FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT

It is a glorious time to be dreaming of new equipment for your operation. As fun as looking at new machinery and gadgets can be, it is also a stressful time due to the decision-making process.

Robotics have gained momentum in nearly every industry, and dairy technology is leading the charge. Several companies are successfully installing their robotic milking systems on dairy farms throughout North America.

When you hear about milking automation, you likely think of robots. But the reality is: The dairy industry has more choices than ever when it comes to milking automation.

Where did I put that thing? The old saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” is important to me. It grows more important each day.

Earlier this year, brothers Teun and Ben De Beer welcomed their herd of 480 milking cows into a new facility on the farm near Mount Elgin, Ontario. The new six-row, sand-bedded freestall barn with perimeter feeding was built for the milking cows. It was built to reduce crowding in the farm’s existing four-row barn with mattresses and a slatted floor.

When Ben and Elly De Beer and their three sons immigrated to Canada in 1999, they purchased a cash crop farm in Mount Elgin, Ontario, and started to build a dairy. They put up a double-10 parallel parlour with a slatted-floor freestall barn.