Typologies of Dairy Farms with Automatic Milking System in Northwest Spain and Farmers’ Satisfaction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of the dairy farms that installed an automatic milking system (AMS). A survey of 38 dairy farms with AMS, in Galicia (Spain), collected information on quantitative and qualitative variables. Following elimination of redundant variables, categorical principal component analysis identified 4 factors accounting for 43.7% of the total variance. Using these factors, the farms studied were subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis which differentiated 4 types of farms: (A) farms with more leisure and quality of life where the AMS covered the expectations of farmers (29%); (B) farms that removed cows more often due to AMS and farmers with more stress (34%); (C) farms with little leisure and farmers with no successor (21%); (D) large farms with many fulltime employees (FTE) where the AMS had covered farmer’s expectations the least (11%). Generally the farms were based on a family structure with a high percentage of FTE. With the adoption of AMS these farms sought to increase milk production, save labour and have more flexibility. With 87% of farms with free cow traffic the activity that took the most of the farmer’s time was fetching cows for milking (1 h/day). Nearly 58% of farmers were completely satisfied with their AMS, although this value reached 91% in farms with herd sizes below the average which were better adapted to the use of one AMS.