Progress Around the Farm

Well, I promised to share a post today about our big farm project.  We are well into getting ready for the robots to be delivered and we hope they will be dropped off soon.  But until then I want to share some of the progress we have made since building started.

These are two of the before photos for the barn.  These are showing the areas that the robots will be going.  We will have two sets of two robots in the areas.

What one part of the barn looked like before we started the project. Two robots will be here.

This is what the barn looked like before the project began on the other side of the barn. Two robots will go there too.

Even the Lely guys helped with cement!!

Two of the Lely salesmen even helped out during concrete time!

As you can see there’s been a lot of progress on both spots!

Concrete being poured for two of the robots to set.

Two Lely A4 milking robots will sit in this part of our barn.

We got a great gift from the Lely crew.  They were very welcomed after a long week on the farm.

SugarHigh Bakery in Frankenmuth, Michigan made some great cupcakes for us with the Lely logo and the inbody, Inc. logo.

For those of you who are wondering, or if you are a dairy farmer and want to know, our Lely dealer is Inbody, Inc. from Sandusky, Michigan.  We highly recommend woking with them, they have a wonderful crew and we cannot wait to show off the job that they are doing.  Also, our builders are Pawlowski Construction from Port Hope, Michigan and again, those guys are amazing!  We love working with them and suggest using them if you are in the area.

An Everyday Farmer

I promise, I have a real post coming tomorrow.  But for today I have a video to share.  This comes from a group from the United Kingdom.  Let me tell you, I love the U.K.  It’s been far too long since I’ve visited so if someone wants to send more a visit I will gladly accept.

If you want to learn more about farming in the U.K. http://www.thisisdairyfarming.com is a wonderful reference!  I have checked it out and it’s a wonderful resource.

Dairy Innovation with Technology

Today, the farm is living up to the name I have on the blog.  I like to think I grew up on an innovative farm, with parents who liked to push the envelope and think uniquely about challenges.  Two weeks ago when we started our newest project I think we have really pushed the envelope.

I am so excited to share this news with all of you.  We have started renovating the farm to get ready for our milking robots!  That’s right, in a few months we will be shutting the power off to our parlor forever and robots will be milking our cows. Talk about cool and exciting news!

Two Lely A4 milking robots will sit in this part of our barn.

Our family will be installing 4 Lely A4 robots and we are very happy to have started this project. This will allow us to have some flexibility in our lives and we should be able to milk our cows with only one employee.  If you want to learn more about our brand of robots you can check out the Lely brand on their website or their Facebook page.

It’s going to take us a while to get the robots and get them working and hooked up but we are trying to move this project along quickly.  I cannot wait to share how they work!  One of the coolest parts of it is I remember years ago when we milked in our stanchions.  I was too young to help milk but I remember my parents milking while I played in the barn.

This is where it all began with me! The memories with the family.

I obviously know what it’s like to milk in our parlor, seeing as I’ve helped since I was a kid.  And now I get to see to see and be a part of the third step.  I get to give this to the future generations on the farm with help from my parents.

Until then, I want to share with you this video.  This is of a farm in Indiana that I visited a while ago.  They are wonderful dairy farmers and have done a wonderful job with their Lely Robots.  When you watch the video, they have Holsteins and Brown Swiss cows, which we don’t have any Brown Swiss so make sure to check out their cuteness too!

Decluttering at It’s Best

Let’s face it, we all have this problem.  What do you do with all of those warranties and information books on products, appliances, electronics, blah blah blah.  Although you don’t use them often at all, they come in extremely handy when you need them.  Nothing is more annoying than when you cannot remember where you put that warranty information.

Talk about embarrassing! Honestly, I am disgusted with myself.