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DAIRY ST R
Volume 18, No. 15
“All dairy, all the time”™
September 24, 2016
Harvesting on a gentleman’s agreement
Three Schmitt farms team up to get eldwork done By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
FORT ATKINSON, Iowa – When it comes time to harvest, the Schmitts don’t worry about who will show up to help. Between the three separate farms, it all gets done in the same manner it has for nearly 50 years. “We have nothing on paper between us that says we own thousands of dollars of equipment between us. There’s nothing written anywhere. It’s a gentleman’s agreement. It’s never been a problem and I hope it never is,” Steve Schmitt said. Three farms of Schmitts – Steve and his son, Jeff, who Turn to SCHMITTS | Page 5
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Three farms of Schmi�s - (from le�) Al and Randy, who milk 150 cows; Steve and Jeff, who milk 120 cows; and Jim and Joe, who milk 150 cows – work together to chop corn and do other eldwork on their dairies near Fort Atkinson, Iowa.
Robotic milkers save Brickl’s dairying career
Freestall barn easily altered to accept new technology By Ron Johnson
ron.j@dairystar.com
HILLSBORO, Wis. – Robots saved Scott Brickl’s dairying career. They saved his cows from being sold, too. “I was actually thinking of getting rid of the cows,” Brickl said. “I always said that when I turned 50, the cows were going to go down the road. But the closer I got to that, I realized I couldn’t do that. I like my twice-a-month income.” Two years ago, Brickl began seriously considering robotic milkers for his 308-acre dairy, Staley Q Holsteins, near Hillsboro, Wis. The name derives from the farm’s location at Staley School Road and County RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR Highway Q. Sco� Brickl checks data on a cow that just nished Today, two Lely A-4 Astronaut machines faithfulin one of the two robots Brickl recently installed on ly milk the farm’s 92 Holsteins. Brickl has more time his 92-cow dairy near Hillsboro, Wis. for eldwork, while his wife, Teresa, manages a brew pub in nearby Hillsboro, Wis. Daughter, Tiffany works
there, too. Taylor, the younger daughter is a senior in high school. Herdswoman Taylor Vesbach handles many of the barn chores, keeps an eye on the robots, and interprets the cow and milk information the computer collects. At rst, Brickl didn’t think he could get robotic milkers to function well in his 100-stall freestall barn. “I always thought the robots had to be in the middle – the cows laid on one side and ate on the other, and went back and forth to use the robots,” Brickl said. But an article in Dairy Star convinced him otherwise. “I read that and thought, ‘Wow. That sounds like my farm,’” Brickl said. “I made a few phone calls and went and looked at some[robotic milkers].” By visiting robotic farms, he learned that barns can be congured many ways to let the machines work. “I went to a dozen farms and saw that no two were alike,” Brickl said. From these tours he was able to form a plan for his own farm. Alterations to the freestall barn began in July 2015, and the robots went to work Oct. 6 of that year. Before that, Brickl milked in a swing-six parlor, and Turn to BRICKL | Page 7