C杂志

Agriculture technology in a dairy operation

两个男人和一只狗走过奶牛仓,奶牛和一个机器人喂食器在背景中.

Tilla-Bay Farms owner Kurt Mizée, 左, relies on his CHS feed consultant, 迈克尔鲁玛斯, 以确保定期提供新鲜饲料,以保持他的提拉穆克机器人喂养系统的运行, 矿石.、乳品经营.

2023年1月12日

詹妮弗·奇克

If Kurt Mizée’s dairy barn were stripped down to digital code, 他的每一个荷斯泰因都是由成千上万的数据点组成的——每天127个新的数据点, 确切地说, collected by each cow’s neck transponder. 

Every point has a story to tell about that cow, 包括她的血统, current production and future potential. 米兹海姆对这些数据进行分析,以帮助他澳门皇冠赌场平台和优化他在蒂拉穆克附近的蒂拉湾农场的乳制品业务, 矿石. 

104年来,米兹海姆的农场一直是肥沃、温和的蒂拉穆克山谷的一部分. 但自从他的曾祖父开始经营24头奶牛以来,情况发生了很大变化, 主要是根西岛.  

“我妈妈很快就会告诉你,当她以前喂小牛的时候,它们有多顽固,米兹海姆说.

随着行业的变化, 面对不断变化的形势,米兹海姆已经找到了继续经营他的奶牛场的方法, from challenges in recruiting employees to shifts in consumer needs. He turned to technology and data to shine a light on the best way forward.

工作与生活的平衡 

In 2010, 米兹海姆和他爸爸, 巴特, 当他们的经营已经超过了他们的挤奶室时,他们正在寻找一种平衡工作和个人需求的方法吗. 他们正在研究一种机器人挤奶系统,由奶牛决定何时挤奶, rather than being milked on a rigid schedule.

然后在2011年, Mizee的妻子, 温迪, 和8岁的女儿, 谢尔比, were killed in a car accident and he was 左 to raise his son, 瑞安, 然后5. The need for work-life balance suddenly became even more pressing. (Learn more about his Act in Kindness Project in honor of 温迪 and 谢尔比.)

“I was able to stay in dairy farming because of robotics,米兹海姆说. 

第一个, they installed Lely robotic milking machines, the first robotic dairy milking system in the western U.S. 随着其他奶牛场采用机器人技术,米兹梅注意到需要一个团队来为这些单位提供服务,并帮助农民过渡到新系统, he launched a business to install and service Lely robotic systems. 他还不断测试和增加新技术:一个机器人喂食系统, 然后是机器人喂牛器,然后是电脑喂牛系统,用于近距离喂牛. 计划在今年冬天增加的下一个项目将是一个清洁谷仓的真空机器人.

一头荷斯坦小牛进入一个自动喂食室,从一个机器人饲料分配器里喝水
在Tilla-Bay农场,机器人喂犊器按照自助服务的时间表满足饥饿的小牛. 机器人技术使奶场主库尔特·米兹海姆在减少劳动力需求的同时保持了牛群的规模.

电话澳门皇冠赌场平台

All the robotics run from a cellphone. Lely Vector Roundtable是一辆小型混合车,负责混合、分发和推送饲料给奶牛.

Mizée gets much of his feed from the CHS feed mill in Tillamook. Several times a week, a CHS semi delivers TMG (total mixed grain) to the farm. 青贮切割机将饲料分成若干部分,并将其分配到农场饲料厨房的各个部分, where feed is stored and selected for mixing. 在顶部轨道上的机器人饲料抓取器从饲料厨房的特定位置选择饲料和草料,并将其放入混合和喂料机器人中, 一种自给自足的电池驱动的车辆,根据预定的计划准备和运送饲料给奶牛.

The robot delivers 18 to 20 loads per day of four rations for far-off dry cows, 特写干奶牛, lactating cows and cows with special needs. 根据奶牛的需求,将它们分类到围栏中,软件将围栏信息传递给机器人, which adjusts ration delivery based on how many cows are in the pen.

“Once you’ve run with a robotic herd, you will never go back,米兹海姆说. “还, 使用机器人时, 你不希望feed用完,因为这有可能在半夜发生,然后系统会打电话给你. So I tell my CHS rep, ‘Don’t run me out.’ I love that we can count on really great service to make sure that doesn’t happen. And feed is always fresh, so it flows well through the system.”

虽然他继续推广机器人的使用,但米兹海姆在2021年出售了他的Lely安装业务. 他说,皇冠hga010安卓二维码的规模本来要翻一番,但他没有能力在澳门皇冠赌场平台自己的业务的同时保持这种增长.

Robotics have become a recruiting tool for Mizée, who manages the operation with two 完整的-time employees. His newest team member, Es Santiago, began working at the farm about 10 months ago. 圣地亚哥说,让他对这个机会感到兴奋的是Tilla-Bay农场相关的技术. He had worked on dairy operations for five years, putting in up to 20 hours per day for operations as large as 35,000头, and was looking for something more sustainable.

“It definitely has made a huge difference,” Santiago says. “I finally feel like I have a life outside of my job.”

With the monitoring and automation that comes from Tilla-Bay Farms robotics, 圣地亚哥说,他现在每天工作七到八个小时,而且可以灵活地请假去参加家庭约会, knowing an app will alert him if something needs attention.

数据驱动的乳制品

米兹海姆的操作产生的数据点有助于指导他的农场澳门皇冠赌场平台决策. 甚至在小牛出生之前, data is an important part of the equation, 帮助米兹海姆决定哪些小母牛将被留下来建立牛群,哪些将作为牛肉小牛出售. 

“我们的目标是利用我们从母亲那里获得的数据和我们通过人工授精添加的基因组学,只繁殖我们需要维持畜群的小牛类型,米兹海姆说. 

The data also helps him gauge cow comfort, which is important to Tillamook County Creamery Association, 米兹海姆卖牛奶的地方. Tillamook致力于繁荣的农场和健康、舒适和多产的奶牛.

Mizée is dedicated to providing the best environment for his cows, too. “You can’t make milk if cows aren’t 舒适的.”

首先是牛奶

Kurt Mizée and most dairy producers in Tillamook County are members of the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA). 自1909年成立以来,他们的高品质牛奶被用于制作特殊的乳制品,帮助合作社建立了稳固的声誉和不断增长的品牌影响力.

TCCA is one of the oldest continuously operating dairy cooperatives in the world. The focus on quality is evident in TCCA’s commitment to stewardship, ensuring the milk used in Tillamook products comes from healthy, 舒适的, 生产的牛. TCCA以慷慨的牛奶价格、质量溢价和农场支持来支持其农场主.

“在TCCA, 从第一批奶农到达蒂拉穆克县的那一天起,我们的传统和对奶牛特殊护理的皇冠hga010安卓二维码就开始了,凯特·洛特说, a veterinarian and director of farm services and engagement, TCCA. “农民正在使用最新的工具和技术来改善奶牛的护理,提高农场的效率. I’m excited about what the future holds, from cow health trackers to new vaccines to advanced equipment.”

Most consumers of Tillamook dairy products are far removed from farms, so TCCA invests in educating consumers about increasingly tech-driven dairy farms. 蒂拉穆克乳品厂于2018年重建,为游客创造更好的教育体验.

Jersey cows have been the face of TCCA since 1958, when Tillie of Tillamook popped up in ads as the creamery’s spokescow. The breed is known to produce milk exceptionally rich in butterfat, and 泽西杂志 泽西岛牛奶的营养密度每年都在增加,尤其是蛋白质.

牛奶, and all the milk TCCA receives from its members and other suppliers, drives the popularity of Tillamook cheeses and extra creamy ice cream and butter.


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