Organic and robotic

It’s not a typical combination — organic and robotic, that is. But it is the defining characteristics of Village Edge Farms in Nelson, Wis. where organic is high-tech, too. Located along the Mississippi River in west central Wisconsin, the farm is operated by brothers Greg and Dennis Hetrick. Greg says they became interested in robots because they were “tired of milking cows.”

Just last week, we visited Village Edge Farms as part of a bus tour organized by Lely of farms using robotic milking in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Village Edge installed one robot in January of 2009 and one in April of 2009. Though most farmers at each tour stop conceded that the first few days of the robotic setup were challenging for cow training, and nutrition can be a delicate balance when you are offering a high-energy pellet to entice cows into the unit, “I know my cows better now than before,” Greg Hetrick says. The transition allowed Hetrick to get to know cows not just by their udder through a small view in their old parlor. Hetrick now spends more time working closely with individual cows because of the overwhelming amount of information the robotic units tell you about each cow’s health and performance. Milk weights, each quarter’s conductivity, and even the weight of each cow is recorded every time they are milked. The next challenge for the farm: combining robotic cow flow with summer organic grazing. Greg Hetrick is shown in the photo at right sharing with other producers on the tour about his experiences.