The next generation of dairy farmers are wanting to operate more efficiently in less time and are being forced to do this with even less and less of an available labor force each year. 

Automation in the dairy industry is moving fast, ever-changing and improving every day. Understanding the cows is the first consideration, and the machine, whatever it is, must fit their behavior.

Should this cow stay in the herd or should she find a new career? Robots don’t lie. Let their data help you decide. 

The transition to robotic milking will require learning new approaches to things, and the right tools can make the job a whole lot easier. Sort gates and separation pens can be the right tools to help care for cows in a robotic milking system.

Routine sanitization of milking equipment is a critical component of operating a dairy that promotes positive animal health, milk quality and working conditions. Robotic milking facilities come with unique sanitization routines that can be fine-tuned to improve these conditions.

It feels like these days we are inundated with information about automated milking systems. We have learned how these new innovative systems can increase productivity and improve efficiencies.

Are you evaluating the prospect of adopting robotic milking on a large scale? Are you curious what the team for this facility will look like?

Starting transition cows strong in a robotic milking system goes a long way toward maximizing milk production. Use these feeding strategies to get your fresh cows started right.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy podcast, host Kimmi Devaney talks with a fourth-generation Washington dairy farmer about managing an automated milking system in a pasture-based system, opportunities available for young people interested in getting involved in the dairy industry, the ways automation has changed the way they manage the farm, facility upgrades and what they are doing differently to increase cow comfort, and more.