Automatic feeding systems for dairy cattle – potential for optimization in dairy farming

A survey carried out on 18 farms in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands indicates current trends in cattle feeding. An increasing number of farms are relying on automatic feeding to ease their workload, save time and achieve flexibility. The farms surveyed were practical users of automatic feeding systems. There are various systems which permit the automation of feeding systems. At present rail-guided feed wagons are the best established in practice, but conveyor belts and self-propelled feeders are also used. The number of feed components used differed just as much as the time requirement. The working time measurements of the automatic feeding systems (AFS) show, that by using an AFS it is possible to save time and achieve greater flexibility. A significant reduction in working time by comparison with a conventional feed-mixer wagon, however, can only be expected in the case of sizeable herds. The working time requirement for automatic feeding systems depends essentially on the removal technique, distance from the feed store and type of silo.