Dairy modernization works for family farms

Abstract

Results are presented from a survey conducted in 2008 on small- to average-sized Wisconsin family dairy farms that had switched from milking cows in a stall barn to some type of parlor milking system. The survey was used to determine the producers' observations as to the major benefits to both themselves and the cows after modernizing their facilities. Producers were also asked to identify the educational resources they used, the most challenging aspect of the modernization process, grant and loan programs used, and impacts on labor. © by Extension Journal, Inc.