Oklahoma State University to break ground on new Robotic Milking and Visitor Center

Robotic Milking and Visitor Center

Oklahoma State University will soon be breaking ground on the new robotic milking parlor and visitor center at the Ferguson Family Dairy Center. This is stage two of ongoing upgrades that will increase awareness of dairy production and advances in the industry, as well as increase opportunities for teaching, research, and Extension outreach. The project will take approximately one year to complete.

The new facilities for the robotic milker will be built on the south side of the current freestall barn. The north side of the barn will stay dedicated to research. The robotic milker is designed to be able to milk both Jerseys and Holsteins, and will be one of the first robotic milkers installed in the Southwest region of the U.S.

Design for the OSU Robotic Milking and Visitor Center

Rendering created by GH2 Architects

“The robotic milker is a DeLaval VMS V300 with camera guided milking units,”said Leon Spicer, animal science professor and faculty supervisor for the OSU dairy. “It allows each cow to be milked according to her individual needs. The number of visits a cow makes to the robot each day averages about three.”

The new facility and equipment will allow for additional student training opportunities and create a space for both youth and dairy professionals to visit the dairy center. Schools conduct field trips to the OSU dairy each year, and dairy industry professionals will often tour the facility to learn more about incorporating the newest technological advances in an Oklahoma dairy operation.

Design of OSU Robotic Milking and Visitor Center interior

Rendering created by GH2 Architects

The visitor center will create a safe and weather-proof environment for observing new farming techniques through viewing windows, such as milking dairy cows robotically. A robotic milking system can provide several benefits for a dairy herdsman, including less time spent milking cows, a decrease in labor costs, and an increase in milk production. “The visitor center will be able to hold 40 visitors at a time to watch and learn about dairy farming and the dairy industry, as well as learn how robotic milking systems work,” said Spicer.

In addition to the Extension aspects this new center brings, the faculty and staff within the OSU Department of Animal and Food Sciences are excited they will be able to teach and train students with the same state-of-the-art equipment used by modern dairies.

“The new robotic milking parlor will provide students with valuable hands-on experiences with robotic milking of cows, as well as provide dairyman of Oklahoma an example of the use of a robotic milking system,” said Spicer. “It will also provide an additional resource for research projects for AFS faculty.”

By Rebekah Alford

About the OSU Ferguson Family Dairy Center

Located on the corner of North Western Road and McElroy Road in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the OSU Ferguson Family Dairy Center provides hands-on experiences and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. These experiences are significantly enhanced by the close proximity of teaching and research facilities to the OSU dairy farm.

The dairy herd consists of approximately 60 Holstein cows and 40 Jersey cows that are currently milked twice daily. The entire milking herd is housed in the new freestall barn using sand bedding. Cows are fed a total mixed ration containing alfalfa hay, whole cottonseed, and concentrate (including corn grain). Waste management system utilizes a pop-up flushing system with a solids separator and sand settling lane for sand recycling.

Jersey cow eating hay inside the OSU freestall barn

Photo by Rebekah Alford

The milking facility is a double-six herringbone parlor with automated cow identification, milk yield recording, and milking unit detachers. The facility produces around 2,200,000 pounds of milk a year. Holsteins average 70 pounds of milk per day with 4% fat test whereas Jersey cows average 45 pounds of milk per day with 5% fat test.

The freestall barn was finished in December of 2017 and features designated pre-fresh, maternity, fresh, and calf managing areas. The freestall barn includes an Insentec feeding system, with 16 feeders and two waterers. This system can record the feed and water intake for up to 32 cows. A data center collects information from the Insentec system daily. Helms Hall, student housing, was also completed in 2017 to provide student workers with modern, comfortable living. The former bull barn currently provides stalls for individual feeding or penning of cows who may need isolation or attention for health purposes, or which may be used in research, embryo transfer, or cooperative work with the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

The dairy encompasses approximately 300 acres of pasture with an additional 80 acres of tillable land nearby. Research currently being conducted at the dairy includes ruminant nutrition, reproductive physiology, and health and wellbeing of dairy cattle. Also of notable mention, the Oklahoma State University Dairy Science Club was established in 1924 and is the oldest existing Dairy Science Club in the United States.