This article was #16 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the June 26, 2014 Extra e-newsletter. Dairy farmers in northern Indiana who milk their cows in the “RV Capital of the World” must contend with manufacturers for hard-working employees. The installation of an automatic milking system in October of 2013 allowed John and Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm in Elkhart County to focus their time on managing other aspects of their farm, such as their agritourism business.

John and Cynthia are passionate about the dairy and agricultural industry and are always looking for ways to inform the public about their lifestyle. From corn mazes to pumpkin patches to dairy tours, the Adams have been sharing their story and educating community members and schoolchildren about the importance of agriculture for 10 years.

We asked the couple,
Q. What are the key messages you use to educate the public about robotic milking?

This fall was our first experience using the robotic milking system as part of our school tour package, during our corn maze. We’ve had many visitors in the past year – a large percentage affiliated with the dairy industry. So incorporating the robotic milking system in our education program provided a great moment to provide a positive message about dairy. Opening up the barn and robot area provided the opportunity to emphasize just how much work is involved in providing quality milk. We would detail the milking process, with all the quality control measures that we handle on our farm, and all the testing and sampling of milk that occurs – before it even is pasteurized and bottled.

I also emphasized the care that we provide our cows – from the “two-month maternity leave” before calving and free-choice milking opportunity with the robots to our compost bedding pack and the children’s favorite: the cow brushes. The children enjoyed the one-on-one opportunity to visit and pet calves, while the adults had multiple questions about the robots, animal care and antibiotic usage. Our goal is to provide a positive dairy experience on our farm and to be the credible dairy reference for the public to turn to when they have questions.
—John and Cynthia Adam, Dairy producers, Goshen, Indiana

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Dairy farmers in northern Indiana who milk their cows in the “RV Capital of the World” must contend with manufacturers for hard-working employees. So when it came time for one of the 260-plus dairy families in Elkhart County to upgrade their parlor, they opted for equipment that didn’t require them to compete for labor anymore.

“Historically, (competition for labor) has been a huge issue for the dairy industry here. They are constantly pulling good employees out of our market,” says Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm, a dairy producer in Goshen, Indiana.

The Adams’ county is home to the second largest pocket of dairy cows in the state, more than 17,000 of them. But between all the recreational vehicle manufacturers, dealerships and repair shops, it has also aptly been named the worldwide capital for that industry. Affordable, qualified employees have always been a challenge to find with the existing competition from the RV industry, especially as the economy begins to recover.

“Starting pay has to be at least $15 per hour for a milking position in order to compete with the RV business,” Cynthia says. “An additional pay raise is needed if you want the employee to help in other areas of the farm.”

Labor for Knollbrook Farm has traditionally been family-based, but with two children attending college and two others involved with high school activities, mom and dad recognized last year they needed additional help to milk their 75 cows. At the same time, the couple wanted to upgrade their double-eight herringbone parlor, which had been in service for 40 years.

They were in a bind and needed to make a decision between a new parlor and the added cost of employees to milk in it or a switch to robotic milking.

John Adam was first involved with computerized dairy feeding nearly 20 years ago and watched the automated technologies take off in Europe and reemerge in the U.S. Automated systems have now become a functional opportunity within the dairy industry, he believes.

“We spent months evaluating both Lely and DeLaval systems,” Cynthia says about their decision-making process. “John attended a robotic milking tour with Indiana Professional Dairy Producers and Lely’s grand opening in Pella, Iowa.”

Eventually the Adams choose a DeLaval voluntary milking system because they provided fully upgradable and expandable units, Cynthia says. The system also has the capability to wash, pre-strip and milk each teat to encourage milk let down.

The new technology was installed in October 2013.

The voluntary milking system has allowed the Adams to focus their time on managing other aspects of their farm, such as their agritourism business.

John and Cynthia are passionate about the dairy and agricultural industry and are always looking for ways to inform the public about their lifestyle. From corn mazes to pumpkin patches to dairy tours, the Adams have been sharing their story and educating community members and school children about the importance of agriculture for 10 years.

“We enjoy promoting agriculture,” Cynthia says. “We purposely built our robotic milking facilities so that it will be incorporated in with the other educational activities on the farm.”

After receiving many questions from the community about the newly installed system, the Adam family and DeLaval staff thought it was the opportune time to provide an open house.

“We wanted to open our farm to the public,” Cynthia says. “It was time to further educate the community about agriculture and robotic milking.”

On June 14, Knollbrook Farm hosted a Smart Farming Open House, one of 10 similar events held throughout the Midwest in June.

“We wanted to create an open forum with two-way communication to share the challenges and opportunities of using a voluntary milking system,” says Elizabeth Healey, manager of marketing communications for DeLaval, about the open houses.

The Adams welcomed more than 500 people to their farm during the event. Many of those in attendance were dairy producers from northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Friends, neighbors and schoolteachers from the local community also attended the all-day event.

“Even Mennonites and Amish attended the event, curious to learn more about voluntary milking systems,” Cynthia says.

It was the first large-scale event the Adams have hosted.

“We thought we had a lot of space in our observation room, but it was packed,” Cynthia says.

The event allowed guests to arrive throughout the day and still be able to watch a live milking demonstration. The Adam family had visitors from the rising of the sun to its setting, taking their time to look at all aspects of the farm.

Throughout the day, the Adams shared their experiences with switching to a voluntary milking system, including their suggestion to not transition to milking with robots during harvest season.

John and Cynthia say they often look back on their decision and have no reservations about making the switch to robotics.

“In a community where employees are difficult to obtain and are only going to become a greater expense, it was an easy justification” Cynthia says. “The robots will pay for themselves.” PD