Robotic Milking Viewing Area

Our robotic milking viewing area is home to some of the coolest technology on our farm- the robotic milkers! Our two Lely robots were installed in 2013 and milk approximately 60 cows each, or 120 cows in total. The robot on the left milks Holstein cows and the robot on the right milks Jersey cows. Since there is such a large size difference between Holsteins and Jerseys, using separate robots allows the machine to make faster and easier adjustments for each cow. By using robots that operate 24/7, our cows are able to choose when they’re milked! The cows are able to be milked once every 4 hours, or up to 6 times a day. Our cows come into these robots for two reasons. 1. Because they want to be milked and 2. Because they get a sweet feed treat, which is like candy to them! Each cow wears a special collar around her neck that helps the robot identify her. These collars are able to track her activity, rumination, and many other things that can help our farm ensure each cow is happy and healthy! When a cow is ready to be milked, she will wait in line behind the robot until the automatic door opens and allows her to enter. Once the cow enters the robot, her collar is scanned to identify who she is and when she was last milked. If she was milked less than four hours ago, she will be sent back to the free stall barn and the next cow will enter. If this cow is ready to be milked, the robot will get to work. After dispensing the feed treat, the robot will use soft-bristle brushes to begin cleaning the cow’s teats. These do not hurt the cow, but instead feel like a soft toothbrush. The brushes will clean the teats twice using a disinfecting solution to kill bacteria and remove any dirt. After thoroughly cleaning the teats two times, the udder is blow dried before the milking unit is attached. The robot will use small red lasers to detect where each individual inflation needs to be placed. The inflations are placed individually on each teat. After all four of the inflations are attached to the teats, the cow will milk for 5 to 7 minutes while she eats her treat. Once her milk flow begins to slow, the inflations will be removed individually. Before the cow leaves, a protective solution is sprayed on her udder to prevent bacteria from entering the teats. Our robots are able to collect 120 different data points while each cow is being milked. Each cow’s weight is recorded every time she enters the robot, along with how much milk is produced from each quarter, and the amount of milk she produced. Much like the information collected from the collars, the data from the robots also helps us monitor the herd to make sure each cow is well cared for.