Colliers’ fully-automated dairy to be focus of Thursday gathering
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T&K Dairies of Snyder will highlight its fully-automated operation during Southwest Dairy Days, an event that spotlights new technologies and issues in the industry. Among T&K’s modern features is a robotic feed pusher, which keeps feed within easy reach of the cows -
Among T&K’s modern features are waterbeds, which allow cows to relax in comfort. -
Lauren Collier of T&K Dairy checked a readout at one of the farm’s 18 automated milking stations Friday.
The future of dairy farming will be on display in Snyder on Thursday.
Long gone are the days of manually milking cows. Even mechanized milking might soon be obsolete, if T&K Dairy is any indication.
T&K, owned and operated by Will and Lauren Collier, is the first fully automated dairy farm in Texas and that automation will be on display at Thursday’s Southwest Dairy Days, an annual event that highlights new technologies and addresses issues of concern in the industry.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. and will feature tours and exhibits. It concludes at 3 p.m.
Robotics are nothing new in dairy farming, but the extent to which they are used at T&K is unique in Texas. It is a truism in the industry that a happy cow produces more milk and the local dairy features technologies that are designed to keep its cows as content as possible.
There are stationary milking robots that the cows use at their convenience, giant overhead fans to cool down the barn when the temperatures get too warm, robotic feed pushers that keep the cows’ food easily within their reach, ventilation and manure management systems and even water beds for the cows to relax upon.
“It’s all for the cows’ comfort,” Will Collier said. “A comfortable cow produces more milk.”
The barn features 18 robotic milking stations. The cows walk up to a station, which automatically attaches milkers to the cow’s udders. It also reads a tag on a collar around the cow’s neck, allowing workers to determine which cow was milked when, how much milk it produced and even provides a health update, along with other information.
The feed pushers, which resemble giant-sized Roombas, patrol up and down the rows of stalls, gently pushing the feed back within easy reach of the cows.
And then there are the waterbeds, which were not a big hit with the cows at first.
“When we first installed them, they were all black and shiny and the cows didn’t like them,” Lauren Collier said. “Once we covered them with dirt and some manure, the cows began using them more.”
Another pampering feature is an automated back scratcher, which activates when the cow walks under the rollers.
The Colliers updated one of their two barns to fully automated status two months ago and, while it is too early to provide statistics, Will Collier believes it will lead to an increase in milk production of between 10-15 percent.
With the scarcity of qualified dairy hands, the technological upgrade won’t be a threat to employment levels at the farm.
“We’re not looking to get rid of anybody,” Lauren Collier said. “But it’s getting harder and harder to find qualified replacements when someone quits.”