If we are going to continue to be a competitive dairy business, what are we going to do about updating our facilities? That is the question that keeps running through your head. Just coming off a record-setting milk price year, it’s important to have a dream, create a vision and then have a strategic plan in place to move forward.

Each producer has his or her own “idea” of what a dream facility may be. One person’s may be to expand because the next generation is going to enter the family farm, while another may be looking at how to cut a portion of labor out of their everyday routine.

Robot customer Mike Haines’ point of view is one many robotic dairy producers share: “I didn’t put these things in because I have money. I put them in to have a life,” Mike says. Mike and his wife, Heather, co-own and operate Haines Dairy – a 175-cow operation – with their young family in Sigourney, Iowa. They transitioned to robotic milking in 2013, eager to take advantage of the flexibility robotic milking boasted to spend more time with their family.

Hemdale Farms in Seneca Castle, New York, installed its first automatic milking units in 2007. Two years later, the parlor ceased operation, and since then the number of robots has steadily increased.

Ag tires are expensive, yet here are some simple steps farmers can take to maintain them. Data books provided by tire manufacturers are often long, boring and complicated, so to simplify these recommendations, we’ve summed up the information in a few important tips.