Louis Lab Wins the 2025 IFAMA World Best Case in Brazil
July 3, 2025
By Luis Garcia Covarrubias, PhD
On Thursday, June 6, our team was awarded World Best Case by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) in their Global Conference in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Our case study “Automated Milking Systems: A Challenge and Opportunity for U.S. Midwest Dairy Farmers.” examines the Schmidt family’s decision at Pioneer Farm in the U.S. Midwest: whether or not to adopt Automated Milking Systems (AMS), which are milking robots that can autonomously milk dairy cows.
Dr. Luis Peña-Lévano and Dr. Shaheer Burney represented our team in the global finals at the IFAMA Symposium on June 24 alongside two finalist teams, from Harven Agribusiness School (Brazil), and Austral University (Argentina).
In summary, our case study explains the conundrum faced by farmers: “AMS can potentially increase operational efficiency, reduce labor reliance, and improve milk quality. However, installing AMS requires high upfront costs, maintenance expenses, and adjustments to farm management practices, making it a challenging and crucial decision for small and mid-sized dairy operations.”.
During the 40-minute workshop, Dr. Peña-Lévano and Dr. Burney presented the major key points of the study, engaging the audience to act as consultants, explaining the pros and cons of adopting AMS, and finally, providing the decision taken by the farm. The goal of the workshop was to highlight how this case study “offers valuable lessons for policymakers and educators, contributing to the ongoing discourse on technological innovation in agriculture.”.
“Engaging students in the decision-making process of adopting new technologies in the farm gives them valuable insights into the opportunities and trade-offs associated with technological innovation in the U.S. Midwest dairy industry.”
The announcement of the award was given during the Conference Dinner on Thursday June 26, with Dr. Peña-Lévano receiving the award and diploma, together with our Creative Project Manager Victor Queirolo.
We’re incredibly proud of this achievement, as this award reflects our multidisciplinary and multistate teamwork with Louis Lab Partners. This case study was written by Dr. Peña- Lévano (UC Davis) who visited the dairy farm and led the overall project, Dr. Burney (UW- River Falls) who helped in the data collection and led the financial analysis, Prof. Jim Salfer (University of Minnesota) contacted the farmer and shared his experience with robotic milking in the Midwest, Dr. Jennifer Clark (University of Florida) co-wrote the teaching objectives and teaching notes, Dr. Luis Garcia-Covarrubias (UC Davis) developed the financial projections and NPV as well as contributed in the literature review of the case, and Prof. Cesar Escalante (University of Georgia) provide insights into the role of labor when adopting AMS.
Huge thanks also to our Louis Lab Media, Design, and IT team, Victor Queirolo who developed the design of the documents, logos and characters, Jose Briceño who was the specialist in the animations and PPT development, and Pedro Saravia, who helped in the edits of the AMS video and formatting of financial budgets. Their creative input undoubtedly improved the final product and made it stand out!
Finally, our sincere appreciation to all attendees, judges, and peer reviewers who made thisyear’s IFAMA Conference such a memorable and rewarding experience.
Interested in reading our case study and our presentation? Please click below to download it