Smart Farming Week: March 10 - 16, 2025
Farm Journal’s Smart Farming Week is an annual week-long emphasis on innovation in agriculture. The goal is to encourage you to explore and prioritize the technology, tools and practices that will help you farm smarter.
In today's rapidly evolving agricultural landscape, more dairies are turning to Smart Farming technology to enhance efficiency, optimize resources, monitor herd health and maximize milk production. The integration of modern technological solutions is transforming traditional dairy farming, providing significant benefits that are reshaping the industry.
When deciding what technology serves your goals, and to get the most bang for your buck, determine if you need to grow business revenue, increase productivity, reduce costs and/or stabilize daily operation.
If you’ve flown internationally recently, you may have had a first-hand experience with facial recognition software.Now that technology has found its way to the dairy parlor.
VES-Artex has recently unveiled a new soaking system, Intelligent Soaker 2.0, which is designed to help alleviate heat stress while significantly reducing water usage on dairy farms.
Technology can give labor productivity a welcomed boost.
Chad Huyser with Lely says often the question isn’t so much if producers want to invest in big technology, the question is more of when. Especially as producers wade through a tough financial dairy outlook.
Integrating new software into your team can feel like a blind date. Worse yet, a speed date followed by an arranged marriage. This shotgun arrangement may not end well.
By integrating complex biosensors technology onto our farms, we are now capable of knowing more about our cows’ bodies than ever before.
The “old” AI (artificial insemination) is intended to land cows in the maternity pen. Now, the “new” AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being engaged to monitor them.
The overall benefits an effective digester system can bring to a farm and community are well worth the labor-intensive attention to detail.
Keeping cows, calves and employees comfortable during the winter months is a balancing act. However finding the right combination between keeping animals warm while also providing adequate air exchange is essential.
Tri-Cross Dairy has recently completed a new renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility with Clean Energy and is expected to supply 1 million gallons of negative carbon-intensity RNG annually.
Chris Szydel began working as a milker at Pagels Ponderosa nearly 30 years ago. Today, he’s the herd manager of both the Pagel Ponderosa and Hilltop Farm dairies and oversees three different parlors and 65 employees.
Producers have embraced technology for their mature herd, and now more dairies and calf ranches are exploring how to use it to streamline management for the youngest members of their herd – calves and heifers.
Success is often shaped by values, found through hardships and the stimulus for momentum. If we learn anything from our 2023 Milk Business Award winners, it’s there is no cookie-cutter formula to achieve success.
New Holland announces its autonomous bailing solution, a new mobile app, as well as a brand refresh with the transition of its haytool styling to a striking yellow.
Shop around if you’re interested in participating in a carbon program. Just make sure you have a learning mindset and a healthy level of skepticism in order to find the right one.
As a new approach to robotic milking for larger dairy operations, DeLaval has announced the launch of their new VMS™ Batch Milking system, a method advancement in robotic milking technology.
Drumgoon Dairy has recently completed a new renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility with Clean Energy and is expected to supply 1.66 million gallons of negative carbon-intensity RNG annually.
Iowa Dairy Association has launched the Dairy Innovation Grant Program, which has been created to increase on-farm dairy processing, reduce farm labor costs, and expand the availability of dairy products for consumers.
A big question on the minds of many decision makers on the dairy is: Should one invest more heavily in hiring highly skilled cow people or in adopting technology that can perform tasks that good cow people could do?
DeLaval has announced the launch of their new, re-designed automated teat sprayer, the DeLaval teat spray robot TSR2.