We feel that by working with Advanced Nutrition, they are always looking at the bigger picture. They help us to plan ahead as well as keeping the Jersey herd running day-to-day. New ideas on management of the herd are always coming from Advanced Nutrition.
Teamwork Drives Success with Robotic Milking on the Lizard
British Dairying caught up with Hayden and Christina from Treworgie Farm to see how a whole farm, whole team approach made their robot transition successful.
Siblings Hayden Jenkin and Christina Savage, farm at Treworgie Farm on the Lizard in Cornwall. The farm has been in the family for three generations and remains a family run operation with dad Roger still actively involved and the grandchildren showing interest for the future.
Roger and his father purchased the farm in the 1970s, starting with a herd of 60 milking cows. Today the Jenkins now milk 260 Holstein cows through four Lely A5 robots. They operate an all year calving system, producing an average of 11,300 litres a year and rising, they are also heading towards butter fats over 4.5% and protein over 3.4%. On contract to Roddas, maximising milk butter fat is high on the agenda.
The Jenkins retrofitted robots in 2016 and whilst the robot settings and cow environment were set up for success, they knew the cows weren’t performing to their genetic potential. So, in November 2023 they installed a different type of robot to improve cow health, milk yield and quality.
Hayden and Christina bring a genuine passion for dairy farming, combined with a sharp eye for detail and a deep understanding of cow behaviour, they knew that they could push forward. So, when things weren’t working quite as they should, they invited in the Advanced Robot team from Advanced Ruminant Nutrition to help identify any bottlenecks and find a way forward.
“We had worked with Scott Carter in a previous role, and he approached me on joining Advanced Ruminant Nutrition to talk about their Advanced Robot concept. I was immediately impressed by their expertise in analysing robot data. During our first meeting, they quickly grasped the nuances of our system and pinpointed key areas for improvement. Over time, I’ve come to appreciate their understanding of cow health and behaviour on the robots, which they seamlessly balance with their technical knowledge of robot settings and data analysis,” explains Hayden.
“The key for us was to transition onto the new robots as smoothly as possible,” comments Christina. The Jenkins understood that having a team approach with specialist expertise was really going to help with this.
Unlocking potential
“As part of our “triangle” approach, we know that if we can balance the nutrition with the health and management of the cow combined with manipulating the robot settings, we can unlock the potential of the herd and the robots. The Jenkins have a fantastic attitude to cow management and health. Their well-designed cow environment provided an excellent foundation for integrating the robots. So, we knew all we needed to do was adjust the robot settings and nutrition and take on a whole herd approach to maximise productivity with the new system,” explains Scott Carter, Technical Manager Advanced Ruminant Nutrition, who works alongside with Marc Harvey, Ruminant Nutritionist.
“Our primary goal was to maximise yield and unlock the full potential of the cows on the robotic milking system, thereby increasing the margin per cow and overall profitability. We focused on boosting milk production from forage by optimising the use of homegrown forage and barley, which were incorporated into the ration alongside a complementary blend. Adjustments were made to the robot settings, including the amount of concentrate fed, to enhance the cows' visit profile and overall milk output.”
“We’ve also looked at Amino Acid balancing, using RumentSmart and C16 to challenge the fat yield whilst simultaneously increasing litres. We will continue to push this to achieve our future feed efficiency targets.”
“Cake quality has been good. The nutrition has always been well balanced, and the blend has always been consistent - you need consistency for robots, our regular on farm meetings and messaging groups keeps communications of what’s happening on farm up to date” notes Hayden.
“The transition to the new robots went as smoothly as planned. Within a month, milk yields had increased by 10%, and within a year, they were up by 20%. While we were feeding more, this was still relevant to yields and we were also maintaining their yields further into lactation, keeping the robots working at peak efficiency,” says Hayden.
Farm Stats
|
|
Pre ARN |
Post ARN |
|
Average Milk Yield |
31.5 litres |
37 litres |
|
Butterfat |
4.04% |
4.55% |
|
Protein |
3.04% |
3.43% |
|
Milk solids (Kg/day) |
2.23 |
2.95 |
|
SCC |
239,000 |
123,000 |
Dry cow management
One key focus for Scott was transition cow management. While this wasn’t a major issue before installing the robot, he wanted to ensure the system was robust, as managing sick cows can significantly impact productivity. Scott and Marc introduced the mineral binder X-Zelit, to ensure the correct balance of calcium and phosphorous at calving. Scientifically it’s been proven to significantly reduce issues associated with sub-clinical milk fever.
“I was initially sceptical about switching to X-Zelit, as I had always used a DCAD system. However, after making the change, I have been impressed with the results. X-Zelit has simplified feeding, and the cows are eating and transitioning smoothly. It took a few months to settle into and to learn how it worked. We soon did, and we also learned that cows not receiving the correct amount, for example lame cows, needed to be closely monitored, but I liked that about the product as it put higher focus on those animals that needed a bit more TLC.”
Heifer Rearing
Liz Newman, Heifer Rearing Manager at Advanced Ruminant Nutrition, has started working with the youngstock and whilst there is more to be done, Christina comments, “We’ve seen clear improvements in DLWG, thanks to Liz’s support. She’s helped us establish straightforward protocols that the entire team finds easy to follow. Her hands-on approach is invaluable - she’s always monitoring the youngstock, and her heifer reports provide excellent insights into the data. This helps us make informed decisions for the future. It’s reassuring to have a clear understanding of where we’ve been and where we’re headed.”
The team takes a whole-farm, whole-team approach to ensure health and performance are optimised.
“It’s great to have the entire team involved. Scott excels at analysing the data from the robots—while it’s one thing to record and present data, it’s the team’s experience that turns it into actionable insights to drive progress. Marc brings extensive expertise with large herds, particularly in recommending effective “cow signal” solutions. Liz plays a vital role with regular input into calf housing and nutrition, and we see tangible results from their collaborative approach. The key is their shared passion for dairy farming; it’s clear they truly enjoy what they do,” says Mr Jenkin.
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