DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — On the Olson farm, it's hands-off when it comes to milking, and this technology, using robots, is taking productivity to another level.
- Rich Olson is part of the sixth generation of Olson family farmers, which goes all the way back to the 1870s.
- The milking machine currently milks cows anywhere from two to four times a day, depending on the cow.
- The dairy farm currently milks around 60 cows, with the newest calf arriving on Thursday.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
For Rich Olson, dairy farming is in his blood. Now, he, his brother, and their wives run the Olson family farm.
The family dairy farm has been here for generations, dating back to 1872, when they milked cows by hand. Of course, the Olsons adopted technology along the way
"The cows used to come and stand here, and we would feed them there, and we would bring the machine to the cows. Now the cows come to the machine," Olson said.
But the machines they use now are even more advanced—they're robots. The advanced machine sanitizes the cow before using a laser to navigate under the animal.
Without the help of any humans, the machine then attaches to the cow’s teats to suction. The technology also tracks how often a cow is milked, how much milk it produces, and even how much milk comes from each teat.
"Even though we aren't standing alongside the cow doing the job we have more information now than we ever could've had," Olson said.
The Olson family farm milks approximately 60 cows, but the frequency with which each cow is milked can vary.
"We're averaging 2.7 milkings per cow per day, so everybody milks at least two times a day, some cows milk three, some cows milk four, we have one cow that milks five times a day," Olson said.
The new technology will ease the physical strain on farmers like Olson and spare future generations of family farmers from the physical toll.
"It also saves a lot of wear and tear on our bodies. Every old farmer that I know has either a bad shoulder, knee or hip or a combination of the three," Olson said.
He says that with the help of this machine, he hopes to milk the stress out of dairy farming, making it easier for future generations to graze through the challenges.
