While the vision of a fully automated dairy may seem like a distant dream, the technology to achieve this is rapidly evolving. This article provides a roadmap for dairy producers considering the leap into automation.

Is your robot feed bin a place that you avoid until the cows stop eating? Here are some tips to help monitor and manage feed in the bin, before the cows run out of pellets or stop visiting.

In robotic milking systems, where cows need to move frequently to and from milking robots, lameness can severely disrupt operations. Here are ways to prevent and address lameness in automated milking facilities.

When I talk with producers who installed automated milking systems, most say the first three days are the worst, the first three weeks are hard, and things are better within three months. By the sixth to ninth month, they say the automated milking system is better than the previous milking system, as both cows and people have adjusted to the major lifestyle change.  

Both JTP Farms and Haas Dairy approach dairy farming in a way that maximizes facilities, technology and manpower. These dairies are meeting – and surpassing – production goals in automated milking systems by pushing the limits of pen space while not compromising cow health.  

Nearly 150 years ago, in 1879, New Jersey dairy farmer Anna Baldwin invented the first milking machine. Today, dairy producers have had access to safe, efficient automated dairy systems for 30 years, and the pace of advancement and innovation is increasing rapidly.

Improved labor efficiency, employee retention and communication were among the benefits for two Pacific Northwest dairy farms that upgraded their milking parlors from the traditional herringbone and parallel models to a rotary and an automated milking system, respectively.

Robots or a rotary parlor? As this question continues to be debated nationwide, Progressive Dairy Podcast host Matti McBride sits down with Torie Little of TDSG and Stephanie Schroeder of Boumatic to identify key points that dairy producers need to understand when investing in an automated milking system. Listen to learn about attributes of successful transitions, questions asked during the process and how certain management styles fit different technologies.

The operation has grown to 400 Holstein cows milked with six robotic milking systems, as well as a new retail store where they also sell local products from their community. The farm has a beef community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and also provides hay wagon tours and farm tours throughout the spring and summer and four weeks of Kids Farm Camp.