Imagine this: 102 dairy cows living a life of leisure with access to green pastures, nutritious food, friends and the opportunity to be milked whenever they want.
When nature calls - even if it's 2 a.m. - Maddie and Clover and Allie and the others wander into a stall, have a snack and give their milk to a robot.
They are never herded by humans.
Farmers Karen and Michael Hooper run River Ridge Dairy Farm in Memphis, along the Seneca River. They provide organic milk to Upstate Niagara Cooperative, which bottles and sells it to Wegmans and other stores.
They have invested about $1.5 million in technology that frees up the cows and the humans.
"We don't make them, typically, do anything," Karen Hooper said. She calls the cows "my girls" and scratches under their ears.
Watch a robot milk cows in the video above.
There are advantages other than the comfortable lifestyle. Robotic milking means the Hoopers don't have to hire staff. And no one calls in sick, she said.
The robot can milk up to six times a day as opposed to the typical two or three times a day on a human's schedule. The River Ridge cows typically choose to be milked about three times a day, she said.
It also keeps the animals healthy. Transponders around each cow's neck work like an athlete's Fitbit, collecting reams of data that can be used to detect problems like oncoming mastitis. The gadget counts the cow's steps, heart rate and even how many times it chews.
Each time a cow is milked, the robot collects data about the thickness of the milk, the cow's weight and body temperature. If the robot quits working or a cow stays in the milking area too long, the robot dials the farmers' phones.
The Hoopers and a nutritionist review the data and adjust food and care as needed.
"They have social groups and they have their freedom to do what they want to do," Karen Hooper said. "So less stress means better quality, a better life for the cow."
Contact Michelle Breidenbach anytime:
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