Since the late 1800s, South Dakota State University (SDSU) has played a pivotal role in the advancement of dairy farming, and it would be remiss not to mention the thousands of undergraduate students who have gone on to develop a career as dairy producers or industry allies along the I-29 Corridor and across the nation.

When it is time to consider new equipment or a new facility project, these three key principles will help provide clarity of purpose and ease of process.

Automated milking is part of the artificial intelligence revolution. There are, however, many myths surrounding the fundamentals of robotic dairies that may present unnecessary roadblocks to those considering the switch.

“Change is easy. Transition is hard. Are you open to surrounding yourself with people who have the best knowledge and listening to them?” Nancy Charlton of DeLaval asked listeners of the “Capitalizing on robotics to enhance animal health and reproduction” panel at the 2023 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council annual meeting.

The platform is the starting point for constructing a robust, efficient and scalable rotary milking system that can solve your farm’s unique challenges and withstand the rigors of daily farm life.

Recently, Tom Wegner was named the recipient of the 2023 Boehringer Ingelheim Dairy First Award. “It was pretty cool for Rebecca Gotham, my BI rep, to recognize me, our farm and my employees for all the hard work we do,” Wegner says.

Robotic dairy systems have been available to the public for nearly three decades. In that time, numerous manufacturers have entered the industry, providing consumers with a variety of robotic solutions for milking, feeding and even manure management.

Reproduction management plays a critical role in any dairy. The ability to monitor, detect and act quickly when heat is detected significantly impacts herd performance. 

Progressive Dairy caught up with dairy producers who installed varying automated milking equipment on their farms in the second half of the 2010 era.

The more we understand automation, the better equipped we are to make it work for us. Let's explore the top five reasons for automating the milking routine on a dairy.