Labor Demand in Beef x Dairy Farms

Financial Feasibility of Adopting Automated Milking Systems by Dairy Farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

             Funded by:

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Labor issues in livestock production

Automated Milking Systems (AMS) are milking robots. Each robot can autonomously milk between 60 and 70 cows per day. AMS technology enables cows to be milked voluntarily two to four times daily, depending on the system settings (previously set by the farmer) and the cow’s health indicators.

Beef x Dairy Systems

This reel shows the three steps (preparation, milking, cleaning) used by milking robots in order to milk each cow. As shown, the process can take between 3-5 minutes.

View Infographic steps
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What is our project addressing?

Wisconsin and Minnesota dairies are primarily small and medium-scale family-owned dairy farms. They rely heavily on family members to accomplish farm daily activities. Farmers may also hire agricultural workers, with labor representing 20-30% of the total production cost. However, retaining farm workers is a major challenge for dairy enterprises. AMS offers an alternative by automating labor-intensive tasks and improving farm efficiency.

Potential Benefits

  • Reduce labor-intensive tasks such as milking and cleaning equipment.
  • Potential improvement in milk yield and animal welfare.
  • Decrease the need for manually tracking milk yield.

Challenges

  • High upfront investment
  • It may require changes in the barn infrastructure
  • Maintenance and repair cost
  • Requires nearby technical assistance
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Goal of the Project

Assess the financial sustainability and environmental implications of AMS adoption in Wisconsin and Minnesota dairy farms.

Survey and Visits

Surveys, choices experiments,
and farm visits

Publications

Journal articles, briefs, bulletins, and reports

Extension Outreach

Workshops, webinars, reels, and podcasts

Our Team

Meet the team members of our project
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Cesar Escalante, Ph.D.

Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics

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Shaheer Burney, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Agrobusiness & Director of the Survey Research Center

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Luis Pena-Lévano, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in Dairy Economics

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Alejandro Gutierrez-Li

Assistant Professor & Extension Economist

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Grace Melo, Ph,D.

Assistant Professor Ag Economics

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Prof. James Salfer

Extension Professor of Dairy Education

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