Today’s Dairy

The Dairy Operation of the 21st Century

The newest facility, which was completed in the summer of 2000, has the capacity to milk 3,000 cows, three times a day.  Approximately 9,000 cows pass through the parlor each day.  This means that 500 cows are milked per hour with only five sets of hands.

At Van Der Geest Dairy, all cows are equipped with collars that have a small, computerized box.  The “mini” computer records milk production, milking time, breeding information, activity and allows automatic sorting of a cow out of the herd.  These are just a few of the technological advancements in the dairy industry that assist in making daily management decisions.

Dairy Manager, Jason Mell collecting data from one of the computers.