Iowa, U.S.A.
Robotic milking machines are becoming increasingly popular on medium-size dairies, like this 400-cow family farm in Iowa, which traded a million dollars for the cost and difficulty of finding reliable labor in their rural area. Cows in the voluntary milking system have a transponder in their collar to identify the animal and communicate adjustments for the configuration of their teats, before automated cleaning, attachment, milking, and disinfecting. The system records the amount of milk from each teat, plus milk temperature and conductivity to gauge quality and udder health. The cows seemed to like it, and most chose to have a rotary brushing after each milking.
