FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT

The last thing a dairy producer wants is a barn full of birds that steal expensive feed, damage facilities and spread disease. That is why including bird deterrents in the barn design phase is critical to keeping costly pests out of the dairy cows’ environment.

Grotegut Dairy in Newton, Wisconsin, is always photo-ready. As the Wisconsin Farm Discovery Center’s designated tour partner, the 2,700-cow dairy welcomes several daily bus tours filled with visitors from the nearby agriculture educational centre.

Consumers continue to pressure the dairy industry for facility improvements that promote natural animal behaviours, including freedom of movement and socialization, and researchers are learning how to adapt dairy facilities to reflect those desires.

Automatic milking robots can essentially be arranged in one of two ways when it comes to entry and exit of cows. One way we call perpendicular and the other is tollgate.

For dairies considering robotic milking, one common question often asked is whether it is best to build a new barn or retrofit an existing one. The answer, typically, is: “It depends.”

Milking times are the most stressful points of a cow’s day. Removing as much stress as possible from the holding area and parlour can help improve milk let-down and ensure a complete milking.