An 80-stall rotary milking parlor sits at the center of R&D Adams Dairy Farms, deeply rooted in the community since 1960.
"A big carousel for cows to get on and get milked," said co-owner Brad Adams.
Adams is part of the fourth generation.
"To keep the family legacy going. Ugh, pretty proud of that," he said.
The parlor has only been in circulation a little more than four years, as prior to that, in the early days, a lot of the work was done by hand before crews milked 32 in a double parallel row parlor.
Once crews hook up the pipes, it takes about eight to ten minutes for the cows to go around, before they're automatically detached, rinsed off and guided out the exit.
"We got pumps that pump it to the milk house, we got plate coolers that chill it down and we actually don't even go into a bulk tank, we go directly onto the trailer. So it goes right from here, right to the plant," said Adams.
Adams says 3,000 cows are milked on the rotary, plus another 400 in a nearby parlor.
"To milk this many cows and to take care of them, and have all the employees we do have, technology is absolutely needed here. It comes down to the farm management software for all the cow records," said Adams.
Part of that includes what's called a pulsator, known as the heartbeat of the operation. It helps control the milk flow. In addition, data is collected through a collar or fit bit on the cow that tracks information like heat stress and activity.
The animal then goes through a sorting gate, so if there is a problem, an alarm will allow crews to efficiently take the animal and give it the attention it needs.
"To know when they get sick, to know when they need attention, to know when they need to get bred. So all that stuff, the technology just helps all of it," said Adams.
Technology is not just used for milking, but planting as well.
Source: spectrumlocalnews.com
Photo Credit: gettyimages-vm
Categories: New York, General, Livestock, Dairy Cattle