In the fall of 2017, after the resignation of the third college student in as many months, we explored the option of installing a voluntary milking system or robot. Six months later, after remodeling an existing building, we started milking the herd with a Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking system.

The planning process for the robot was an energizing learning experience. We interviewed four different vendors before choosing Lely. Designing a new system and adopting a new way of thinking was just the challenge we needed to stay interested in dairy farming as we entered our third decade in the business. Find out more about Lely by clicking here.

The video below was taken at our farm.