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Robotic milking

GETTYSBURG, Pa. Mason Dixon Farms, Inc., took its motto, "Efficiency By Innovation," to brand new heights with the installation of Twelve voluntary, or robotic, milkers in which began their job with November milking 500 cows with little human involvement.

"We're just absolutely thrilled through the many aspects of what it's going to do for us," claimed Dick Waybright of Mason Dixon, along with a decreased need for labor, dropped incidence of problems including mastitis, decreased bacteria contamination by simply human hands and higher milk production.

For Paul County farmers, he said, this milkers are the Timberland Boots Shop Uk "first technology that will make you competitive with those huge dairies out and about west."

The milkers

Your robotic milkers are located in three bedrooms in the center of the barn where the cattle live and eat day-to-day. The cows decide when to go to the machines for pushing.

The barn was built this past year and includes a network regarding tunnels that bring in ticket and eliminate odor Moncler Jackets Sale Co Uk within the robot rooms, Mr. Waybright stated.

Katie Dotterer, an intern at the Longchamp Bags Uk Cheap farm, said she initially works with a joystick to set up the robot to locate each cow's four teats. After that, whenever the cow comes to the milker, your robot remembers where to place the four cups of the milker.

Because the cow enters the robot, the woman identification information appears using a computer screen, she said.

The device washes each teat, and the four cups are fastened by the robotic arm. If the cow kicks the milker off, the particular robot tries twice more to reattach it before quitting. Cows can be put through the automatic robot manually if need be.

The computer tracks how much milk isn't too far off from each teat to be sure it's a normal amount to the cow, Ms. Dotterer said. The milker k-cups can be removed one at a time as every teat finishes milking, versus normal milking machines through which all four come off at once.

Milliseconds. Dotterer prints reports every morning to test milk levels for each cow, your woman said. "Those reports are really, seriously crucial to us."

The actual robotic milker takes a squirt associated with milk from each teat for testing, Mr. Waybright explained. Testing leads to the very beginning detection of problems for instance mastitis.

Plans are to eventually bring 30 more robots. Each individual robot handles about Fifty cows at Mason Dixon, and a couple of,400 cows are milked to the farm. Those cows not necessarily serviced by robots continue to be milked in the more conventional restaurant until they can be transitioned to your new system.

The farmville farm

"We're in Frederick County generally," said Mr. Waybright, where family owns and operates the farm. Additionally, in relation to 10 percent of the farm's 2,900 acres is in Pennsylvania along with the rest in Carroll County. Obviously, a Mason Dixon Line runs through the farm.

The operation's roots are with Pennsylvania, but more acreage was purchased in Maryland, who has superior agriculture land programs, Mr. Waybright said. Cheap Uggs Uk Shop "We bought the place farmers are still valued included in the community."

In 1784, 475 acres were originally deeded to the family, and, today, this seventh and eighth age group are involved in the operation.

Various ways the farm has expenses to become more efficient are in their forage harvesters in which chopped silage vegetation are loaded directly into a trailer that is easy to hook to and unhook on the harvester. There is no need for a truck and also wagon to run alongside the unit, which cuts down forage deficits.

Calves are kept in barns that took years of tweaking to reach a design that matches perfectly with the farm's needs. The farmville farm experiences a less than 1 % mortality rate and has A couple of,000 youngstock.

Three years ago, a farm "got serious about using sexed seminal fluid," Mr. Waybright said. Of all calves born on the park, 92 percent are women of all ages. More females are more successful since some of those are sold in combination with those raised to replace a milking cows in the future.

In 1978, the farm developed a biogas digester, turning manure from your cows into energy. The actual farm has been self sufficient with regard to energy for over 20 years, promoting the excess energy and using the liquid from the process to fertigate, and also water and fertilize, areas.

"I think $3 gasoline is the best element for agriculture," reported Mr. Waybright said.

Wal Mart's entry to the organic dairy market may drive down the price of organic whole milk and leave farmers unable to find the money to produce it, he said. "I believe Wal Mart will be the final death claw to organic."

Customers buy organic milk since they think they are supporting relatives farmers, he said. While this is to some extent true, the majority of the organic milk market is controlled by 3 large dairy companies.

Your robotic milkers are the "biggest thing to enhance profitability that there is," Mister. Waybright said. The cost per robot is $150,000, a large price, but the machines reduce the price tag and need for capital upgrades like holding pens as well as milking parlors.