Rolling Spring Farm owners Charlie and Denise Bean are trying to milk their cows for all they're worth. In order to do so, they've taken a more pampered approach to dairy farming than the many generations before them. The Beans last year built a new, state-of-the-art barn on their more than 130-acre farm in Canal Township that capitalizes on the concept of cow comfort because they believe that, much like people, a happy cow is a productive cow.

Schaefer Ventilation announces the successful installation and commissioning its patent-pending FlipFan dairy cooling system at Patrick Dugan’s Du Brook Dairy, Sean Dugan’s Sidewinder Dairy and Casey Dugan’s Desperado Dairy in June 2011. It was also installed at Bill Rezzonico’s Blackwater Dairy, and Bill Boyle’s McClintock Dairy.

Cows experience heat stress when the temperature-humidity index (THI) is above 72. During heat stress, respiration rates increase, while milk production and reproduction decrease. One practice in heat stress control is to install sprinkler systems over the feed line and in the holding pen. The objective of the sprinkler system is to wet the cow’s back, but to avoid moisture accumulation on the udder or in freestalls. Evaporative cooling occurs when the moisture is evaporated by natural or mechanical ventilation.

The byproduct of industry: One thing that has made America great through the years is our abundance of natural resources. Many of these raw materials are buried deep underground. So there are logistical issues with bringing the resources to the surface and then transporting them through the refining processes. One solution to moving material is the development of conveyor systems. The main component of these conveyors is the long, long pieces of rubber that the material rides on. Of course, we know this as conveyor belting. There are miles and miles of this rubber belting throughout our country. And just like with any wear part, it eventually has to get replaced.

After the introduction and live demonstration of DeLaval's newest robotic milking parlor in Gamleby, Sweden, there were many questions about the possibilities for future adaptions of the technology. DeLaval's Jonas Hallman, director of automatic milking, fielded most of these questions. He's been working with the company's robotics division for the past three years and has seen how far the technology has already come. In the video below Hallman discusses the technology's potential in the future.

This article was #1 in PDmag's Top 5 most-well read New Technology articles in 2011. to jump to the article. Summary: The public display of a robotic rotary was arguably one of the most important announcements of 2011, so we weren't surprised to see this particular article top the list. Had it been included in the Top 25 most online-read articles, it would have ranked second, beat only by the raw milk poll. In fact, the YouTube videos accompanying this article, featuring a tour of the rotary and interviews with DeLaval leaders, received more than 2,000 views. Because this article was so popular, we asked DeLaval Marketing Manager Mark Futcher some follow-up questions: Q: What type of interest have you received? How do you quantify that interest? A: In the U.S., the interest in DeLaval Automatic Milking Rotary (AMR) from dairy producers has varied from those who are curious about the technology to those desiring to have the country’s first commercial installation. Most of the interest has come from farmers with herd sizes ranging from 300 to 900 lactating cows.