Outstanding Farm Feature The Matthews family, with Paul Berdell, fourth from left, watches as “Polly” leaves the robotic milker stall after being milked. Since installing the fully automated milker last year, the Matthews family has been impressed with its labor-saving performance and the cows’ ability to adapt to volunteer milking. Milky Way Farm Survives In Suburbia Matthews Family Welcomes Labor-Saving Technology, Public DAVELEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff CHESTER SPRINGS (Chester Co.) Travelers getting off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Chester Springs are greeted by housing developments, strip malls, and traffic jams. Nothing about it looks much like farming coun try. But look closer. There’s a thriving dairy farm about a mile up the road. And the people who own and operate it don’t view their neighbors as a nui sance, they see them as customers. That’s how the Matthews family of Milky Way Farm has transitioned their dairy into the 21st cen tury they’ve adapted to the changes happening around them and are profiting from it. In the past two and half years, the Matthews have taken two big steps. They built Chester Springs Creamery, a store on the farm for selling ice cream. And last year they installed a robotic milker. Both moves were intended to keep the farm in op eration for the younger generation and beyond. Matthew Eaglehouse leads a calf with the help of his aunt, Jane Matthews. Tom Matthews is in the background. Photos by Dave Lefever
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