Check VMS Animal Settings.

A new month has started and the “Workroutine” list says that we have to check once a month the settings for individual cows.
Although the default settings are ok for the vast majority of cows, some cows require different settings, sometimes temporarily.

In order to make effective use of these Animal Settings and not accidently leave them if it isn’t necessary, it is recommended to check the overview once a month.

Take for example the “Milking Queue” list. First, click on a cow so that the bar turns blue. Second, press Ctrl + A and all cows turn blue. Third, click on “Batch Edit” and choose Batch AMS Animal Settings. Then, a list appears with the VMS settings for all selected cows.

It is especially important to look at the tab “Milk Permission”  to see which cows are “Allow Action” on Automatic Milk Permission and which are not, and whether “Temporary milking permission when incompletely milked” is being used properly.

Under the tab “Cleaning”, check which cows have a different setting for Teat cleaning or disinfection other than the standard and under “Configuration”, for example, whether “Existing” is used properly on existing teats and Teats to be milked. Also check if “Direct attach to teats” and other teat attach possibilities like “Abnormal teat shape”, are still the best for that cow, or not anymore?
And is “Base take-off decision on lower flow”  only used with the correct cows?

Making good use of these options offers a lot of benefits.

Having a clean computer screen

A clean screen makes your work flow a lot easier. A computer in the barn is easily a whole lot dirtier than one in the house. Not only the dust, but also fly poop can make it difficult to read information on the screen. Unconsciously, this might be a good reason to spend less time looking at your computer!

To prevent the screen from getting dirty, it is advisable to put a cover or towel over the screen after use, so that flies and dirt are almost without a chance.

If the screen is already dirty, it would be advised to use a microfiber towel with a bit of vinegar to clean the screen. It is important to turn the screen off first, the screen must be cold, and to dry it off afterwards (especially in the corners). Be sure not to use glassex, ammoniac, acetone or alcohol: these substances are too aggressive for the screen.

It is not good when you think: “Is this a period, a comma or fly poop? Which number or which cow number is this?”
A clean screen would not only make it nicer for you to read things on the screen, but also for the people who are watching with you.

And lastly, if you actually like looking at your screen, it also means that you’ll see things earlier and be able to proactively act on certain situations.
This also means a reduction in mistakes!

Drying off cows with a sealer?

Many cows are set dry with just a ‘teat-sealer’ treatment like Orbeseal.
Three things are incredibly important when it comes to using a sealer.
The obvious first tip is to work hygienically ofcourse.
Second, make sure that you do not insert the sealer to high. The sealer should close the teat canal and not the udder. (That’s just bad for the udder.)

The third and final tip is that you need to make sure that you “don’t include burglars”. So, when you dry-off a cow don’t only look at the cell count but also take the graph on the Cow-monitor in consideration. Set it to an overview of 365 days and you can review the results per quarter/teat. You can overview the last week or last month but also the entire lactation history and assess whether every quarter is clean enough to set the cow dry only with a sealer or have to use antibiotic.

Dry cows at a distance.

If your farm allows for it, it is much better when you place dry cows at a distance from the VMS station or milking parlor. It would have to be far enough that they do not hear or see any pulsations, concentrate falling or other cows moving around the AMS. Also, its recommended that the cows have no sight of the VMS.

But place them where you can see them often! (Are they healthy? Is their rumen filling ok? etc.)

Losses at the silage storage.

It has been discussed many times but the ration what is calculated should be lying at the feeding fence.

Calculations and plans for the feeding rations come from analyses, and a plan, usually made with your feeding advisor.

For some reason it occasionally still goes wrong. The silage might have gotten warm which results in loss of energy and taste. Inevitably, the cows will eat less and receive less energy that what was calculated.

What also happens is that crows, starlings and ducks, spend a lot of time at your roughage storage. Predominantly for the corn kernels. Besides taking away valuable energy and starch, and walking around in the storage, they also shit in the cows food

This also happens in the stable…

By keeping the silage storage as clean as possible, and by pulling a protective cover every day over open silage we can eradicate these forms of energy/taste loss.

Making the stable “bird-proof” won’t be easy.

Also pay attention to what extent the sun can shine on the open surface of the silage, this also dries and heats more than intended.