Dairy’s new era

A cutting-edge research facility broke ground this summer in Wisconsin.

NPR’s Wisconsin Public Radio recently published an article about the construction of a new dairying research facility in Prairie du sac, Wisc.

The facility, funded by a partnership between The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), is intended to “tackle key issues affecting dairy farms across the country.”

Some of what the researchers will be looking into includes robotic milking equipment, manure-borne pathogen prevention, improving soil health, and other holistic studies of modern dairy farming practices.

There are two kinds of robotic milking systems: free flow and guided flow. In a free flow system, cows can approach the robots at any time to see if they are eligible to be milked. In a guided flow system, a series of gates direct cows to the robots or the feedbunk. Researchers will look into what the benefits are of both, as well as how to make milking and cow care more efficient in this era of labor shortages.

Experts involved with the construction of the new research facility hope it will help bring about “resiliency in the face of climate change” for farmers across the nation.

At the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm, we already implement many of these technologies. In fact, the farm was showcased in the NPR report as a dairy already on the cutting edge of the technological revolution in agriculture. Our top-notch milking systems bring pure Guernsey milk from cow to consumer – and make possible the crafting of our award-winning cheese.

The dairy research facility is scheduled to be completed in 2027.