Record VMS production in Sweden
In 2007, just six months after their two VMS stations were installed at the Ängsbo farm, the Ljung family had achieved impressive yield results. Three years later, Roland and Berit have gained record results. We spoke to them to find out how they achieved such high milking capacity.
Can you sum up the reason behind the high capacity that you are achieving from your two VMS stations?
Cow traffic they respond quickly and simultaneously. The foundation for good production performance is good cow traffic and you will not be able to achieve this if the feed you put on the feed table is too strong. Nor will you achieve it if you put more feed on the feeding table than that which corresponds to 20-25 kg of milk. In our experience too much feed makes cow traffic worse. Then of course, you need to make sure that the quality of the feed is consistently high throughout the year.
How do you manage this effectively?
In order to achieve consistent quality and get good performance from your feed you need to mix the feed. It helps you to achieve a smooth cow traffic flow throughout the day, which is necessary if you want to get results. If done correctly you can reach around 90% utilization level, as we do. In addition, you always have to mix your feed the same way and at the same times, everyday. There should always be feed on the feed table, but feedings and practices must always remain the same.
We usually have three silage harvests and we use feed from all these three harvests in the mix. This way we can really achieve consistently high performance from the feed. With grass silage we mix pressed pulp, salt and minerals.
Distribution takes place eight times a day. In the VMS we have two feed types, our own grain and concentrated feed. We have a further six feeding station where we put out the same feed, however our high yielders, also get a third feed type. Overall, we can provide up to 15-20 kg of concentrate in the VMS and the feed stations. These of course, are tailored to an individual cow’s production. All the cows are milked without exception in the two VMS stations and they are put directly into the VMS after calving.
You have had some great yield results in 2010…
Yes, that’s correct. In 2010 we produced 820 tons of milk with one VMS and 867 tons with the other. That gives us a quota of 2310 kg per VMS per day throughout the year, and it’s this point that is important, stresses Roland. You need to achieve uniformity throughout the day, as well as over the years. During the first half of 2011 the corresponding figures were 454 and 489 tons. It points to a full-year’s production of more than 900 tons per VMS. Individual days might not tell us so much, but we have had a record single day of 3111 kg, notes Berit. We even had a period in March when the seven day averages were 2707 kg and 2860 kg respectively for the two VMS stations per day. It felt good admits Roland.
Well there’s no arguing with your results. What else is important?
You must be on top of things at all times explains Roland. Do things now, not tomorrow or later. Do not wait with actions that can and need to be done today. This helps you to avoid any unwanted surprises. Cows are creatures with habits and they get easily disturbed if things are not consistent. Feedings should happen at exactly the same time. Roland cleans a feed table as an example. It is cleaned every morning at exactly the same time.
The same goes for liners. If the change to new liners is delayed by just a couple of days, we notice the difference, emphasizes Berit, and if it happens its because we haven’t done what we should have done on time, we’ve done it later.
On the whole, fix routines from A to Z and delegate responsibility for them. Berit takes care of the PC related activities including milking and feedings permissions, while I take care of the more tangible activities explains Roland. Other examples of what need doing regularly include cleaning the cubicles and making sure they are properly bedded.
What are your current milking rates?
We stand at around 2.5 milkings per cow per day at the moment, but it can go down to 2.1 to 2.2. This doesn’t really bother us so much as the main thing is that the individual cow is milked according to her conditions in terms of milk yield. This results in the ideal time intervals and gives us reasonable flexibility. We found that the best way to achieve this is by utilizing Feed First where we have an average of 12 VMS pass-throughs per day. With this many pass-throughs we know that the milking permission is controlled. We have cow cubicles in three lines and it still works very well explains Roland. I could not consider changing to free cow traffic.
With all this control, how does grazing come into play?
The cows can go out to pasture from the feeding station area, and they come back to the feed table. We never force any cows in from grazing, clarifies Berit. And to be honest the number of milkings doesn’t seem to change during the grazing season.
Do you apply the same level of consistency to all VMS related operations?
Well we certainly do for servicing. Not only in terms of bringing in a service technicians according to the recommended intervals but also by carrying out daily maintenance routines accurately and consistently.*
Putting it into perspective, the cost of servicing the VMS is comparable to a tractor. The tractor needs servicing every 600 hours, while the VMS, which is serviced every 4 months, needs servicing every 2880 hours.
And besides, once you have fixed routines with daily tasks and you take the necessary steps you don’t have a problem. You must remain one step ahead says Roland.
We operate all procedures correctly, and I am convinced that the alarms and emergency messages and fewer because of it. We have not had to call VMS support at any point this year, despite the fact that night alarms can occur a few times per month.
Summing everything up Berit explains how proud they are of their milk yield, but notes that it would be interesting to have Herd Navigator to find out more about the herd’s health. Not having to make assumptions would be both exciting and challenging.
