DairyTalk 203: Less Cows, More Profit - Rethinking Herd Size in Robotic Milking - by Helmut Demmelhuber

In robotic dairies, success is often measured by how busy the
robot is - but that metric can be misleading. This episode
explores why reducing herd size can actually improve
profitability in automated milking systems. Overcrowding
increases stress, limits feed access, and suppresses individual
cow performance. Financial models show that gains in milk per
cow, better health, and lower labor and treatment costs can more
than offset reduced total milk volume. The key shift: stop
maximizing cows per robot and start optimizing milk and margin
per cow. With comments on a "agarheute"-article (January 2026) by
Bernd Lührmann: https://www.agrarheute.com