It is never quiet on the farm, even during the winter months. There is always something going on. The world changes, so we want to be in the forefront of how Majestic Crossing Dairy does business. A phrase that describes farming perfectly is, “You’re either green and growing or ripe and rotting.” At Majestic Crossing Dairy, we want to be green and growing. So we take the opportunity in the winter months to wrap up last year and to plan for the future.
This week we are taking three days to go look at farms that already have milking robots to see if they are the right fit for our dairy. Doing the research before making a decision is key. With robots, there are a few different scenarios. You can build them into an existing parlor so that you don’t have to change the entire set-up of the building that is already there. Another option is adding a new barn for the robots, but if you do that you can run the risk of putting yourself into a corner with a building that was built for one specific purpose. Going to visit other farms that already have robots with these different scenarios will help us decide if robots are the way to go for the dairy.
With the labor force constantly changing, we need to be proactive and address the different options. With robots, farmers are able to milk with less people. The people running the robots have a different skill set because there is a new technology to milking the cows. Seeing how other farms have benefitted from robotic milkers will help us see if robots are in the future of Majestic Crossing Dairy.