New Technology Highlighted At Lancaster Dairy Days
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
(Lancaster Co.) Infrared
technology and robotic milkers
were two of the topics discussed
during the first session of T an,
caster County Dairy Days, held
this Tuesday at the Lancaster
County Farm & Home Center.
250 people attended the six
hour meeting, and 23 companies
exhibited during the day. The
meeting focused on new technol
ogy and management practices
that can help farmers survive
and thrive in the 21st century.
Tuesday’s speakers included
Leon Russler, Lancaster County
Extension Agent; Brad Hilty,
owner and chief consultant of
PLS Agri-Management Associ
ates; Dr. Ken Bailey, Penn State
University dairy marketing spe
cialist; and Brian Reed, DVM,
Agricultural Veterinary Associ
ates.
Lancaster County Dairy Ex
tension Agent Glen Shirk led the
meeting and showed two videos
from the Dairy Stakeholders As
sociation before the morning
and afternoon sessions began.
The two videos included Milk: It
Does The Economy Good and
Harnessing The Forces.
This article focuses on both
Russler’s and Reed’s presenta
tion, while additional articles
will review discussions led by
Hilty and Bailey.
In 1999, facing the worst
drought in years, many farmers
were forced to drill new wells.
The first step in drilling a new
well is finding the well, which
can be difficult. Russler re-
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viewed infrared photography
and its capabilities to detect
water sources in fields.
The infrared photograph can
either be taken by a satellite or
an aircraft. Russler recom
mended taking the picture from
an aircraft because you can get a
better picture of a smaller area.
Russler showed several pic
tures of farms taken with infra
red technology this summer.
The areas that appeared red on
the photo identified where the
plant cover was the greenest.
Breaks in the red indicated
areas where the bedrock neared
the surface.
“The redder circles in the
field wouldn’t be a good place to
build a foundation for your new
barn,” said Russler. That’s be
cause the red circles point to po
tential future sinkholes.
“If you live in Lancaster
County, you can go to the GIS
department and ask them to
take the photo images,” said
Russler. “If you’re drilling a
well, the infrared photograph is
a good thing to start with.”
The Geographic Information
System (GIS) office will provide
an infrared photograph of any
farm in Lancaster County for
free.
Reed introduced robotic milk
ers to the group. Robotic milkers
have already been operating
successfully for four to five years
in Europe.
“Today I just want to expose
farmers to the idea of a robotic
milker,” said Reed. “They’re
not for everyone, but they can
and do work.”
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Speakers at this Tuesday’s Lancaster County Dairy Days are from left Brian
Reed, Dr. Ken Bailey, Brad Hilty, and Leon Russler with Lancaster County Dairy
Extension Agent Glen Shirk.
According to Reed, more than
400 units were in operation in
Europe as of six months ago.
The first one in Canada was in
stalled in March of 1999.
In the United States, the units
are ready to go and waiting for
approval from the Food & Drug
Administration (FDA). Reed ex
pects the first two models will
begin operation in 2000. Those
units include the Universal Pro
lion (also referred to as the AMS
and the Miros) and the Lely As
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“ Because of the service re
quirements, the companies will
install pockets of robotic milkers
so they don’t have to travel miles
and miles to service one milker,”
said Reed. Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin are the two areas
where the robotic milkers are
first expected to appear.
The keys to making robotic
milkers work on a dairy opera
tion include the following: hous
ing and feeding design must
allow access to robot, automatic
ID system is crucial, an ad-
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vanced monitoring and com
puter system is necessary, and
the farmer’s management re
quirements must increase.
“The robotic milkers work
best in smaller herds of between
60 and 120 cows,” said Reed.
“They’ll work best in situation
where the farm needs a new
milking system anyway. They
will work the worst in farms
where the parlor efficiency is
best, milking three times a day is
already occurring, and the cur
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