Kersbergen cited in article about automated farm technology
Richard Kersbergen, University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor, was interviewed for a Portland Press Herald article about automated technology at Maine farms. While farmers in Maine haven’t yet embraced machines for automated milking, several have automatic calf feeders.
“In Maine, there’s a lot of interest (in automated milking), but no one wants to be the first. You want to make sure you’ve got the technical support nearby, and right now the nearest technical support is in Vermont.” The cows seem to like the robots, Kersbergen said. “Behavior-wise, it’s just an incredible difference,” he said. “Cows are creatures of habit. They like consistency. There’s a lot more consistency with a robot than there is with a human, because they’re going to get milked the exact same way each time.” And with automated systems, Kersbergen said the cows go to the robot when they want to be milked. “You’ll find that it’s just incredibly quiet and calm in there,” he said.