Mooooo-ving milk Technology keeps Coral Hill Dairy’s cows happy and healthy

Story by PATRICK SMITH

Today, many of us carry around smartphones thousands of times more powerful than the computers used to put Americans on the moon. As technology becomes more ubiquitous for everyday tasks, it’s also becoming standard to help farming operations run as efficiently and effectively as possible.

One such farm that takes advantage of technological advancements is Coral Hill Dairy in Hiseville. With more than 1,700 Holstein cows, 1,100 acres of land and 25 employees, the family-owned operation depends on technology to keep its cows healthy as they’re milked three times a day.

“Wi-Fi used to be a luxury,” says SCRTC Technician Chris Emerson. “It was nice if you had it, but if you didn’t, it was no big deal. Today, one of the biggest challenges we have is that a lot of the farming equipment requires Wi-Fi to properly operate.”

Coral Hill Dairy uses technology to monitor the cows with a Wi-Fi-enabled collar.

“It’s kind of like a Fitbit for cows,” says Megan Komar, who co-owns the farm with her husband, Josh, and father-in-law, Billy.

“The collars track the activity of the cows and tell us how much milk they gave, how much they’re eating, their temperature, it recognizes if they’re not feeling well and more. Our milking parlor runs off Wi-Fi, and we get all of the records straight to our computer so we know how our cows are doing each day.”

Coral Hill Dairy contributes to make milk the eighth most-valuable product made throughout the state, according to a 2021 Kentucky Department of Agriculture news release. More than 47,000 cows across the Bluegrass State produce about 109 million gallons of milk each year.

Three Truckloads A Day

While consumers often measure milk by the gallon, dairy farmers measure it by the pound.

“There are about 8.6 pounds of milk in a gallon,” Megan says. “On average our cows each produce about 95 pounds of milk per day, so we’re typically shipping about 155,000 pounds of milk.”

Without any on-farm milk storage, it’s almost immediately on the road to nearby manufacturing facilities.

“Once it comes out of the cow, it goes through a chiller to take the milk from about 101 degrees to 34-36 degrees. Then it goes through the sampling system,” Megan says. “The sampling system is pretty important because each load will be tested at the milk plant to make sure it’s antibiotic free. They’ll also do temperature checks and measure how much fat is in it.”

The milk, typically three semitruck loads per day, is most often shipped to dairies in Nashville and Athens, Tennessee.

Healthier Cows With Telecommunications

Coral Hill Dairy has consistently maintained a steady number of cows on the farm. That’s not the case nationwide, as there are fewer cows now, yet they’re producing more milk. “We produce more milk because of the technology,” Megan says. “We’re able to make the cows as happy and comfortable as possible, without actually intervening as much, so that allows them to stay on their schedule and it allows us to get more milk per cow.”

The technology also helps keep the cows healthy for veterinarian visits. “It used to take me two days to get everything ready for the veterinarian visit,” Megan says. “I’d go through papers and figure out which cows need to be seen each week. Now, because of Wi-Fi in the barns, I have real-time information through my tablet, and I can type in a number and know everything that’s ever happened to that cow since the day she was born.”

To enable fast broadband across the farm, Coral Hill Dairy uses point-to-point connections from SCRTC. “Point-to-point service is necessary for Wi-Fi to reach the entire farm property,” says Chris. “Pointto-point creates a dedicated, proprietary link so the Wi-Fi technology and devices can operate at ultra-high speeds.”

Life On The Farm

Working as a 24/7 operation, Coral Hill Dairy never sleeps. “We’re shut down three hours a day to clean,” Megan says. “Cows are creatures of habit, so they want a good, consistent schedule. Our cows get milked every eight hours, and someone’s always on the farm. We also have to feed the cows twice a day. That process normally starts at 4:30 a.m. and doesn’t end until 4:30 p.m. We feed the cows all day long. It’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet. There should always be food for them, so it can’t run out.”

Despite the constantly on-the-go schedule, Megan is grateful for life on the farm.

“We’re blessed with amazing employees,” she says. “It’s a joyful experience. I get to eat lunch with my husband and my father-in-law every day. There’s so many rewards to raising your kids like this on the farm. Those experiences make up for the very late nights and early mornings. Sometimes it can be a little stressful, but it’s definitely all worth it.”