ATHENS, Wis. (WAOW) — Back in October of 2019, Miltrim Farms added 18 robotic milking machines to their production.
Just over a year later, general manager David Trimner says they’re seeing the impact in a big way.
“It was nice to kind of take the year of 2020 to learn and see hey, you know, is this something that is of value?”
They’ve been able to milk cows efficiently as well as keep them clean and healthy during the milking process.
“We’re seeing a lower chemical usage with those cows and with that system versus the traditional parlor system,” Trimner said.
They’ve also been able to increase the farm’s sustainability through more efficient water use.
“It’s a bit unproven yet but it is something that more and more people are seeing, especially farmers who convert from parlor to robots completely,” Trimner said.
He said studying this technology over the past year has been an adventure, especially throughout the pandemic and volatility of the market.
“Milk prices, they’ll go up 50 cents in a day and do it multiple days, and then drop two dollars in a few more days after that,” he said.
But Trimner said more farms adopting this technology, along with other sustainable practices, could help them outlast any future difficulties, while helping the planet.
He said the farm is already working to add 12 more milking machines to the barn.
