Chad Jenkins

How computer vision, robotics and AI will quickly transform the dairy industry

AI, robotics and computer vision are rapidly moving into dairy farming, helping address labor shortages, improve efficiency and monitor cow health, while still requiring human judgment.

May 29, 2026

Chad Jenkins

AI and robotics will not replace good dairy managers, but they will increasingly reward operations that understand how to integrate data, adopt technology, automate consistently and focus human labor where judgment is crucial.

What do WWII combat analytics and dairy nutrition have in common?

Dairy nutritionists use linear programming for least-cost formulation, balancing nutrient requirements and ingredient values to optimize rations, reduce costs and maximize milk production based on evolving research.

October 10, 2025

Chad Jenkins

Given a set of nutrient requirements and a list of ingredients with known nutrient profiles and value, nutritionists may leverage linear programming to derive the most cost-effective combination of ingredients to supply these desired nutrients. This practice is often referred to as "least-cost formulation."

Tout ce que vous n’avez jamais voulu savoir sur le fumier de vache

En utilisant des informations sur la texture, l’uniformité et la composition du fumier, les fermes laitières peuvent prendre des décisions plus éclairées en matière de nutrition et de gestion afin d’améliorer l’efficacité de la production.

February 20, 2025

Chad Jenkins

Imaginez la situation. C’est le début d’une autre belle journée à l’étable. Les vaches ruminent tranquillement dans leurs logettes, une légère brise agite l’air grâce aux ventilateurs placés à des endroits stratégiques et le grincement rythmé des cornadis indique que Bess, la doyenne du troupeau, est à la mangeoire, en train de savourer son petit déjeuner.

Everything you never wanted to know about cow manure

Using manure condition, consistency and contents can inform upstream nutrition and management decisions to drive productive efficiency on the dairy.

February 29, 2024

Chad Jenkins

Ever wonder what it is with this fecal fascination? Think of it as “reading the tea leaves,” except with poop instead of leaves. While this excremental exploration may seem unsightly at the surface, manure can provide critical insights into the efficiency of digestion of the dairy ration.

KPI alphabet soup: Defining acronyms of high-performance dairies

Four KPIs that have considerable impact on dairy productivity and profitability are income over feed cost, dollars per pound of dry matter, energy-corrected milk efficiency and money-corrected milk.

October 23, 2023

Mark Hodge and Chad Jenkins

Interpreting dairy key performance indicators (KPIs) have you feeling like eating an alphabet soup sandwich? While there are hundreds of ways to slice and dice dairy metrics, this article will define and explore several KPIs that have a substantial impact on dairy productivity and profitability.

Data dump: Three steps for making sense of big dairy data

How to make sense of massive amounts of data generated on farms to help inform decisions, track progress and improve profitability.

January 27, 2023

Chad Jenkins

How to make sense of massive amounts of data generated on farms to help inform decisions, track progress and improve profitability.

Make better nutritional and management decisions by understanding milk fatty acids

May 6, 2020

Mike Brady, Chad Jenkins, and Josh Peters

Dairymen, nutritionists and processors all seem to be paying more attention to fat and protein these days, particularly due to their impact on the price of a hundredweight (cwt) of milk.

Feed inventory management: It’s not a game, but it can feel like one

February 7, 2020

Wytse Aalbers and Chad Jenkins

Planning and managing forage inventory on the dairy can sometimes feel like playing Tetris. Like Tetris, we see things begin to pile up or disappear faster than our feed center is prepared for, with consequences more financially weighty than a fistful of quarters at the arcade.