Fall 2020 Newsletter

Got Milk? Robotic Dairy and Visitor Center Comes to Fair Oaks, IN

When you reach for that carton of milk in your refrigerator, do you know where it comes from? The Hamstra Group recently completed a state-of-the-art robotic dairy and visitor center in Fair Oaks, Indiana. This 116,000-squarefoot facility houses Fair Oaks Farms’ entire robotic milking line, which is visible to those in the attached 6,000-square-foot visitor center. This bio-secure center, sponsored by De Laval, gives visitors full visual access to the cows’ routines, whether they’re in the robots or roaming in the relaxation and feed lane.

The farm has twelve V300 De Laval robotic milkers, the most advanced iteration, allowing up to 75 cows to be milked per robot. Fair Oaks’ unique cow management system allows for the cows to choose when to be milked—or when to simply relax and eat. The facility features roof coverings from WeCover that provide ample natural light throughout. The ventilation system is also very specific for this dairy farm.

Through extensive analytics, Fair Oaks is able to provide the best living environment for the cows, all while studying feeding patterns, milk quality, and production. What the farm has found is their dairy cows are peaking higher in their milk production cycle by 5-7% and they’re also experiencing a 33% reduction in farm labor…