Effects of Herd Management Practices and a Feed Supplement on Milk Yield, Milk Components, and Automatic Milking System Metrics

Abstract

The objectives of this thesis were to investigate the association of facility design characteristics and management practices with milk production on automatic milking system (AMS) farms in the upper Midwest U.S., and to investigate the effect of a sorbitol containing feed additive on milk yield, component yield, and AMS box time metrics. New barns, 1 or 3 AMS per pen either at the end or middle of the pen, fetching cows fewer times and monitoring body weight were all positively associated with milk yield. The use of a sorbitol containing feed additive increased milk yield, energy-corrected milk yield, and fat and protein yield in multiparous cows while having similar AMS metrics in multiparous and primiparous cows. Findings in this thesis may have implications for optimal facility design and management practices along with suggesting the use of feeding a sorbitol containing feed additive to multiparous cows.