Precision dairy tab 2013

Page 14 • Precision Dairy Conference 2013

Four producer panels cover rst-hand experiences

The two-day Precision Dairy Conference will feature four producer panels featuring 14 dairy producers from across the United States. Topics for the panels include robotic milking, automated calf feeders, cow sensors and milk sensors. Check the schedule on pages 4-5 for panel times. Here are the dairy facilities included on the tour:

Robotic Milking Panel - June 26, 1:30 p.m.

Front row – Blake Biehl and Baxter Biehl. Back row - Brooke and Bradley Biehl, Leroy Biehl, Vickie and Dalton Biehl.

Bradley Biehl, Corner View Farm; Kutztown, Penn.

Bradley Biehl is a fourth generation dairy farmer from Kutztown, Penn. He partnered with his father, Dalton Biehl, to install the rst US Astrea 20.20, 2-stall robotic milking system by AMS Galaxy USA. They milk 120 cows.

Brad will share the challenges and successes that a small family dairy can expect when transitioning from a typical 60-cow tie stall operation to an automatic milking system.

Erica and Dirk Kiestra, Kie Farms, Ltd.; St. Mary’s Ontario, Canada The operation milks 90 cows in a new MIone 2-box automatic milking system from GEA Farm Technologies.

They have a 93 lb/cow herd average, with cows milking

3.5 times per day on average. Their SCC is 65,000 and their bactoscan is 5. In the future, the Keistra’s hope to expand their 2-box system to a 4-box system.

Tom Oesch, SwissLane Dairy; Alto, Mich.

SwissLane Farms includes 2,000 milking cows, 1,800 replacement heifers, 400 steers, and 4,500 cropping acres.

In 2011, the farm broke ground to add an additional facility and started milking in the facility that November. The expansion added 500 cows, eight automatic milking systems (AMS), a manure lagoon, a dry cow facility and cropping acres. The freestall barn for the milking cows has eight Lely Astronaut Milking Robots where the cows are managed in the Free Flow environment.

Harry VanWieren, Four Clover Dairy Inc.; Thedford, Ontario, Canada In February 2013, three MR-S1, BoumaticRobotic Automated Milkers, replaced the ‘Double 10’ Parallel Parlour milking 140 cows on Four Clover Dairy. The dairy barn has 150 freestalls and bedded straw pack for dry and sick cows.

The stalls are bedded with sawdust that is applied twice daily. The barn is cooled with fans and sprinklers and manure is moved out with chain alley scrapers. Milk averages 31 kg 4.3 butterfat 3.8 protein.

Jake and Tom Peissig Jake and Tolea Peissig; Tom and Peggy Peissig, JTP Farms; Dorchester, Wis. Jake and Tom operate JTP Farms in Dorchester, Wis. This father and son team farms 500 acres along with managing a 285-cow herd utilizing four Delaval VMSs. The facility, located on a completely new site, includes: 4/56 stall groups, a cross ventilated barn, sand bedding, and a special needs pre-fresh area. Currently, JTP is milking between 6267 cows per VMS, consistently averages over 6,000 lb/robot/day across all four robots, and between 95-100 lb/cow/ day.

In-Line Milking Parlor - June 26, 2 p.m.

Chris Buchner, Elmwold Farms Ltd. Brownsville, Ontario, Canada This family farm is run by two brothers, Paul and Chris, who work with four cousins, Jennifer, Greg, Derek and Kevin. They have 195 Holsteins and raise 175 heifers while milking 170 cows 3x daily with the help of two part time milkers. In November 2011, Herd Navigator was running in their herd.

It made them the rst parlor herd in North America and the rst 3x herd. There continues to be a learning curve as they become more comfortable with the capabilities and limitations of Herd Navigator.

Eric Diepersloot, University of Florida Dairy Unit; Gainesville, Fla. In August 2007, the University of Florida Dairy Unit was the rst dairy in the U.S. to install ALab. The software made it easier and more efcient for faculty conducting research and it provided them with daily fat, protein and lactose content with results immediately after a cow nished milking.

Turn to PANELS | Page 15

Your success is our goal.

At GEA Farm Technologies, our business is dedicated to helping your business succeed. Whether it’s a manure scraper; an automated calf feeder; or an MIone Robotic Milking System, we are committed to helping you modernize and streamline your dairy operation, so you can keep advancing your business.

The “MI” in MIone stands for “Milking Intelligence.” If your goals are to embrace new technology, manage your herd more precisely, create the best possible living environment for your cows, and carve out a more balanced life for yourself, GEA Farm Technologies would like to help you get there with the MIone.

Monroe WestfaliaSurge W6031 Melvin Rd. • Monroe, WI

608-325-2772

Page 16 • Precision Dairy Conference 2013