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78 cows per robot, Dutch herd limits, and PRRS-resistant pigs: what shook the livestock industry this week
This week in livestock farming brings three very different stories tied together by one thread: how far efficiency can be pushed, and what limits — environmental or biological — have to be overcome along the way. From American dairy barns where milking robots are breaking records, through Dutch climate policy, to genetics that make pigs resistant to viruses — here's our roundup.
01 · Milking Automation
78 cows per robot – a new standard for milking efficiency
The typical industry benchmark is 60 cows per milking robot. Three experienced dairy farmers in the US, working with Lely robots, show that this isn't the ceiling — on their farms, a single robot handles as many as 78 cows, with output exceeding 7,000 pounds of fat-and-protein-corrected milk (FPCM) per machine [1].
Interestingly, the secret doesn't lie in the number of daily milkings, but in flipping the priorities: instead of maximizing how often a cow visits the robot, these farmers focused on making every single milking as efficient as possible. On top of that came a deliberate increase in herd density per robot, along with fine-tuning feeding, animal flow, and the layout of the barn itself — factors that any farmer considering milking automation can start thinking about today, well before running the return-on-investment numbers.
That kind of efficiency is good news for the bottom line — but it's worth remembering that ever-denser herds and increasingly intensive production are also a topic that resonates strongly on the other side of the Atlantic, where environmental pressure is starting to dictate a very different set of priorities.
02 · Environmental Policy
The Netherlands: the specter of a 5–10% herd reduction
The Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) has concluded that the government's €20 billion program won't be enough for the country to meet its nitrogen emission reduction target set for 2035. The reason? Nitrogen deposition still exceeds permissible limits in more than half of the country's protected natural areas [2].
As a result, the agency recommends cutting the number of animals on dairy, pig, and poultry farms nationwide by 5–10%. The Minister of Agriculture, however, is tempering expectations, stressing that such a step is not currently being considered as a primary policy tool, only as a last resort. Even so, the mere fact that this idea is back on the table in one of Europe's leading livestock-producing countries shows just how much climate and environmental pressure could constrain the scale of animal production in the coming years — regardless of how efficient farms become.
So while one side of the globe is looking for ways to do more with the same herd, the other is figuring out how to do less without sacrificing profitability. Against that backdrop, this week's third story is especially interesting — because it shows that genetics can also be part of the answer to these constraints.
03 · Biotechnology
PRRS-resistant pigs: a breakthrough in North America
Following approval by the US FDA in 2025, Canadian authorities — Health Canada and the CFIA — gave the green light in 2026 to genetically modified pigs resistant to the PRRS virus. The technology, developed by PIC, is winning increasingly broad support across the North American industry [3].
The method is precise: scientists remove the fragment of the gene through which the virus enters a pig's cells, without introducing any foreign DNA into the animal. In Mexico, where PRRS infection affects as much as 70% of the herd, industry leaders see the technology as a natural extension of traditional breeding — although national regulatory approval has not yet been granted.
It's the best proof yet that breeding biotechnology is moving beyond laboratory theory and becoming a real tool for tackling diseases that have cost the industry millions for years — and, looking at the Dutch example, perhaps also one more argument that the future of livestock farming can be built on the efficiency and resilience of animals, not solely on cutting their numbers.
Summary
Summary
Record-breaking milking robot efficiency, tough environmental policy, and virus-resistant genetics — three different answers to the same question: how to produce more and better without losing ground. You'll be able to see all of these threads — automation, regulation, and biotechnology — up close at the Agro FARMA Expo – Targi Technologii i Urządzeń dla Hodowli Zwierząt Gospodarskich. See you there!
Invitation
From milking robots breaking efficiency records, through environmental regulations, to disease-resistant genetics — you'll see it all live at Agro FARMA Expo. Check out the latest technologies and talk to experts who can help you decide what will truly boost your farm's productivity. Save the date and join the farmers who are already thinking about tomorrow.
Agro FARMA Expo 2026Footnotes
[1] Dairy Herd (za pośrednictwem NewsBreak) — https://www.newsbreak.com/news/4887287617166-how-3-dairy-farmers-are-milking-78-cows-per-robot-and-hitting-7-000-pounds-fpcm[2] UkrAgroConsult — https://ukragroconsult.com/en/news/netherlands-could-cut-livestock-numbers-by-5-10/
[3] The Pig Site — https://www.thepigsite.com/articles/new-hope-for-prrs-in-north-america