The impact of installation of automatic milking system on production and reproduction traits of dairy cows

The objective of the research was the evaluation of change in the traditional milking system using automatic milking system in the scope of the selected reproduction features of dairy cows of the Polish Holstein–Friesian breed. Animal material consisted of 2,818 cows used on nine farms equipped with the automatic milking system Astronaut A4 made by Lely. The cows were controlled in the scope of services per conception, service period, length of pregnancy, calving interval and calving to conception period, milk yield, protein and fat content obtained in lactations of 305 days. The selected traits were observed between 2005 and 2015. In this period, the milking system was changed from the conventional to automated one. The collected data material was statistically processed, using the multifactorial analysis of variance. The period between the first calving and the second effective insemination was reduced by 11.8 days, and the period between the second calving and the third effective insemination was shortened by 4 days after the installation of the automatic milking system. The increase in milk yield by 466 kg during 305‐day lactation was observed among primiparous cows. The percentage of protein and fat content in the researched groups decreased; moreover, the fall of intergroup variability was noticeable, which may be a sign of the levelling of the yield within the herd.