When designing a new or retrofit barn for automation, it is essential to give much thought to cow comfort, as well as the flow of cows and people in the barn.

This year marks eight years of progress in pest bird management research in my laboratory. Eight years ago, I asked a group of dairy farmers my typical question, “What keeps you up at night?”

A South Dakota dairy farm that frequently provides farm tours to industry members, farmers and consumers developed a solution to maximize visitor experience while minimizing the disturbance to cows and employees in their maternity barn. 

The pending arrival of winter can bring with it feelings of joy and happiness as we look forward to the holiday season and the family festivities that surround it.

Bedding stalls, manure alley cleaning, footbaths and sorting are four activities that will need to be managed differently when installing robots. 

After a neighboring dairy installed fans in their freestall barns, Ryan Kroes was able to see firsthand the better results their neighbors had during the hot summer months.