When Joey Vasconcellos visits a dairy in California’s San Joaquin Valley, he isn’t there to milk the cows. By the time he arrives, the animals have already been moved. The barns stand empty, the cement floors barren and the metal fabrications quiet without the echo of noise from within. His job – along with his dad, Jerry, and brother Jared – is to deconstruct the facility.

This article was #16 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the June 26, 2014 Extra e-newsletter. Dairy farmers in northern Indiana who milk their cows in the “RV Capital of the World” must contend with manufacturers for hard-working employees. The installation of an automatic milking system in October of 2013 allowed John and Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm in Elkhart County to focus their time on managing other aspects of their farm, such as their agritourism business.

Since the invention of the automatic milking machine, dairy producers have been milking in the dark. Dark liners and stainless steel shells have masked one of the most critical steps of milking – when the milk stream leaves the cow’s teat.

Really? Could it be possible that your tractor would be calling your cell phone? Yes. In today’s new information-rich and connected world, new farm tractors and machines can be online and connected. To understand why all this is not just possible but an integral part of the future of farming, you can thank, at least in part, the EPA.

Earlier this year, the dairy industry of Wisconsin witnessed the release of a video by an animal rights organization that was taken on a farm in Wisconsin. As a result of that video, the producer portrayed was dropped by the processor. The ramifications of this decision reverberated throughout the dairy industry. Many of our clients asked what they could do to prevent a similar event from affecting them.