U.S. dairies have been experiencing a somewhat increasing rate of adoption of automated (robotic) systems for their production operations. Nonetheless, the rate of adoption has not been similar among the different major "dairy" states. In the case of Idaho, dairy producers still have much to learn and understand about evaluation and potential adoption of robotic systems as well as of its management, given a recent survey indicating only about 10 percent of dairy producers have adopted this technology.
This project delivered workshops at three different locations in Idaho, providing broad educational material to dairy farmers and stakeholders on the benefits and drawbacks of automated systems in dairy farming. Education encompassed two main automated systems used in production operations: (i) automated milking systems (AMS) and (ii) automated calf-feeder systems (ACF). The participants were expected to understand and evaluate them on matters of production risk and financial risk. In addition, the educational material presented has also been posted online as webinar modules.