While automated milking systems sound appealing in many aspects, it takes careful consideration to determine if robotics are the right fit for a dairy

It can be difficult to let a building sit idle that has plenty of useful life yet. For farms looking to make the switch to robotic milking, a barn retrofit might be possible, but a few questions must...

We have been blessed with gorgeous fall weather in Oregon the last couple of weeks

“We have to ask for practical use, is it helpful? Does the farmer know more after consulting the system than he or she did before? Of course, we want perfect sensor systems, but we have to use the...

As many of you know, we switched to a robotic milking system last November. When we made the change, we had a pretty good idea of how things would go initially

Automatic milking systems continue to grow in popularity as they provide benefits in improved cow health and more behavioral freedom, detailed Trevor DeVries of the University of Guelph

The number of daily visits a cow makes to an automated milking system has a notable impact on overall milk production

We have been milking with robots for three months now. The months of construction as well as the retraining of cows were both stressful and labor intensive

It’s been a while since we have written a blog as we have been busy starting up our milking robots

It is an exciting time here at the farm. The finishing touches are being made to get the robots ready to milk our cows starting next Tuesday

Living in the mid-section of the country comes with the ease of traveling to World Dairy Expo. For nearly two decades, I have made my way to Madison, Wis., during the first week of October...

Milking robots offer a number of advantages. An automatic milking system (AMS) tends to boost production, reduce labor, and provide valuable data to help with day-to-day herd management

When it first debuted in the states nearly two decades ago, robotic milking came with a steep learning curve

During this robotic transition, Dad has written several blogs about what all is going on around the farm preparing for startup

The robot construction on our farm is well underway, and there are not enough hours in a day for all that needs completing before the first cow is milked

Overall, robotic milking systems tend to boost milk production

When we started thinking about robotic milking, I had to look outside our region of the U.S. for ideas

Things are moving along on the farm. The concrete has been poured. All five of our robots have been set in place. The walls are beginning to go up on our building

We finally placed two robots in our new main robot barn this week. A little over two years ago at the Western Dairy Management Conference, I was sitting at a table talking to two dairymen from Wisconsin

The potential benefits that robotic milking brings to the farm are becoming more clear — improved milk production, reduced labor costs, and enhanced reproduction