Take a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Latest Dairy Technologies during PDP Farm Tours

PDP Innovation & Technology Farm Tours set for August 21, 22

New technologies and innovations have the potential to boost dairy productivity and animal well-being in nearly every aspect of dairy farming, but it can be challenging to decide which is the best fit for your operation. The 2024 PDP Innovation & Technology Farm Tours offer a chance to see new technologies in action and hear firsthand from the forward-thinking dairy producers who have been working with them.

The 2024 PDP Innovation & Technology Farm Tours will be held on August 21 and August 22 in Colby, Wis., and Berlin, Wis., respectively. Join dairy producers and industry professionals for conversations and behind-the-scenes tours with the latest in robotic milking, activity and rumination monitors, barn and facility designs, sand separation facilities and more.

Tours will be held at two Wisconsin dairy farms:

Haas Dairy, owned and operated by Jeremy and Katie Haas and family, 224547 Dill Creek Lane, Colby, Wis., will open their doors from 1 to 4pm on Wednesday, August 21. They milk 200 cows in four DeLaval VMS V300 robotic milking units in a guided flow, milk first layout.  A DeLaval Herd Navigator™ 100 is integrated into the VMS V300 to monitor progesterone levels, and they utilize Cow Manager^® for activity and rumination. Cows are housed in a cross-ventilated, sand-bedded barn constructed in 2016.

Trillium Hill Farm, owned and operated by David & Julie Jones, Mike & Chelsey Jones and family, and Ben & Samantha Jones and family, N8273 County Rd. F, Berlin, Wis., will host a tour from 1pm to 4pm on Thursday, August 22. The dairy’s 1,800 cows are milked three times a day in a double-24 parlor, with an average production of 102 pounds per day and 100,000 SC.  A Stjernholm sand separator allows for reclamation of 99 percent of all sand used, and the innovative feed-pad design enables 95 percent of all rainwater to drain from feed pads will simultaneously collecting all leachate from feed piles.

Tours will begin and end at each farm location; attendees are encouraged to carpool to each event. Registration information and more details are available at www.pdpw.org

Or contact PDP at 800-947-7379.

Up to three Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per tour are available from Dairy AdvanCE.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”