Cashton area farm breaks ground for fully automatic milking system

Dairy Pro Q allows farmers to increase production thanks to being fully automated

CASHTON, Wis. (WKBT) — An area farm is taking advantage of technology that could possibly be the future of dairy farming in America.

Members of the Mlsna dairy farm in Cashton broke ground today on the Dairy Pro Q.

It’s a fully automatic milking system and a first-of-its-kind not only in the US but in all of North America. The 72 stall milking system allows farmers to double their herd and production thanks to a completely automated milking process.

“Certainly there is a lot of work to be down at any dairy farm and that doesn’t change. Whether it’s putting up the crops, taking care of the cows, hauling the manure, those things have to be down everyday still, but at least we are getting more efficient in the application of technology that we use in other industries on dairy farms,” said GEA Farm Technologies CEO Matt Dailey.

The farm has been in the Mlsna family for generations and will soon see a complete change in landscape.

“I see my great uncles here and they talked about clearing this land. All of this stuff basically happened in our life time, it’s pretty chilling. I think of my grandpa, if I he knew our cows were going to get basically milked robotically, it’s pretty overwhelming stuff,” said Mlsna Dairy Farm Co-Owner Nick Mlsna.

The Mlsnsa’s hope to complete the project by next March.