"Since working with Advanced Robot, milk yield increased significantly from 29 to 35 kilograms, but milk solids have also been sustained at 4.6% butterfat and 3.4% protein, with total milk solids at 2.73 kilograms sold."
A decade of Advanced Robot Intelligence
What 10 Years of Robotic Milking Data Is Teaching UK Dairy Farms
As robotic adoption has grown, so too has the volume of data captured on farm. Producers have access to a huge source of information about cow behaviour, nutrition, health and herd efficiency.
However, Eoghan Mullery, Technical Director at ARN points out, “While many of our clients have moved to a robotic system, adopting technology is only half the equation. Many farms collect vast amounts of data but fail to integrate these insights into daily decision making. This disconnect turns potentially valuable systems into costly installations with no real return. Successful integration demands a clear strategy, not just to gather data, but to act on it consistently and effectively.”
From data to decisions to consistent production gains
ARN takes a unique strategic approach. Rather than just looking at the numbers from one farm, they combine insights from their Robotic Intelligence database - built over ten years from a wide range of herds and systems, with the experience of a carefully selected team of experts. The result is a perspective that goes beyond the raw data, helping farmers make practical, informed decisions that support consistent production gains to maximise return on investment (ROI).
A Team Built Around Understanding the Whole Picture
“We’ve invested in a team that is diverse and flexible enough to meet the demands of a robotic system, producing the best ROI for our clients. The core of our business is nutrition but as a company we really understand how nutrition is inextricably linked with all parts of the farm business,” explains Eoghan.
Over the past decade, the Advanced Robot team has worked with this data everyday, building a picture of what typically drives success on UK robotic farms and what holds performance back. Central to that success is not just the data itself, but the people interpreting it. Our approach that means the team understands the whole farm business and can draw on expertise outside of it.
"We work with some of the UK’s highest-producing and award-winning herds, and for us it’s about maximising our clients’ investment in robotic systems by understanding the whole picture.” explains Greg.
What Ten Years of Robot Data Reveals
A key part of the team’s work has been developing the Robotic Intelligence System, built from over 8,000 data points collected from farms of varying sizes, setups, and manufacturers. Instead of looking at a single number, such as milk yield, the system tracks more than 15 key performance indicators (KPIs), all of which interact and influence each other. This real-time snapshot of the herd provides a holistic view, offering relevant insights across breeds and systems. Whether a farm is just starting with robotic milking or has been running a system for years, this integrated perspective allows producers to see the full context and make informed, timely decisions.
Patterns within the data include…
- The link between cow health, robot visits and yield
We see cows visit more consistently, milk more efficiently and maintain persistency for longer. - Nutrition as a driver of both performance and behaviour
Rumen health, dry matter intakes and diet balance shape how cows interact with the robot, particularly in high-output herds. - The importance of small settings changes
Adjustments to feed tables, milking permissions or cow groups often have more impact than large structural changes. - Bottlenecks are rarely in one place
Issues can stem from housing, diet, cow flow, health or settings, it's about identifying which are the most limiting factors and this is where the data becomes most valuable.
This long-term dataset allows the team to compare what’s happening on an individual farm against wider patterns, helping to understand whether something is expected, unusual or a sign of an emerging challenge.
Tailoring Support to Individual Farm Goals
One of the strongest conclusions from the 10-year data review is that no two robotic systems perform in the same way. Factors such as forage type, herd genetics, building layout, traffic system and labour setup all influence how cows behave and how the robot is used.
For this reason, the team focuses heavily on understanding each farm’s priorities, whether that’s improving visits, making better use of homegrown forage, stabilising cow health, increasing output or simply achieving more consistency day to day.
Rather than applying a standard plan, support is tailored to these goals and shaped by the farm’s own data. The Robotic Intelligence System is then used to assess progress in a structured, repeatable way.
Using our data and intelligence as a practical decision-making tool
“Over the years, we’ve found that the key to success in a robotic herd is balancing three critical areas - cow nutrition, cow health, and robot settings,” explains Eoghan. “Focusing on any one of these in isolation can potentially knock the others out of sync.”
By looking at these areas together, alongside the farm’s own KPIs and the data coming from the robot and ARN’s Robotic Intelligence System, the team can answer practical, performance-driven questions.
Viewing data in this holistic way helps producers focus on actions that deliver long-term benefit, rather than simply reacting to isolated figures.
“After a decade of analysing robotic milking data, the farms that achieve the most consistent results are those combining good nutrition, proactive health management, and intelligent use of robot settings - informed by our experience and the insights the data provides,” concludes Eoghan.
The Advanced Robot team’s ongoing work with farms across the UK continues to build their knowledge and data set. If you’d like to benefit from their experienced team – please get in touch for a free farm assessment.
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