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SW Wisconsin | From what I hear robotic milkers might cut 50% of the labor from milking, but doesn’t save labor elsewhere, and as far as overall dollar efficiency most of what you gain in labor savings is lost in higher energy and repair costs. My understanding is that people who switch to robots are doing so not because it’s more economical but because they don’t have to hassle with as much hired labor. There have been significant efficiency gains from genetics, and some from ration. Dairy might be close to twice as efficient as 40 years ago, but not more than that. About a year ago some “experts” came out with predictions that in 30 years the average dairy cow will be producing 75,000 lbs of milk/year. There are a few cows that have done that, but if you run the numbers on feed efficiency that’s just not a sustainable rate. At some point you just run into a thermodynamic wall, and we’re getting close to it. | |
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10 Rules to Live By
