Assessment of technical-productive aspects in Italian dairy farms equipped with automatic milking systems : A multivariate statistical analysis approach

The aim of this study was to assess technical-productive aspects of dairy farms equipped with automatic milking system (AMS) in Northern and Central Italy. A survey was carried out on 62 dairy farms selected through convenience sampling with the following inclusion criteria: adoption of robotic milking for at least 1 yr and ability to provide farm data. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire to obtain a general description of farm characteristics and overall management practices. Through the combination of principal component analysis and k-means cluster analysis, the farms were allocated in 3 clusters. The identified clusters were described and afterward compared using one-way ANOVA or a chi-squared test. The main observed differences between clusters were the average number of lactating cows and AMS installed, average annual milk production, average AMS loading, average annual milk yield per full-time employee, average daily milk yield per cow and AMS, and the average annual veterinary costs per cow. cluster 1 (n = 24) included small-to-medium-sized semi-intensive farms with low AMS loading and low average daily milk yield per cow. In this farm typology, the AMS is not fully used and is likely perceived as a means to improve quality of life rather than profitability. Clusters 2 (n = 31) and 3 (n = 7) included, respectively, small-medium-sized and large intensive farms. These 2 farm typologies are characterized by an intensive approach to dairy cattle breeding, with average higher AMS loading, labor efficiency, and milk yield compared with the farms of cluster 1, likely due to better farm management. This classification could help dairy technicians give farmers customized management advice for the function of the cluster they belong to, and farmers falling in a specific cluster could evaluate whether they are reaching their objectives.