17 March 2025

5 things to consider when deciding on installing a robot

As labour is in short supply, interest in robotic milking has increased over recent years. Dairy Specialist at Teagasc, Patrick Gowing shares 5 things you should consider when looking at robotic milking.

Most farmers will now consider the option of robotic milking if they are looking to invest in their milking facilities. However, it’s a significant decision for any farmer to make when deciding if a robotic unit will suit their farm. Consideration needs to be given to: labour saving; yard design; grazing; economics; and future expansion.

1). Labour saving

One third of the total work on a conventional dairy farm is associated with the milking process. This equates to an average of 3 hours/day over the year in the milking parlour. Recent trials in Moorepark have shown that robotic milking reduced the milking process to 40 minutes/day. However, there was increased time associated with grazing management with robotic milking. So when considering robotic milking, the system will save time but will only save time on the milking process.

2). Yard design

The robot box has a small footprint and can easily be installed into sheds. However, as with any milking system, consideration needs to be given for the movement of cows in and out of the robot, the area available to draft cows and the slurry management around the robotic system - in particular where the grazing gates are installed.

3). Grazing

Robotic grazing farmers operate an AB (every 12 hours allocation) or an ABC (every 8 hours) grazing system. The principles of grazing management are the same as a conventional dairy farm i.e. spring rotation planner, summer wedge and the autumn budget.

In an ABC system, the farm is divided into three sections with cows getting new grass every 8 hours. This requires three new allocations of grass per day. Additional grazing infrastructure may be required to develop an ABC grazing platform.

As mentioned, the key in any dairy system is to maximise the amount of grazed grass in our cows. This will increase our net forage figure per cow and increase the overall farm profitability.

4). Economics

Robot milking machines are expensive and usually require additional borrowings to change the system. A business plan for the robots should be completed that shows the increased costs (increased repayments, higher service costs and ESB costs) on your business to see if it is viable.

In some cases, farmers have changed their system to accommodate the robotic milking. Remember a robot is only a way of milking your cows. How you operate your farm will determine the profitability of your business, not how you milk your cows.

5). Future expansion

Robots are limited to the number of cows they can milk, typically 70-75 cows. In a conventional dairy farm, as the herd grows, you can milk extra cows through your parlour by increasing the number of rows you milk.

In a robotic scenario, an additional unit will need to be purchased to milk the extra cows. This can make expansion in a robotic system capital intensive at the start of the investment, while a conventional parlour will allow the cow numbers to grow organically before the need to invest.

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