Got Milk?
The future described in many science fiction shows such as The Jetsons may not be as far fetched as you think with the many advancements being made in agriculture lately. Modern agriculture is making extraordinary improvements to produce enough food to meet consumer demand in the past 70 years; in 1940 a farmer could feed 19 people, and now a farmer can feed 155 people (Briefing on the Status). This is done with the help of more and more automation, but farming still requires extensive labor until most recently. Automated farming could impact agriculture by altering the way farms operate, affecting almost every aspect of dairy farming and grain farming.
One effect of automation on dairy farms is increased milk production. Many …show more content…
Robot milkers provide a supplement of nutrients needed for top milk production instead of feeding that on the bunk. This allows cows of higher milk production to receive more supplement and cows that do not produce as much to receive less compared to it being fed on the bunk with the silage where all cows receive the same amount regardless of production. This keeps feed bills down on farms with robots because all other feedstuffs can be grown by the farmer, but supplement must be purchased. Another way feed costs are lowered is using automatic calf feeders. They can provide a specialized feeding program for every calf, feeding the correct amount of milk replacer. Feed is by far the largest operating expense on livestock farms and automation has proven it is more efficient than previous …show more content…
Robot milkers exceed $200,000 and only milk 60 cows, so every increment of 60 cows, another robot must be purchased. Traditional milking parlors do not require expansion to milk larger amounts of cows, while more cows will transition into longer milking times, but not thousands of dollars. You may see an increase in dairy prices if all farms bought robots, but over time it may save money on labor and increase production, hence lowering dairy prices. Autonomous tractors are not readily available yet so prices are not released, but based on prices of other new machinery, one can imagine it being anything but cheap. Automated farming will require a large upfront cost, will save money overtime from reduced labor and increased production, so price may spike up for a period of time then get lower over
The future described in many science fiction shows such as The Jetsons may not be as far fetched as you think with the many advancements being made in agriculture lately. Modern agriculture is making extraordinary improvements to produce enough food to meet consumer demand in the past 70 years; in 1940 a farmer could feed 19 people, and now a farmer can feed 155 people (Briefing on the Status). This is done with the help of more and more automation, but farming still requires extensive labor until most recently. Automated farming could impact agriculture by altering the way farms operate, affecting almost every aspect of dairy farming and grain farming.
One effect of automation on dairy farms is increased milk production. Many …show more content…
Robot milkers provide a supplement of nutrients needed for top milk production instead of feeding that on the bunk. This allows cows of higher milk production to receive more supplement and cows that do not produce as much to receive less compared to it being fed on the bunk with the silage where all cows receive the same amount regardless of production. This keeps feed bills down on farms with robots because all other feedstuffs can be grown by the farmer, but supplement must be purchased. Another way feed costs are lowered is using automatic calf feeders. They can provide a specialized feeding program for every calf, feeding the correct amount of milk replacer. Feed is by far the largest operating expense on livestock farms and automation has proven it is more efficient than previous …show more content…
Robot milkers exceed $200,000 and only milk 60 cows, so every increment of 60 cows, another robot must be purchased. Traditional milking parlors do not require expansion to milk larger amounts of cows, while more cows will transition into longer milking times, but not thousands of dollars. You may see an increase in dairy prices if all farms bought robots, but over time it may save money on labor and increase production, hence lowering dairy prices. Autonomous tractors are not readily available yet so prices are not released, but based on prices of other new machinery, one can imagine it being anything but cheap. Automated farming will require a large upfront cost, will save money overtime from reduced labor and increased production, so price may spike up for a period of time then get lower over