Automatic systems for cattle feeding
Automated cattle feeding systems are playing an increasingly important role in the livestock sector. They combine an increase in dry matter ingestion by the animals with significant labor and energy savings
About 50-60 % of the operating costs in dairy cow farming are due to animal feeding and related labor activity. Therefore, adopting strategies to reduce these burdens is a crucial factor in being competitive to achieve higher margins. In this context, automation can play a vital role, both at an economic and managerial level. To this end, the first automatic feeding prototypes appeared at the beginning of the current millennium, first in Northern European countries (since 2003) and then in Italy, since 2013. These solutions were initially conceived to reduce the use of the workforce and improve work flexibility, but they have since proved to be very versatile. They complement the now consolidated range of conventional chopping-mixing wagons, supporting a wide range of productions (milk, meat, etc.) and different operating situations (farms in mountainous areas, etc.).
Automatic Feeding Systems (AFS) have proved attractive over the years in many ways. First of all, they have increased the number of feed administrations and the routine of bringing the ration closer to the trough so as to stimulate more frequent access to the feeding area, increasing dry matter ingestion and reducing waste. Powered by electric motors, these systems are low-noise, emission-free and particularly economical, mainly when the electricity is self-produced by the company. Indeed, the savings in labor and energy achievable by adopting AFS are very significant, allowing total amortization within a few years, despite the considerable initial investment costs.
AFS types
The systems currently on offer differ in their mode of operation and technological level of increasing complexity, as follows: fixed individual: They perform only the distribution of concentrates to the animals according to parameters such as productivity, lactation and/or growth curve, etc. They require RFID technology for individual animal identification; stationary group feeders: in this case, there is a kitchen (i.e., a storage area for the separate ingredients of the unifeed ration) equipped with an electrically operated stationary mixer. The prepared ration is discharged onto conveyor belts, which then distribute it along the trough; mobile distribution wagons: like the previous ones, they have a kitchen with a fixed mixer. Distribution is carried out employing small mobile wagons with a maximum volume of 5 m³. These wagons run along the entire length of the trough on suspended rails, distributing the ration; mobile mixer-distributor wagons: in this case, the kitchen does not include a stationary mixer, as the feed wagons themselves (always moving on suspended tracks) mix the ration using dedicated augers; self-propelled: These are real robotic mixing wagons without any physical constraints, which move using distance sensors and metal or magnetic tracks. They require a kitchen in which the individual foods making up the food ration are stored. Among the fixed group systems, the Finnish Pellon Belt Feeder model uses fixed chopping-mixing devices to prepare the ration, which is then distributed via metal or rubber conveyor belts. The belts can either act directly as a feed table or feed the material into the trough below via special sloping bulkheads. As no machinery enters the barn, this solution ensures cleaner aisles and, therefore, very high ration security (chemical, microbiological, etc.). If the barn is to be expanded, the belts can be extended and intersected without difficulty, adapting to the new structure extremely easy.
Mobile vending wagon systems are based on the use of one or more stationary, electrically driven chopping-mixing devices. The mixer can prepare a single global ration, which is then distributed throughout the day, or it can prepare a ration to be used up in a single distribution. The prepared rations are then dispensed by wagons, with a relatively small volume of between 2.5 and 4.3 m3, which are generally hung on metal rails.
The Optimat system from the Swedish company DeLaval is one of the most noteworthy of the mobile distribution wagon systems. It consists of a series of loading platforms, a stationary shredder-mixer and one or more wagons hanging on a metal track to deliver the ration directly to the trough.
Ration ingredients are stored in the loading platforms; they are usually restocked with fresh feed every 2-3 days. The different platforms are connected to a conveyor belt which loads the chopping-mixing device with the required amount of each ingredient.
The stationary mixer and the connected loading devices represent the heart of the whole Optimat. The augers, driven by an electric motor equipped with an inverter, are inserted inside the mixer; this allows adjustment of rotation speed and chopping intensity, according to the features of the ration to be obtained. The wagon is designed to travel on suspended rails, and is powered by a battery pack that ensures an operational autonomy of up to 180 heads. Alternatively, it can be connected to the electrical network of the barn so as to allow the management of up to 250 heads. The mixer has a volume of 1.6 m3 and is equipped with load cells that control the amount of feed poured in to allow variation in feed speed while still ensuring even distribution of the ration. Mobile mixer-distributor wagon systems include the Dutch Trioliet Triomatic and the Austrian Wasserbauer Mixmeister, for which a battery of containers ranging in volume from 7 to 50 m3 is replenished with food every 2-3 days. These are conveyed through belts and cutting blades into the wagons, which combine mixing and distribution. In this case, too, the wagons have a reduced volume compared to classic mixing wagons, and they usually move on suspended rails. These robots are very versatile and can feed groups from 50 to 700 cows. Moreover, the specific shape of the mixing box allows for both vertical and horizontal mixing, ensuring highly efficient ingredient homogenization. The Dutch Lely Vector provides an example of a self-propelled solution, basically consisting of three functional parts: a forage grabber suspended on an overhead crane, one (or more) chopper-mixer-distributor robot, and a kitchen for storing individual feeds. The gripper takes from the kitchen the various components of the ration stored in the form of blocks, bales or loose, and pours them into the hopper of the robot. The robot chops and mixes them for the time specified by the farmer, depending on each different ration, and then independently reaches the barn where the ration is distributed. An important detail of Lely Vector is that the system does not base the replenishment of a new ingredient only on a specific hourly rate, but also on the actual presence of material in the trough. When it reaches the feeding lane, the robot starts to move according to the signals of some ultrasonic distance sensors to follow the rack's development, opening the unloading hatch to start the feeding of the fresh feed in proportion to the group of animals stationed in that enclosure. Despite their undoubted complexity, automatic cattle feeding systems are progressively spreading throughout the country. In order to promote their diffusion, their introduction into farms must take place in a flexible and economically convenient way so that all production facilities can become aware of and take advantage of the potential of this technology. The operation automation, in fact, improves the quality of work, ensuring a reduction in labor and energy requirements, with an essential emphasis on management control and supervision of the barn.
