Abstract
Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in selected production and functional traits of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows after switching from a conventional (CMS) to an automatic milking system (AMS). The study consisted of 3398 Polish Holstein- Friesian dairy cows, from 16 herds in which CMS was changed to AMS. Cows were in their 1st (L1) or 2nd lactation (L2). The data consisted of milk yield [MY, kg], fat content [FC, %], protein content [PC, %], dry matter [DM, %], lactose content [LC, %], urea content [MU, mg/l], somatic cell count [SCC, thous./ml] and score [SCS, log]. The milking system had a significant impact on milk yield, fat, lactose, dry matter and urea contents. Regardless of lactation number, milk derived from CMS was characterised by higher values for FC, PC, DM SCC and SCS, while milk from AMS had higher MY, LC and MU. Multifactor analysis of variance also confirmed significant effect of herd, season, herd × milking system interaction on SCS in milk of cows in L1. In the studied herds change from CMS to AMS was evaluated separately for cows in L1 and L2. The transitioning from CMS to AMS resulted in the decrease of fat content in 6 L1 and 7 L2 herds, dry matter in 8 L1 and 5 L2 herds. SCS in milk also decreased in 4 L1 and 5 L2 herds. The change caused the increase of MY in 11 L1 and 9 L2 herds, lactose content in 6 L1 and 4 L2 herds and urea content in 9 L1 and 10 L2 herds. AMS may positively affect milk yield and health status, however, the change of milking system should be also accompanied by the change in herd management.
Highlights
The Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that all over the world around 150 million households are involved in milk production (Hemme and Otte, 2010)
The present study analysed fat, protein and solids contents revealing higher values obtained before automatic milking system (AMS) installation, which is in accordance with the results presented by Klungel et al (2000) who reported that the average fat (%) content in milk obtained before AMS introduction was at the level of 4.43%, while after AMS installation – 4.37%
We observed an increase of daily milk yield, lactose and solids contents in milk, as well a decrease of fat, protein and solids contents
Summary
The Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that all over the world around 150 million households are involved in milk production (Hemme and Otte, 2010). We predict that in the near future, the number of automatic robots will increase and more dairy farms will be equipped with AMS This may be due to the rising costs of human labour and a subsequent need to reduce costs, changes in approach of young farmers who may be keener on using new technology in their dairy farms, as well as a better availability of new solutions (Schewe and Stuart, 2015). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in selected production and functional traits of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows after switching from a conventional to an automatic milking system We hypothesise that this change positively affects milk yield, composition and hygienic quality in dairy cattle
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