New ventures in Agriculture

For many years the image of the typical family farm has portrayed a white two-story house, big red barn, silo and perhaps a small tractor on the side. This hadbeen the common setting on farms for quite some time. However technology and computerization has changed this scene. One look at the new barn at Emmert Dairy, east of Hancock, will prove that the big red barns are a thing of the past. In fact, the only red on the new barn are two large stripes on each end of the hoop style barn.

Brothers Andy and Chris Emmert not only built a unique barn but inside they have put in place new technology that has changed the entire milking process for them. The barn does not contain rows of stantions, gutters, water and freed troughs or pipelines for milk. Instead at the center of the 81 foot by 340 foot barn is a milking parlor that holds two robotic milking systems. Each one is capable of milking 60 cows during a 24 hour cycle.

The system includes a stall that has a gate which can open in two directions, one to allow a cow in and the other to let it out. When the stall is empty the gate will open for a cow usually waiting near the gate. The cow will come to the stall as it craves food, not necessarily as it needs to be milked. Each cow is fitted with a transponder and a number.

An electronic eye reads the transponder and feeds the data to a computer. The transponder will then look at the cow’s activity and determine if it can be milked. Some cows, such as those that have just given birth, can be milked up to six times per day. Others that are drying up in preparation for calving, can only be milked once or twice.

If the computer determines that the cow can be milked, feed will be dropped, again specific to that cow. As the cow feeds, a robotic arm does a 3D scan of the udder and cleans the teats. The robot then senses each teat’s location and attaches the milking equipment. The milk is measured as it is collected and recorded for the individual animal.

After collection the milk is transferred to a large cooling tank in a nearby room and kept cool until it is picked up by a processing plant. The plate cooler that cools the milk also warms water to about 62 degrees to be fed to the cows.

When the milking process is complete, the stall door opens to release the cow and another can enter. If the system says it is too soon to be milked, no feed will drop and the door will open for the cow to exit. Some cows attempt to enter often but are rejected until the time is appropriate.

The floor of the stall is a scale used to monitor the weight of the cow and the scanning system can also sense any abnormalities or changes in the health of the cow. If a cow is being treated for anything, the milk is automatically discarded.

Another great aspect of the set-up for Andy and Chris, is that they can each have their own herd, located on either side of the milking room, with all milk output and feed records kept separate. For example when the milk is picked up by AMPI processing plant, they know exactly how much of the milk came from each heard and can pay accordingly. The same can be applied to the feed costs.

Andy and Chris first learned about the Lely Astronaut robotic milking system during a dairy tour to western Wisconsin in 2008. The system has actually been widely used for several decades in Europe and is just now spreading across the United States.

After further investigation, the Emmerts decided to proceed with purchase of the systems. The only drawback, according to them, was the price tag. However, this will hopefully be offset in savings on utilities, and time as well as efficiency and the over-all health of the animals.

Andy explained that the system can ultimately improve the udder health of the cow and better monitor the over-all health. The vacuum with the Lely system is lower than other systems. It also allows for milking more often which lowers stress on the udder. The cows do things according to bio-rythym so they are calmer.

The first step in setting up the system was to build a new barn. Andy and Chris decided on a hoop style barn with a canvas top and sides. The canvas allows light in and the sides can be opened during warmer weather. The barn needs only four lights and a few circulating fans. The brothers did a good deal of the welding and construction themselves last summer. They started construction in July and were up and running on November 8. They are hoping to have an open house sometime in June.

The center of the barn contains the robot room and a separate room for the milk tank where the milk is cooled until it can be collected. Above this area is an office space with large windows overlooking the cows penned on each side, Andy’s herd one way and Chris’ the other.

Along the edge of the pens is a feeding area where they can drive along using a loader to put down feed and also put fresh bedding in the pens. The same company that built the robotic milking system also has other robotic products such as a machine that continuously pushes feed back into feeding troughs as the cows eat or push the feed around.

Besides the saving of utilities, cow health and efficiency, the system saves time. Andy and Chris no longer have to be there at set times each day to milk the cows. The milking is actually taking place all day and night long whether they are there or not. They can do the daily chores and then concentrate on other aspects of farming. If something goes wrong, the robot will call them, alerting them to the problem.

This life for a dairy farmer is very different from the dairy farms of the past. Having a dairy no longer means the total commitment of time that it once did. Dairy operators using robotic systems could actually be able to enjoy a holiday, schedule things during milking times and even have a vacation.

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