The largest dairy operation in Quebec (and top 5 in Canada) was having an open doors day today, so I decided to go.  It is definitely a very impressive and unique operation.  They milk a total of 1040 cows, with a dairy quota of 1175 kg of fat per day.  They have a grand total of 2400 heads. Average production per head is above 10000 litres per year. Their daily production is in the neighbourhood of 35000 litres per day, all trucked with their own truck.  They get paid ~CAD 72 per 100 litres.  One special thing is that 65% of their production is kosher.  They have a rabbi come every morning and give a “blessing” to the milk produced, as well as the cows and feed.  I guess they get a small kosher premium as well.

Another unique thing with this farm is that it is the largest robotized farm in the world.  All 1040 cows are milked using a “fleet” of 19 Lely Astronaut A3 Next milking robots.  In addition, they have two Lely Juno feed pusher robots, and some automated feeding system for the calf barns.  On average, they get 2.9 milkings per day per head, with an additional 1.6 “rejected milkings” (too soon to be milked, so cow goes through robot without stopping).  

Ferme Landrynoise farms 4000 acres of corn, alfalfa, beans and small grains to meet the needs of the herd.  Silage is stored in massive bunkers, and a Cat payloader takes care of loading the TMR mixed.  They have a Houle manure separator, they reuse the solids for bedding, and liquid goes out to a couple of lagoons.  Total 19 employees.  Let me know if you have any question, I’ll try to answer.

EDIT: Direct link to the Photobucket album, since I'm already going over bandwidth limit: http://s740.photobucket.com/albums/xx47/nickdubuc3/Ferme%20Landrynoise/

Kosher milk, it’s written on the tank!

Part of the farm site

Lely Astronaut A3 Next milking robots… there’s 19 of them in 2 barns

Lely Juno feed pusher is at the docking station to recharge

Soap and other chemicals dispenser

The “control tower” in barn 2: operator sits above the robots and sees everything that’s going on in the barn

Dairy barn # 2

Two of the milk storage tanks

One of the heifer / calving / dry cows barn

Demo Houle manure separator… they have the same one in operation

Solids pile and one lagoon

Cat payloader and the bunkers

The mixer

Siloking self-propelled mixer on display… sweet!

New Holland FR 9060 chopper with duals and 6 metres Kemper head

Case IH 2388 + chopper

New Holland windrower (x2)

The Deere fleet: 9520, 8345R and 8225R

Look at that Krone tedder!

The blue fleet… 4 TG 305, a few T7000s, 3 Houle 7800 imp gallon tankers.