on 68’ feet our from our existing barn. Where the two ladders are would end up being about where the robots would end up.
How did robot install go?
One perk in this process, is that Michael happens to be apart of robot installs for his day-to-day job. That being said, no Michael didn’t do all of the install by himself, but he did do quite a bit of it since he has experience. I even got to help one day put in tubing between the robots, the wash, the cleaning chemicals, and the milk line. To say the least, it’s honestly pretty amazing how Michael knows where all those wires and tubes go-cause there’s a lot of them!
At the end of March, our robots came in! Michael, and his dad Merrill are next to robot room 2.
Training week: What’s that?
The last week of May, our family started what is called training week. Which is actually genius when it comes to making the transition from the parlor to robotics. What this week entails, is teaching the cows how to walk in and out of the robot. This requires around 2-3 people guiding cows into each robot (notice I said guiding not shoving). During this week, the cows do get a little bit of the sweet treat (there is feed that is in the robot that entices them to come in) when they go into the robot, but they do not get milked yet. It’s simply a small way for them to get used to what being milked is going to look like.
What does the first week of start-up look like?
I have now watched Michael go through dozens of robot start-ups and during each of those weeks it’s very common for Michael to get maybe 12 hours of sleep for the whole week…so when I say the week is tiring, it truly is!
Besides being tired, what you’ll want to be sure of if you ever do consider using robots, is having lots of help (at least 4-6 extra people) to get things started. The first two days are the longest and sometimes the most challenging. What are those people doing? They are:
Guiding the cows in (again GUIDE—if we shove, kick, hit, the cow is not going to want to go in…we have to stay calm during this process. This is new to them too.)
Mapping the cows — a.k.a. sitting in the robot room calibrating the robot arm to find each cow’s teats
The mapping process usually only has to be done during the first milking that each cow is in the robot. Which I should also mention that it’s important to realize that there will be kicking during those first few milking’s. There will be times where you legit think that the cow is going to break the robot. Don’t be alarmed, it won’t break. Remember, they are learning too. From there, the rest of the week is a constant flow of guiding cows and helping them get used to it.
Tip? Make sure you create shifts with your workers to make sure people get sleep :)
Updates from Day 3 of Start-Up. Everyone’s tired.
How long will it take before the cows are used to the robots?
It truly depends on 3 factors:
Your herd size
Your herds temperament
Your willingness to trust the process
They will get the hang out it. Just trust the process. Give it 3 months and you’ll be amazed at how much different your life as a dairymen is.
What other questions do you have about a robot start-up?
Our family and I are definitely learning a lot, but we are so excited about the future of our farm :)
Everyone in the Nettinga crew besides Dad:)
Please feel free to leave your questions in the comments and follow us along on socials :)
