Alliance-funded research shows there is a link between cow behaviour and how they perform in automated milking systems

Some cows can be more curious than others, while others more shy and some may even be quite aggressive. With funding in part from the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, researchers at the University of Guelph are looking at the connection between a cow’s personality and her milking performance.

Dr. Trevor DeVries, a professor in the Department of Animal Biosciences in U of G's Ontario Agricultural College and Canada Research Chair in Dairy Cattle Behaviour and Welfare, has conducted a series of studies investigating the different character and temperament traits, the “personalities” of dairy cows and how it affects their behaviour and production in automated milking systems (AMS).

A recent study conducted by Dr. DeVries and PhD student and HQP Scholar Anna Schwanke shows effects of personality traits on performance in an AMS. For example, when cows received a high feed allowance in the AMS, more fearful cows did not consume all the pellets they were fed, perhaps because of being more nervous distracted them during their time in the robot.

Read the whole story, written by PhD candidate Guilherme Madureira, on Farmtario: How individual cow personalities affect milking performance in dairy cows