Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom organizes and hosts virtual tour of Sarah and Rick Ahlgren's milking robot barn

OCTOBER 29, 2020

Visit Ahlgren Dairy near Darwin, Minnesota.

Darwin, Minnesota, is home to the largest ball of twine, and it’s also the community where Ahlgren Dairy calls home.

Meet dairy farmers Rick and Sarah Ahlgren who recently invested in their farm to add robotic technology. During the tour, learn how the new technology helps their family care for the cows, the environment, and the community to produce a safe, sustainable and nutritious product.

Sarah and Rick Ahlgren show us their milking robots, cows laying on DCC Waterbeds, the feed kitchen and the poop vacuum. Robotics, automation and cow comfort are the highest priorities on the Ahlgren Dairy. They live on the farm with their 6 children in Central Minnesota.

Thank you Sarah and Rick for the tour and Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom for organizing and hosting the virtual tour (Virtual Field Trip-Ahlgren Dairy).

Many thanks to our local dealer, Leedstone, for the continued support of the Ahlgren Dairy Farm.

A few of my favorite sections in the video tour:

4:30min: How do you know when a cow is happy and comfortable?

Rick - "Cows are very friendly and curious....if she laying down chewing her cud, she is healthy and happy."

5:15min: Rick talks about the cows laying down on DCC Waterbeds, and how the water moves with the cow.

31min - Rick and Sarah talk about their favorite part of dairy farming.

What are your favorite parts of the tour?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW82WNeKzuc&fbclid=IwAR1uxWCE4s76kH7pZCXNEcnsQravto0lXx1M-FUtPNXEys3uNC-rl5EH6bo

NY Animal Agriculture Coalition discusses waterbeds for cows with Hemdale Farms in New York

The bedding that farmers utilize on their farms has been something that has been pretty different among the farms we've been visiting. This is interesting because there is no right way to do things on a dairy farm. Instead, farmers focus on what works for them and their cows. The folks at Hemdale Farms in Seneca Castle choose to allow their cows to sleep and relax on waterbeds in their barns. Meet Farmer Dale who will tell you more today.

At the time of Hemdale Farms & Greenhouses' first installation of 300 waterbeds in 2001, it was our largest single farm installation.

With almost 20 years of working together (and additional installation/projects), we're proud of being a part of Hemdale's commitment to long-lasting cow comfort.

"[Waterbeds] are very environmentally friendly...[and] keep the cows very healthy and happy," Farmer Dale said in this NY Animal Agriculture Coalition video.

[Podcast] Anna Hinchley: Designing her own robot barn [PROGRESSIVE DAIRY]

From Progressive Publishing

PROGRESSIVE DAIRY published August 4, 2020

In this episode, we hear from 22-year-old dairy farmer Anna Hinchley. Her desire to return to her family’s dairy in Cambridge, Wisconsin, after graduating prompted her parents to move forward with expanding the herd and upgrading to automated milking. Anna has been involved in every step of the barn design process. Hear about the key features of her robot barn here.

I’m here today with Anna Hinchley at Hinchley’s Dairy Farm near Cambridge, Wisconsin. 

Anna is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she has now returned to the farm to officially begin her career as a dairy farmer. 

But she won’t be milking 140 cows in a 7-cow tie-stall barn like the days of her youth. The Hinchleys constructed an automated milking facility last year with four robots to handle around 240 milking cows. 

Anna was very involved in the design and layout of the facility that she now works in every day.

She is going to give us a deep-dive into the details of this barn design and how it not only leverages efficiency and technology, but also lends to the Hinchley’s long-time agritourism business.

With that, let’s hear from Anna.

New England Dairy visits Freund's Farm, home of CowPots

On July 22, 2020 New England Dairy hosted a live virtual farm tour at Freund's Farm in East Canaan, CT.

You can watch 3rd generation dairy farmer, Amanda Freund, give a tour of her family's farm and talk about how they care for their cows, the land, environment and their community. You'll also have a chance to learn about her dad's invention, CowPots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDxiHFv1o7w&feature=youtu.be