With the introduction of automation to the dairy industry, agriculture businesses need skilled workers to install, design, troubleshoot and repair automated systems.
Fox Valley Technical College recently added a one-year Dairy Automation technical diploma to address this industry need, combining courses from the agriculture and automation departments. Students in the program gain hands-on expertise in agriculture and automation through courses in agriculture, electronics, computers, control systems, programming, robots, fluid power, sensors and more. Dairy automation encompasses robotic milking as well as manure management, feeding, animal handling and herd health.
Dr. Sarah Mills Lloyd, Department Chair for Horticulture & Farm Operations, recently provided her insight into this emerging field with WHBY and Wisconsin State Farmer.
“Overall, dairy automation fosters a lot of positive things including sustainable practices, addresses the challenge of labor shortages, and provides a significant amount of data that enables producers to make decisions for better farm management,” she explains.
