At Wichman Farms, automation doesn’t stop with the cows. In fact, it travels 200 feet to link a fresh supply of whole milk to the calf barn.

Evan Barton was a student in Dr. David Galton’s dairy science course at Cornell University when he realized there was the potential for dairy farming in his future.

A conversation between the late John T. Pagel and the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation (KCEDC) over 10 years ago set the wheels in motion for an opportunity for students in northeast Wisconsin to learn about careers within the agricultural industry.

Establishing a “culture of integrity and honesty” might be something you hear in a human resource meeting, not a parlor. But for Eagle Ridge Dairy, it’s a core concept in the barn and key to maintaining a somatic cell count of 80,000.

It’s not often you see a family-owned farm passed down through several generations. It’s less likely that it’s been in the same family for almost 200 years. It’s extremely rare to have the same genetics in that herd that existed 100 years ago. 

“[Switching from a traditional parlor to an automated milking system] primarily came down to the time savings,” Mallonee says.

"Breeding cows is a long game," says Mitch Kappelman of Meadow Brook Farms. This young Wisconsin breeder has established a name for himself as a successful young breeder; learn more about his strategies in our latest article.