Milking robots for all they're worth

Automatic Milking System - 1990s  (PD)

When one door closes, another opens – even when robots are doing the opening and closing.

Dairy farmers have long been slaves to milking routines that occur every morning and afternoon.  When families run small farms, there’s no such thing as a day off.  Even for weddings,  they must “get there late or leave early.”

All that, however, may soon change.  Robots are beginning to replace human hands when it comes to milking, and cows are willingly cooperating.  When one “decides it’s her own personal milking time, she strolls down” to where the robot is.  Lasers guide the robotic arm toward the teats.  Milk then “flows through hoses into a big storage tank.”

Robots have gotten a bad rap over the years because humans fear being replaced.  Small dairy farmers, however, feel differently.  They welcome the newfound freedom that comes with robotic assistance.  Many a dairy farmer might otherwise have to quit were it not for this ready-made help.

Resources

https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=599259931 

Copyright April 8, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved