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Ethical concerns regarding agricultural practices can be found to co-evolve with technological developments. This paper aims to create an understanding of ethics that is helpful in debating technological innovation by studying such a co-evolution process in detail: the development and adoption of the milking robot. Over the last decade an increasing number of milking robots, or automatic milking systems (AMS), has been adopted, especially in the Netherlands and a few other Western European countries. The appraisal of this new technology in ethical terms has appeared to be a complicated matter. Compared to using a conventional milking parlor, the use of an AMS entails in several respects a different practice of dairy farming, the ethical implications and evaluation of which are not self-evident but are themselves part of a dynamic process. It has become clear that with its use, the entire practice of dairy farming has been reorganized around this new device. With a robot, cows must voluntarily present themselves to be milked, whereby an ethical norm of (individual) freedom for cows can be seen to emerge together with this new technology. But adopting a robot also implies changes in what is considered to be a good farmer and an appropriate relation between farmer and cow. Through interviews, attending “farmers’ network” meetings in the Netherlands, and studying professional literature and dedicated dairy farming web forums, this paper traces the way that ethical concerns are a dynamic part of this process of rearranging a variety of elements of the practice of dairy farming.

Because of technical limitations, an impact of machine milking on the teat tissue cannot be avoided. The continuance of this impact during and after milking depends on a variety of factors related to the physiological regulation of milk ejection, as well as the different production systems and milking machine settings. Milking machine settings aim to achieve a high milking performance, that is, short machine-on time at a maximum of milk harvest. However, a high milking performance level is often related to an impact on the teat tissue caused by vacuum or liner compression that can lead to pathological dimensions of congestion of the tissue or hyperkeratosis as a long-term effect. Toward the end of milking a decrease of milk flow rate causes a raise of mouthpiece and teat end vacuum levels and hence an increase of the impact on the teat tissue and the risk of tissue damage. The mechanical stress by the milking machine activates a cascade of cellular mechanisms that lead to an excessive keratin growth and thickening of the keratin layer. Consequently, a complete closure of the teat canal is disabled and the risk of bacterial invasion and intramammary infection increases. Another consequence of high vacuum impact is fluid accumulation and congestion in the tissue of teat tip and teat basis because of an obstruction in venous return. The present review paper provides an overview of the available scientific information to describe the interaction between different levels and types of system vacuum, mouthpiece chamber vacuum, teat end (claw) vacuum, liner pressure, and the risk of short-term and long-term impacts on the teat tissue.

Automatic milking systems (AMS), or milking robots, are becoming widely accepted as a milking technology that reduces labour and increases milk yield. However, reported amount of labour saved, changes in milk yield, and milk quality when transitioning to AMS vary widely. The purpose of this study was to document the impact of adopting AMS on farms with regards to reported changes in milking labour management, milk production, milk quality, and participation in dairy herd improvement (DHI) programmes. A survey was conducted across Canada over the phone, online, and in-person. In total, 530 AMS farms were contacted between May 2014 and the end of June 2015. A total of 217 AMS producers participated in the General Survey (Part 1), resulting in a 41% response rate, and 69 of the respondents completed the more detailed follow-up questions (Part 2). On average, after adopting AMS, the number of employees (full- and part-time non-family labour combined) decreased from 2.5 to 2.0, whereas time devoted to milking-related activities decreased by 62% (from 5.2 to 2.0 h/day). Median milking frequency was 3.0 milkings/day and robots were occupied on average 77% of the day. Producers went to fetch cows a median of 2 times/day, with a median of 3 fetch cows or 4% of the herd per robot/day. Farms had a median of 2.5 failed or incomplete milkings/robot per day. Producers reported an increase in milk yield, but little effect on milk quality. Mean milk yield on AMS farms was 32.6 kg/cow day. Median bulk tank somatic cell count was 180 000 cells/ml. Median milk fat on AMS farms was 4.0% and median milk protein was 3.3%. At the time of the survey, 67% of producers were current participants of a DHI programme. Half of the producers who were not DHI participants had stopped participation after adopting AMS. Overall, this study characterized impacts of adopting AMS and may be a useful guide for making this transition.

The study aimed to verify the influence of different milking machine setting parameters on Italian Mediterranean buffalo milking performance. Data on milking machine settings (Milking Dry Tests [MDTs]) and milk Test-day (TD) were collected by the Italian Breeders Association (AIA). Data for each TD consisted of milk yield (MY), fat percentage (FP), protein percentage (PP), lactose percentage (LP) and linear score (LS). Working vacuum level (VL), pulsation ratio (PR), automatic cluster removal system (AC) and effective vacuum reserve (EVR) were recorded from each MDT. A total of 558 MDTs, 217,967 TD, collected from 43,593 buffaloes in 198 buffalo farms were utilised. MDT, TD and Animal data (AD) were analysed through a mixed linear model and a logistic regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between VL and EVR. Analysis of MY and quality revealed that an incorrect setting of the milking was responsible for a higher LS and lower MY and LP, along with higher FP and PP compared to farms with adequate EVR. Except for PP, the height of the milking system significantly influenced all milk parameters. Conversely, VL affected all milking traits. A higher PR (70:30) was responsible for significantly lower LS and higher FP compared to a 60:40 PR. Similarly, the presence of AC showed a significant effect on FP and MY and a slight reduction in LS. Finally, the diameter and length of the pipeline (DL) ratio lower than 2.5 m was associated with a decrease in LS. These results suggest that buffaloes require specific milking parameters.

The geometry of milk liners may affect milking performance and cow comfort as the milk liner is the only part of the milking machine that comes into contact with the teat. To determine the effect of alternative shape of milk liners we compared square (SQR) vs. the conventional round (RND) teat cup liner on milking performance and comfort of dairy cows. Treatment milk liners were randomly allocated to clusters within each side of the 12 a side double up-herringbone dairy shed in a complete randomised block design over two periods. Milking performance data from a total of 10 065 (late stage of lactation and once-a-day milking frequency, LATE) and 18 048 (early stage of lactation and twice-a-day milking frequency, EARLY) milking events were automatically recorded by a DeLaval milk meter, and separately analysed for LATE and EARLY, respectively. In EARLY, cow comfort behaviour was also recorded during afternoon milking sessions. Across the two study periods, average milk flow rate, milk flow rate during 0–15, 15–30 and 30–60 s after cluster attachment, and milk flow rate at cluster take-off were higher in SQR compared to RND treatment. Proportion of time in a milking session with low milk flow rate and duration of milking session were less in SQR compared to RND treatment. However, effect of geometry of milk liner on peak milk flow rate was inconsistent across the two-study periods. Peak milk flow rate was higher (P < 0.001) in SQR than RND in LATE, but higher (P < 0.001) in RND than SQR in EARLY. Stomping and kicking behaviours of cows were similar between treatments. Results of this study suggest that square milk liners potentially improve milking performance, without adverse effect on cow comfort compared to conventional round liners. Long-term, multi-site studies are required to confirm potential teat-end health benefits associated with square milk liners and further verify these results.

Bovine mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland, is the most common disease of dairy cattle causing economic losses due to reduced yield and poor quality of milk. The etiological agents include a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and can be either contagious (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Mycoplasma spp.) or environmental (e.g., Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Streptococcus uberis). Improving sanitation such as enhanced milking hygiene, implementation of post-milking teat disinfection, maintenance of milking machines are general measures to prevent new cases of mastitis, but treatment of active mastitis infection is dependant mainly on antibiotics. However, the extensive use of antibiotics increased concerns about emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and that led the dairy industries to reduce the use of antibiotics. Therefore, alternative therapies for prevention and treatment of bovine mastitis, particularly natural products from plants and animals, have been sought. This review provides an overview of bovine mastitis in the aspects of risk factors, control and treatments, and emerging therapeutic alternatives in the control of bovine mastitis.

Free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations can be elevated in raw milk due to improper handling and management at the dairy farm, and high concentrations of FFA can lead to off flavors in milk. This study aimed to describe how the herd production system, milking system, feeding and technological factors impact on FFA concentrations in bulk tank milk. FFA concentrations in bulk milk samples from 259 organic and 3326 conventional herds were analyzed by FT-IR during one year. The FFA content was significantly lower in bulk milk from organic than conventional herds. This was most evident during the summer half-year when the organic cows graze pasture. Bulk milk from automatic milking systems (AMS) and tie-stalls contained greater concentrations of FFA than any other milking parlor systems. In AMS, high milking frequency was found to be the most significant contributor to elevated FFA content in milk. Moreover, a strong interaction was found between milking interval and production system (organic vs. conventional). The technical factors, pre-cooling, onset time for cooling after milk inlet, contact between milk and agitation also impacted on the FFA concentration, whereas other technical factors including centrifugal pump type, length and height of pumping line and type of AMS manufacturer were found to be without significant effect on FFA. Feeding variables, based on feeding plans and evaluation, only explained a small part of the variation in bulk milk FFA. Overall, this study demonstrated that AMS compared to other milking system contributes significantly to increased FFA concentration in bulk tank milk, and within AMS high milking frequency contributes to increased FFA concentration.

HIGHLIGHTS The effects of transitioning from milking parlour to automatic milking system on milk traits were investigated. Cows produced more milk in automatic milking system than milking parlour, at the expense of the overall milk quality. Compared to milking parlour, milk from robotic milking was more likely to have somatic cell count >200,000 cells/mL.

Small ruminants not only differ on mammary gland anatomy, milk’s properties and the amount of milk yielded comparable to those of dairy cattle, but also on the milking routine strategies and machine milking settings to maximize daily milk secretion. The udder compartment is proportionally larger in dairy sheep and goats, which requires modifications in the milking machine settings, milking procedures and allows the use of different milking strategies as they better tolerate extension of milking intervals. Depending on the breed, cisternal milk in goats varies from 70% to 90%, whereas in dairy sheep it varies from 50% to 78% of the total gland capacity. This explains why these species are commonly milked without pre-milking teat preparation, while in goats it is applied only in cases of high prevalence of intramammary infection in the herd. Recent French researchers observed that 40% of the goats presented an unbalanced udder as well as unbalanced morphology (21% to 30%) and functional milk flow (around 10% to 20% more) which could induce overmilking. In dairy sheep, selection for higher milk production increases teat angle insertion. Thus, to increase machine milk fraction, it is recommended to use either the ‘Sagi hook’ as an alternative for lifting up the ‘pendulous’ udder during milking or to perform machine stripping. There are three cluster removal strategies for small ruminants: manual, timed and milk flow driven automatic cluster removal (ACR). Automatic cluster removal reduces overmilking, improves teat condition, enables labour saving and provides a consistent milking routine in small ruminants. There are three to five main milk flow profiles in ewes and goats, which result in curves with one or two peaks (or plateau) and different patterns of the milk flow decreasing phase due to the degree of mammary gland imbalance and teat characteristics. When taking into account our current knowledge, ACR recommended take-off settings for goats are: 200 g/min+10 s delay time (DT) for a long decreasing phase or two plateau curves and 500 g/min+5 s DT for a short decreasing phase and one plateau curve. The ACR take-off settings for ewes are: 150 g/min +10 s DT for long decreasing phase and 200 g /min+5 s DT for a short decreasing phase. This review is intended to be useful for scientists and producers seeking basic knowledge of milking routines and cluster detachment settings for parlour performance and milk quality.

In this study, we hypothesized that differences of automatic milking systems (AMS) variables in dairy cows during estrus and through diverse stages of lactation can be suggested as alternative indicators to support the pregnancy in dairy farms using automatic milking systems. The key objectives were: (1) to determine the variation of automatic milking system indicators during lactation and to estimate the relationship with reproduction status in dairy cows; (2) to test the hypothesis that milking traits of cows can be influenced by estrus and conceiving, and can be used as a predictor of the likelihood of reproductive success in dairy herds. Estrus synchronization was performed in 368 healthy Lithuanian Black and White cows. All cows ( n = 368) were synchronized and inseminated for the first time on the 91st day in milk (DIM). Cows not pregnant (17.39%) were synchronized and inseminated again at 132 DIM. After the first insemination pregnant ( n = 304) cows were identified as group 1, after the second insemination pregnant ( n = 58) cows – as group 2. Overall, 12 01 713 records of udder quarters in cows from 5 to 305 DIM were evaluated. The results revealed the reduction in milk yield during estrus 11.05% on 91 DIM and 13.89% on 132 DIM ( P < 0.001) and an increment in milk flow traits in cows after 91 DIM ( P < 0.05), also a slight decline in milk flow traits on 132 DIM. Furthermore, milking frequency (MF) of cows decreased significantly ( P < 0.001) after conceiving. The interval between milkings (MI) increased (40.30%) during estrus of cows in group 1 ( P < 0.001), and thereafter gradually increased, however in group 2 there was a temporary increment (6.06%) on the 91 DIM and steady rise (42.13%) on 132 DIM was noticed. The results highlight that changes in AMS indicators of cows may be considered as an additional tool for improvement of reproductive management in dairy herds, but further research-based studies are necessary before practical application.