FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT

I don’t think it comes as any surprise that the best way to fix a problem is to not have it in the first place.

I’ve been fortunate to help hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, farmers plan and design robotic milking facilities and now more than ever we are able to seriously consider, if not fully implement, non-lactating and transition heifer and cow management into the plans.

With thousands of robots in place on North American dairies, barn layouts and designs are becoming more diverse. The key to robot success is for the producer to be passionate about the barn layout and make sure the design fits the goals of the dairy.

When you are looking to design a new facility, or modify an existing one, it’s not as simple as just picking option A or option B.

Bedded pack barns are becoming increasingly popular in Canada, particularly systems in which the bedding is composted in the resting area. To ensure the composting is successful, however, it is important to understand the process and master the technique.

The first question I usually ask a dairyman about his generator is: Who has done the maintenance in the past? They usually respond with, “I have a farm mechanic that is supposed to look after it, but he doesn’t know anything about generators and feels intimidated.