Central Plains Dairy Expo - Virtual Tour

2014 Virtual Tours

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2013 Virtual Tours

Dockendorf Dairy, Watkins, Minn.

Sponsor: Lely

When Steve and Lori Dockendorf‘s two eldest children were preparing to leave for college, they knew they would have to make some changes to become more labor efficient. The idea of using robots was an exciting one for the Dockendorfs, but it took them over three years of research, planning and building to fully implement the changes. The family toured over a dozen dairies in the Midwest for ideas on types of robots and new barn construction. In the summer of 2011, the cows were moved into a cross-ventilation barn complete with waterbeds and robotic milkers. Currently, the 130 cow herd, with a rolling herd average of 25,000 pounds, is milked by two robots. The cows are milked an average of three times a day. The Dockendorfs not only have robotic milkers, they also have a robotic feed pusher and a robotic barn cleaner that run hourly.

United Pride Dairy, Phillips, Wis.

Sponsor: Stewart-Peterson

Nearly 15 years ago, the Pesko and Jasurda families made a bold move and combined their neighboring dairies. Today, Jon and Sherry Pesko partner with Ed and Lori Jasurda in a very diversified dairy operation. Since 1996, the facilities have been expanded incrementally to create opportunities for additional family members and employees to join the dairy. United Pride Dairy is now home to 1,800 cows that are milked in a 60-cow rotary parlor and have a rolling herd average of 29,218 pounds. United Pride Dairy uses a consistent and disciplined approach to hedging feed and marketing milk, which has protected their assets and helped them deal with fluctuating milk and feed prices. They maintain a strong equity position which enabled them to expand with optimism. Both partners are grooming next generation family members as they assume more management responsibilities.