HILBERT, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Our farms are the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy.
Some farms are finding ways to work smarter using cutting-edge technology.
At the Pleasant View Dairy in Hilbert, milking time is any time with the farm’s new robotic milkers.
“Before we were milking in a double 8 parlor, then it was set times when you had to be there, and now it’s a little bit more relaxed,” Pleasant View Dairy Herd Manager Janis Sweere said.
The robots are beneficial for both the cows and the farmers.
The farmers can spend less time milking and more time analyzing the data that comes from the milkers, and it’s more comfortable for the cows.
“The cows are milking themselves. Because the cows can go in whenever they want, it’s healthier for them, and they seem to produce more milk, and the barn itself is more comfortable for them,”Sweere said.
New technologies, like the robotic milkers, make things a bit easier.
“The robots are necessarily not saving labor, but it’s allowing a farm to, workload is going to stay the same, but their role has been changing,” Fox Valley Technical College Farm Business and Production Management Instructor Jeremy Hanson said.
Labor shortages are an issue for several industries right now, including the agriculture industry.
“In businesses like this, so trying to make sure that our employees are happy and they have a nice work environment adds to trying to recruit some of those people,” FVTC Farm Business and Production Management Instructor Sara Maass-Pate said.
Midlakes Custom Services in Hilbert is considered a state-of-the-art technology shop. Those technologies get the work done quickly and efficiently.
“The efficiencies that we’ve picked up with some of this equipment. It used to take a full week to fill a silo, and now, some of these choppers that are behind me, we can do that in less than two hours,” Maass-Pate said.
Hanson calls the agriculture industry the bread and butter of Wisconsin.
“So it’s always best to be as efficient as you can and be as productive as you can and hopefully make some money along the way too,” Hanson said.
Experts say the high cost of diesel fuel is another obstacle the agriculture industry is facing right now.
The average cost of diesel in Wisconsin is about $4.78 per gallon.
