Schmidt Dairy -- Woodstock, Minn.

This 250-cow dairy has a new slatted floor freestall pit barn designed by Wieser Concrete and a double 12 BouMatic  basement parlor.  The insulated and naturally ventilated pit barn has reduced equipment maintenance and labor costs, as there is very little manure handling, says Arlan Schmidt, who operates the dairy with his wife, Lois, and daughter and son-in-law Jody and Jeff Schaap. The dairy utilizes water beds as well as Kraiberg mats in the new barn. The new facilities have worked so well that they are planning to expand in the near future.

Pictures from the tour below. Click on Each picture to see a larger view.