Multifunctional palatants for automatic milking systems
by Mario Roman, published in Feedstuffs Magazine, November 2022
The milking routine is one of, if not the most, time-consuming activities of a dairy farm. It is a human labor-intensive routine required several times a day in order to meet production targets. The adoption of the automatic milking system (AMS) in high-performing farms enables a more flexible work schedule for farmers and frees time for other duties. In addition, it also leads to improvements on animal welfare and milk production.
However, the AMS is not a perfect system, and it also presents downsides. The systems also known as ‘milking robots’ commonly face a very simple issue: getting the animal to enter the robot. Using palatants as an incentive strategy can help cows overcome this barrier and therefore increase the number of voluntary visits and milkings.
Pancosma has leveraged its expertise on palatants to develop a portfolio of additives specifically optimized for use in AMS and offered under the Magnasweet brand.
Magnasweet concept
Magnasweet is the fusion between two different types of sensory additives: state of the art flavors and high-intensity sweeteners. Flavors are used with the objective of attracting the animal toward the robot and sweeteners as a reward to retain the animal in order to get her milked. Furthermore, it has been proven that the sweetener’s active ingredients are responsible for an optimization of glucose absorption process at gut-level, resulting in more glucose available to mammal glands, supporting better milk production. The use of a multifunctional palatant brings synergistic effects to the herd, leading to performance improvements, demonstrated in multiple field trials.
From concept to specific solution
On a recent study, a saccharin-based palatant was supplemented to a group of 38 lactating Holstein cows during 56 days in a commercial farm in Louisville, Ohio, United States. Multiparous cows fed the palatant were milked 3.3 times/d compared to 3.2 times/d in CTL group and also had higher milk yields than CTL group (36.83 vs 36.06 kg/head/ d).
A second study, in this case with a stevia-based palatant, was run in a commercial farm in Spain with 200 cows. Despite suffering from a regional heat wave, the supplementation of the palatant delivered an increase in number of milkings and total visits per day, which emphasizes the importance of palatability in challenging situations.
Multifunctional palatants have proven to be an efficient tool for milking cows. Magnasweet supplemented feed acts as both an attractant and reward for the animal, leading to increases in number of visits to the robot and number of milking per day, and associated with higher milk yields.
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