ICAR Technical Series no. 7 - Nitra Proc.

Veysset et al.Automatic milking systems: Characterising thefarms equipped with AMS, impact and economicsimulationsP. Veysset 1 , P. Wallet 2 & E. Prugnard 11INRA Laboratoire d’Economie de l’Elevage, Theix,63122 St-Genès-Champanelle, FranceE-mail: veysset@clermont.inra.fr2Bureau Technique de Promotion Laitière, La Futaie, 72700 Rouillon, FranceIn France, approximately one hundred dairy farms are equipped withautomatic milking systems (AMS) and according to the manufacturers ofthe systems, this market is likely to expand. However, we do not have anyinformation about these farmers and their motivations for buying an AMS.In order to characterise these farmers, nearly half of the total population(44) were surveyed. The farms surveyed are much larger (surface area andherd) than the national average. Their milk production is often incompetition with other productions, which leads to labour constraints.The dilapidated state of the milking equipment meant that it almostobligatorily had to be replaced. The choice of the AMS rather than aconventional milking parlour was made in view of lightening theworkload. The AMS offers greater flexibility as far as time is concernedbut also has an impact on herd management: increased production percow, zero grazing. Economic simulations show that the annual additionalcost of AMS compared to a conventional milking parlour is mainlyinfluenced by four parameters: the cost of labour, the increase in productionper cow, the depreciation period and the options of the milking parlour.According to these simulations, the AMS seems more adapted economicallyto farms of 50 to 75 cows for a quota of 400 000 to 550 000 litres of milk.These considerations must of course be further documented in the futurewith new references.SummaryKey words: Automatic milking system (AMS), dairy farms, work, investment.Dairy farmers have always been subjected to the perpetual constraint oftwo daily milkings at set times. The milking machine constitutedtechnological progress, continually being improved and adapted tofarmers’ needs, which has considerably reduced the arduousness of theirwork. But today, work become a limiting factor on a large number of dairyIntroductionICAR Technical Series - No 7141