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Publications
Publications (61)
The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of different milk flow-rate switch-point settings on milking duration, SCC, strip milk, teat condition and milk yield in a grass based system in a long-term experiment. Much work has already been conducted providing strong support for significant reduction in milking duration without impact on...
Automatic cluster removers (ACR) operate by ceasing vacuum to the cluster and detaching the milking unit from the udder by means of a retracting cord once the milk flow has decreased to a predefined level (i.e., the milk flow rate switch-point). There is a large body of literature on this topic indicating that increasing the flow rate switch-point...
This study documents the effect of mechanical prestimulation on the milking duration of pasture-based cows in late lactation to better harness increased capacity of automation in the milk harvesting process. Premilking stimulation, provided via manual or mechanical means, has been shown to promote the milk letdown reflex and assist in achieving qui...
With a growing demand for milk and dairy products coupled with concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the sustainable use of on-farm energy resources is essential. Milk production requires electrical energy for powering plant equipment, liquid fuels for powering machinery, indirect energy for fertilizer and feed production, and embodied energ...
The aims of this research were (1) to develop a model to simulate a herd of cows and quarter milk flowrates for a milking and derive quarter and udder milking durations and box duration (i.e., the time a cow spends inside the robot) for a group of cows milked with an automatic milking system (AMS); (2) to validate the simulation by comparing the mo...
The objective of this paper was to quantify the economic and environmental effects of changing a dairy farm’s milking start times. Changing morning and evening milking start times could reduce both electricity costs and farm electricity related CO2 emissions. However, this may also involve altering farmer routines which are based on practical consi...
This research followed our previous experimental and simulation work on the effect of different teatcup removal settings based on the rolling average milk flowrate and on milking duration at the quarter and udder levels. The aims of this experiment were to (1) quantify the differences in quarter milking duration in a pasture-based automatic milking...
The production of milk must be balanced with the sustainable consumption of water resources to ensure the future sustainability of the global dairy industry. Thus, this review article aimed to collate and summarize the literature in the dairy water-usage domain. While green water use (e.g., rainfall) was found to be largest category of water use on...
The global consumption of dairy produce is forecasted to increase by 19% per person by 2050. However, milk production is an intense energy consuming process. Coupled with concerns related to global greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, increasing the production of milk must be met with the sustainable use of energy resources, to ensure the fut...
The aim of this study was to estimate the amount of milk left in quarters and udders and the milking duration for a variety of teat cup removal strategies. A combination of empirical data and simulated quarter and udder teat cup removal settings were used to make these estimates. Milking duration is an important factor in both automatic and convent...
This body of work pertained to the development and application of the Decision Support System for Energy use in Dairy Production (DSSED), an online portal offering decision support to dairy farmers wishing to invest in new farm infrastructure or upgrade their existing farm infrastructure. Increasing the utilization of energy efficient and renewable...
This paper presents an analysis of the sources of variability in milk yield, milking time and milking interval of cows with voluntary access to a quarter milking Automatic Milking System (AMS). The data used for this analysis included a large data set from a commercial dairy farm using AMS technology. Multiple correspondence analysis and GLMselect...
The aim of this experiment was to assess strategies to reduce milking time in a pasture-based automatic milking system (AMS). Milking time is an important factor in automatic milking because any reductions in box time can facilitate more milkings per day and hence higher production levels per AMS. This study evaluated 2 end-of-milking criteria trea...
This body of work pertained to the development of the Decision Support System for Energy use in Dairy Production (DSSED), a combined energy modelling and optimization platform offering decision support for dairy farmers wishing to invest in new energy efficient and/or renewable technologies, upgrade their existing farm infrastructure or optimize th...
In automatic milking systems (AMS), it is important to maximize the amount of milk harvested per day to increase profitability. One strategy to achieve this goal is to reduce the time it takes to milk each cow. Several studies in conventional milking systems have shown that milking time can be reduced by increasing the milk flow rate at which the t...
The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of adding meteorological data to the training process of two milk production forecast models. The two models chosen were the nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input (NARX) and the multiple linear regression (MLR) model. The accuracy of these models were assessed using seven differen...
The aim of this paper was to develop a Dairy Multi-Objective Optimization (DAIRYMOO) method to carry out multi-objective optimization of dairy farm equipment, management practices and electricity tariffs, optimizing based on a user specified economic and environmental weighting factor. Models of both solar thermal water heating and heat recovery sy...
The objective of this paper was to develop a discrete infrastructure optimization model for economic assessment on dairy farms (DIOMOND) to maximize return on investment (ROI) in dairy farm infrastructure over a specified time horizon. Optimizing ROI in dairy farm infrastructure is essential since the choice of technology, electricity tariff and ma...
This study analysed the performance of a range of machine learning algorithms when applied to the prediction of electricity and on-farm direct water consumption on Irish dairy farms. Electricity and water consumption data were attained through the utilisation of a remote monitoring system installed on a study sample of 58 pasture-based, commercial...
An analysis into the impact of milk production, stock numbers, infrastructural equipment, managerial procedures and environmental conditions on dairy farm electricity and water consumption using multiple linear regression (MLR) modelling was carried out. Electricity and water consumption data were attained through the utilisation of a remote monito...
This study compared multiple linear regression (MLR) and support vector machine (SVM) models for predicting the annual electricity consumption of 20 Irish dairy farms, at a farm and catchment (combined) level. Model input variables were constrained to milk production, stock numbers, infrastructural equipment and managerial procedures to allow predi...
The aim of this paper was to perform an economic analysis on the use of photovoltaic (PV) systems on dairy farms. Dairy farm energy and economic models and a PV system model were employed in this work to ascertain the financial feasibility of PV systems in an Irish dairy farming context. Farms of three different sizes with four equipment configurat...
Under European milk quotas, dairy farms in Europe were limited in the amount of milk they could produce. While quotas were gradually increased over the past four decades, European milking quotas totally were abolished in April 2015, to help meet an expected 20% increase in the global consumption of milk and dairy products by 2050. With this, Europe...
In the context of water use for agricultural production, water footprints (WFs) have become an important sustainability indicator. To understand better the water demand for beef and sheep meat produced on pasture-based systems, a WF of individual farms is required. The main objective of this study was to determine the primary contributors to freshw...
The objective of this study was to identify the major electricity and water-consuming components of a pasture-based automatic milking (AM) system and to establish the daily and seasonal consumption trends. Electricity and water meters were installed on 7 seasonal calving pasture-based AM farms across Ireland. Electricity-consuming processes and equ...
The objective of this study was to develop a method to quantify the milking conditions under which circulatory impairment of teat tissues occurs during the peak flow period of milking. A secondary objective was to quantify the effect of the same milking conditions on milk flow rate during the peak flow rate period of milking. Additionally, the obse...
With the abolishment of the European Union milk quota system in April 2015, the Irish government has targeted a 50% increase in milk production by 2020 over 2007–09 levels. Resulting milk price volatility and environmental constraints are forcing farmers to produce milk at lower costs with a lower overall environmental footprint. This entails using...
Freshwater use in agriculture is a matter of discussion due to rising concerns over water scarcity, availability and pollution. To make robust predictions of freshwater demand, a large dataset of agricultural data is needed to discern the relationships between production parameters and water demand. The objective of this research was to predict fre...
We expect an increase in the demand for animal products in the future because of global human population growth (especially in developing countries), growing incomes and increasing urbanisation. The demand for animal products is expected to double by 2050 (Rae, 1998, FAO, 2009), which will create challenges to ensure that milk is produced in an env...
The primary objective of this experiment was to assess the effect of mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat-end congestion. The secondary objective was to assess the interactive effects of mouthpiece chamber vacuum with teat-end vacuum and pulsation setting on teat-end congestion. The influence of system vacuum, pulsation settings, mouthpiece chamber va...
In the context of global water scarcity, water footprints have become an important sustainability indicator for food production systems. To improve the water footprint of the dairy sector, insight into freshwater consumption of individual farms is required. The objective of this study was to determine the primary contributors to freshwater consumpt...
The objective of this paper was to describe and demonstrate a novel quarter milking analysis device (Mi4) for use in the field of bovine milking research. The Mi4 was developed for investigating the effects of milking machine factors such as vacuum level, pulsation settings and liner characteristics on milk flow rate (MFR) during the peak flow peri...
In the context of global water scarcity, water footprints have become an important sustainability indicator for food production systems. To improve the water footprint of the dairy sector, insight into freshwater consumption of individual farms is required. The objective of this study was to determine the primary contributors to freshwater consumpt...
Understanding variances in resource consumption on dairy farms is essential for farmers and regulatory bodies from both an environmental and economic perspective to ensure the future sustainability of the Irish dairy industry. With this, an exploratory analysis of electricity and blue water consumption of a random sample of 58 pasture-based, Irish...
The primary objective of this study was to quantify and compare the interactive effects of liner compression, milking vacuum level, and pulsation settings on average milk flow rates for liners representing the range of liner compression of commercial liners. A secondary objective was to evaluate a methodology for assessing liner performance that ca...
The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of d-phase (rest phase) duration of pulsation on the teat canal cross-sectional area during the period of peak milk flow from bovine teats. A secondary objective was to test if the effect of d-phase duration on teat canal cross-sectional area was influenced by milking system vacuum level, milki...
The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power on the electricity consumption and related costs of a seasonal calving dairy farm. This work uses mathematical models to simulate the annual electricity production of a PV system and a wind turbine, as well as the electricity consumption of a dairy farm. The...
The aim of this study was to conduct an investment appraisal for milk-cooling, water-heating, and milk-harvesting technologies on a range of farm sizes in 2 different electricity-pricing environments. This was achieved by using a model for electricity consumption on dairy farms. The model simulated the effect of 6 technology investment scenarios on...
The aim of this study was to conduct an investment appraisal for milk-cooling, water-heating, and milk-harvesting technologies on a range of farm sizes in 2 different electricity-pricing environments. This was achieved by using a model for electricity consumption on dairy farms. The model simulated the effect of 6 technology investment scenarios on...
The aim of this paper was to assess how, and to what extent do managerial and technology changes affect electricity consumption, associated costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of dairy farms. The impact of future electricity price tariffs on dairy farm energy costs was quantified and the efficacy of adjusting milking time to mitigate peak elec...
The aim of this study was to provide insight into the variations in dairy farm electricity costs across five electricity tariffs. The effect of four milk cooling scenarios is also simulated to illustrate the effect of technologies on the electricity consumption, related costs and CO2 emissions of a dairy farm. Helping dairy farmers to make informed...
Our objective was to define and demonstrate a mechanistic model that enables dairy farmers to explore the impact of a technical or managerial innovation on electricity consumption, associated CO2 emissions, and electricity costs. We, therefore, (1) defined a model for electricity consumption on dairy farms (MECD) capable of simulating total electri...
The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of 3 different modeling techniques for the prediction of total daily herd milk yield from a herd of 140 lactating pasture-based dairy cows over varying forecast horizons. A nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input, a static artificial neural network, and a multiple linear regress...
Introduction Energy consumption in milk production is important because it impacts directly on profitability and environmental footprint. In order to reduce energy consumption we must first understand how, and where it is consumed. The aim of this study was to measure baseline data on the total energy inputs of Irish dairy farms.
The aim of this paper was to assess how, and to what extent do managerial and technology changes affect electricity consumption, associated costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of dairy farms. The impact of future electricity price tariffs on dairy farm energy costs was quantified and the efficacy of adjusting milking time to mitigate peak elec...
A control system for rapid milk cooling plant connected to a variable flow milking machine is presented. The plant consisted of a pre-cooler in the first stage that utilised ground water as a cooling medium and an ice bank that provides ice chilled water for the second cooling stage. The control system comprised of two proportional integral derivat...
Reducing electricity consumption in Irish milk production is a topical issue for 2 reasons. First, the introduction of a dynamic electricity pricing system, with peak and off-peak prices, will be a reality for 80% of electricity consumers by 2020. The proposed pricing schedule intends to discourage energy consumption during peak periods (i.e., when...
A method for controlling the generation of ice for Cold Thermal Energy Storage (CTES) is presented in this paper. A load shifting controller is developed to find the optimum trajectory for CTES in a dynamic environment. The variation in ice building efficiency due to the nonlinear relationship between changing ambient air temperature and ice charge...
