Cow welfare aspects in automatic milking systems

The number of cows per farm is increasing rapidly in Finland. In this situation the farmer is facing the question how to manage all the work at the farm. Professional stockpersons are nowadays difficult to find and the labour is expensive compared to the price of milk. Automatic Milking Systems (AMS) could be a solution to these problems from the farmer’s point of view. The milk production of cows may also improve in AMS due to more frequent milking. In AMS a cow and a stockperson are the users of a new technology. Welfare questions of the cow and the stockperson must not be forgotten when this new technology is taken into use. In Finland the first farms with AMS have been using their systems for over one year. Research is done at Suitia research farm of the University of Helsinki and alongside the first two private farms with AMS have been followed up. Milk quality, udder health, cow behaviour, and the work of a stockperson are the research subjects. This paper deals with the aspects of cow welfare in AMS, using literature and observations from the Suitia research farm and the first Finnish private farms. The welfare of a cow is largely dependent on her stockperson, also in AMS. AMS provide the stockperson with several new tools to follow up the cows and evaluate their welfare, like data from activity and eating, but still there is no single instrument for the welfare evaluation. With AMS the behaviour of a cow, her individual characteristics as well as gregarious behaviour, is emphasised. Hence, a stockperson should be aware of the social structure of the herd in order to find ways to avoid social stress in the group of cows and provide enough resources (enough place and time to eat and rest) to the cows. In AMS cow traffic arrangements are decisive in the cow’s welfare point of view because it is not only the moving of the cow in the barn, but also her eating, lying, and milking which is controlled by the traffic arrangements. Forced cow traffic, where the only possibility for the cow to go from the lying area to the feeding area is by passing the milking unit, can be used at the start to train the cows to use the milking unit. However, it is not recommended for continued use because it can restrict the behaviour of the cows. Feeding during milking is necessary in AMS, because the milking itself is not attractive enough for the cows to pay enough visits to the milking unit. Cow welfare questions like the effect of AMS on human-cattle interactions needs to be studied. Also on farm solutions on combining grazing with AMS are needed.