AMES, Iowa — The number of automatic milking systems used in dairy operations continues to increase with over 5 percent of farms now milking with robots.
The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team has scheduled a series of farm tours to offer first-hand looks at the way fellow dairy farmers are managing automatic milking systems in new or retrofit facilities. The tours will focus on facilities, economics and overall management of automatic milking systems.
Nine dairy facilities in northeast and eastern Iowa will be visited as a part of the tour series. Tours are scheduled for Oct. 23, Nov. 5, Nov. 13 and Nov. 14. Two locations will be visited on the first three tour dates; three sites will be toured on Nov. 14.
Tuesday, Oct. 23
10-11:30 a.m. – JoLane Dairy, 13254 Hickory Ave., Monona; two Lely robots installed in 2013
12:30-2 p.m. – Frieden Dairy, 19731/19733 Abbey Road, Elgin; three Lely robots installed in 2017
Monday, Nov. 5
10-11:30 a.m. – Mike and Kathleen Scott, 12402 R. Ave., Westgate; two Lely robots installed in 2016
12:30-2 p.m. – New Day Dairy, 31000 175th St., Clarksville; two Insentec Galaxy robots installed in 2015
Tuesday, Nov. 13
10-11:30 a.m. – Koopman Bros., Chad and Brent, 7242 Koopman Road, Epworth; two Lely robots installed in 2015
12:30-2 p.m. – Todd Moser, 30215 370th St., Colesburg; two DeLaval robots installed in 2016
Wednesday, Nov. 14
10-11:30 a.m. – Mark Hosch, 2374 County Road D61, Bernard; three Lely robots installed in 2012-14
12-1:30 p.m. – Green Bros., Mel and Ed, 7820 St. Joes Prairie Road, Dubuque; two Lely robots installed in 2012
2-3:30 p.m. – Bill and Jeff Lawler, 18655 Old Highway Road, Peosta; four Lely robots installed in 2013
Each tour is open to the public, no preregistration is required and travel between farms is on your own. For more information, contact extension dairy specialist Jenn Bentley at jbentley@iastate.edu or 563-382-2949 or extension dairy specialist Larry Tranel at 563-563-583-6496 or tranel@iastate.edu.
— Jennifer Bentley and Larry Tranel, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
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